Funding sought for Lake Country cultural centre

A proposed $4 million cultural centre would be a partnership between the town of Lake Country and the Okanagan Indian Band.

Plans call for the centre to be built at the site of the old Woodsdale packinghouse site in Lake Country.

Advocates say it would “create an accessible and inclusive place where Okanagan People and Lake Country citizens will be drawn together for shared activities in culture, recreation, and nature”, according to a report going Tuesday to town council.

Four tennis courts were built at the old packinghouse site in 2010, and the proposed cultural centre is said to represent the next phase of redevelopment at the site.

Archeological work already done in the area shows it was a seasonally-used site where Indigenous people made tools and collected and processed food, reads part of a staff report to town council.

As well as the proposed cultural centre, the complex would have interpretative trails and boardwalks through a nearby wetland, classrooms, viewing pavilions, and public art.

The site’s proximity to the new Okanagan Rail Trail is also an advantage, supporters say.

Advocates hope to receive 73 per cent of the estimated $4 million project cost from a federal and provincial infrastructure development fund.

Council is expected Tuesday to formally endorse plans for a funding application.