The countdown is officially on! Kelowna is one year away from hosting Country Music Week & the CCMA Awards, which will take place at Prospera Place in September 2025. In anticipation of next year's event, a delegation from Kelowna recently attended Country Music Week 2024 in Edmonton, Alberta.
This delegation included Tourism Kelowna team members Chris Lewis, Nikki Robinson, and Sara Correa Haslehurst, along with Jim Gabriel, Chris Babcock, and Doug Nicholas from the City of Kelowna, and Kelowna Host Committee members Leesa Beeson and Jenn Dalen, who is also a CCMA Board Member.
Experiencing the event firsthand offered great insight into what Kelowna can expect next year, both from a logistics perspective and from the visitor experience lens. During our time in Edmonton, we had the opportunity to meet with Edmonton's Host Committee Chair and representatives from the City of Edmonton and Explore Edmonton, all of whom were gracious enough to openly share invaluable information on their experience hosting the event. It was especially interesting to explore Kelowna's opportunities to activate the city, creating a sense of place that enhances the overall visitor experience and, in turn, drives traffic to our local tourism businesses.
Tourism Kelowna and the City of Kelowna also worked with the Kelowna host committee to create excitement and buzz around Kelowna hosting the event next year. CCMA-branded Love for Kelowna wine glasses, pictured below, were gifted to delegates staying at the host hotels, and a video showcasing Kelowna was shown during the CCMA Gala Dinner, generating a large round of applause from the crowd.
Country Music Week is a four-day event comprised of three distinct components:
- An industry conference that attracts hundreds of people including artists and performers, record labels, venue representatives, and more.
- A music festival that includes ticketed and free performances; in Edmonton, these included Songwriters Sessions, a Legends Show, the Top of the Country Finals, and performances at CCMA House.
- The nationally televised, 2-hour CCMA Awards Show.
In the coming months, Tourism Kelowna will work closely with the CCMA team, the Kelowna Host Committee, and the City of Kelowna to ensure Country Music Week 2025 is an unforgettable experience for all those in attendance.
Country Music Week was secured in part through Tourism Kelowna's Major Events Strategy in partnership with the City of Kelowna. This collaboration positioned Kelowna as the perfect host for the 2025 Country Music Week, with our team assisting in preparing the bid document, securing funding, and nurturing key relationships with the Canadian Country Music Association, Creative BC, the Province of BC, and key local stakeholders.
For more information on Country Music Week or Tourism Kelowna's Major Event Strategy please reach out to me at sara@tourismkelowna.com
