Rutland May Days loses access to Rutland Centennial Park for 60th anniversary

Coordinated by the Rutland Parks Society, Rutland May Days is scheduled to celebrate a milestone 60th anniversary this spring.

However, following word from the City that Rutland Centennial Park will not be available due to construction, board members are feeling disappointment rather than excitement.

According to city councilor, Ryan Donn, the park will be in the midst of its third phase of development throughout the spring and summer resulting in the park’s closure.

“This phase will essentially add the addition of a walkway around the park, the whole park will be under development and being built while May Days is happening,” said Donn.

According to Donn, the development not only puts a damper on the 2019 event but also May Days as a whole moving forward.

It's a fact Wendi Swarbrick, treasurer for the Parks Society, is not happy about.

“How are we going to harm a walkway? May Days would certainly in no way affect that, there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to use it,” said Swarbrick.

“Given that this is the 60th year of May Days, to me it is really disappointing that the city couldn’t find a way to let us use the park.”

Swarbrick and other members of the society asked to meet with Donn and councilor Charlie Hodge earlier this year, after receiving word that the park would not be available. A fact that Swarbrick says she was unaware of until late January.

“We believed that we had the ability to use the park, we were under the impression that the city had no money in the budget for the park and that nothing would be done this year,”

However, according to Donn, the third phase of development was pushed back a few years, giving the society access to it, but with the knowledge that it could resume within the coming years.

“They have had the park a year or two longer than they expected. By meeting with us they confirmed that it would be under construction and unavailable, something I think they’ve known for years,” said Donn.

Swarbrick says that she and the event committee had already been in the planning stages of the 2019 festivities when they received the news but did not want to argue with the city further.

“It is a big event, we had over 10,000 people there last year, so it takes a lot of planning.”

“I feel like they could have worked with us, but they made the decision and it is theirs to make. It is not something that we chose to argue with them about because it didn’t seem like they had any interest, it was just a done deal,” added Swarbrick.

Rather than cancel the event, Swarbrick plans to “make the best” of the situation.

“It is a pretty important event, for Rutland and Kelowna as a whole. The last two May Days have been very successful — we have had record turnouts so we are going to try and continue with that momentum, however, it is just not the same,”

The 60th-anniversary event will see the midway move to the parking lot of Roxby Square, where it has been placed in years previous, while other events like the vendor market, will be moved inside Rutland Centennial Hall.

“We are going to make the best of it. We are going to try and squeeze as much as we possibly can there and I believe this year’s May Days will still be successful but would I have liked to see it in the park? Absolutely.”

Though things seemed to be sorted out this year, the fate of the current structure of May Days going forward is unknown.

“What we are waiting to hear from them is what their future vision is, as [they] basically don’t have a park. I hope it continues, of course,” said Donn.

According to Swarbrick, the society is looking to volunteers for new location ideas and ways to switch things up.

“We are going to just push through this year, we likely will have to evolve going forward, maybe we can find a new space, but I just don’t know. I suspect a change in the future of May Days.”

“If we want the event to go forward we will work, and we will make it work,” she added.

Those of you hoping to offer ideas on the shaping and revamping of May Days can contact the Rutland Parks Society via email at operations@rutlandparksociety.com or phone at 250-765-6516.