Westside Daze lineup fills out

It will be party time in West Kelowna complete with rides as Westside Daze returns to in-person events July 8 to 10 after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.

Mike Schell, president of the Westside Celebration Society which puts on Westside Daze, announced Monday the line up for the threeday free family fun festival that will fill West Kelowna’s Memorial Park with music, laughter and magic.

With the cancellation of Rutland’s May Days again this year, Schell said Westside Daze will have the only rides in the Central Okanagan as Westbank First Nation has given the OK for Shooting Star Amusements to set up in the field next to the A&W.

The themes for this year’s community celebration will be Mardi Gras, with the party kicking off July 8 at 6 p.m. at the Annette Beaudreau Amphitheatre.

After the official opening, the Mount Boucherie Secondary School band will perform jazz and R & B at 6:15 p.m., followed by the Musical Actors and Singers Kelowna (MASK) from 7 to 7:45 p.m. who will give a full Mardi Gras-themed performance backed by a live band.

Headliner Andrew Johns, an Elton John tribute artist, will take to the stage with an eight-piece band from 8:15 to 10 p.m.

On July 9, Westside Daze parade with its popular Wet Zone returns from 10:30 a.m. to noon with the traditional route, and then the action moves to Memorial Park with activities and entertainment including belly dancing starting at 1 p.m.

Kids can bounce for free as Westside Daze is covering the cost for Just4Fun to bring three 10 by 20 bouncy castles.

More information is being added to the Westside Daze website.

People can already go online to westsidedaze.com to register for parade entries, vendors, concessions, booths and the trunk sale.