| Rotary Centre for the Arts | |
| Location Town: | Kelowna, British Columbia |
| Location Country: | Canada |
| Coordinates: | 49.8915°N -119.495°W |
| Website: | http://www.rotarycentreforthearts.com/ |
The Rotary Centre for the Arts is a visual and performing arts centre in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. It is very close to the Kelowna Art Gallery, both of which are located on Cawston Avenue.[1] The building houses the Mary Irwin Theatre,[2] the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art,[3] Potters Addict Ceramic Art Centre, several other studios and a bistro that serves sandwiches and soups.[4] Colleen Fitzpatrick is the centre's executive director.[5] In September 2012, the centre hosted the kick-off of the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival,[6] the annual general meeting of the Okanagan Basin Water Board,[7] and the Kelowna Student Film Festival.[8] In October of that year, UBC Okanagan students published a typewriter-produced zine called The Heartbreak at one of the centre's studios.[9]
The Mary Irwin Theatre is part of the building. It hosts a portion of the annual Life and Arts Festival, which also takes place at the Kelowna Art Gallery and Laurel Building.[10] In 2005, the theatre hosted a screening of untitled part 4: terra incognita, a documentary film by Jackie Salloum about the destruction of the culture of the Okanagan people.[11] In 2006, the theatre hosted a March performance of Here on the Flight Path,[12] and a May performance of thriller play Quarry.[13] The Downtown Revitalization Initiative held an event at the theatre in 2008.[14] In 2009, the theatre hosted the Central Okanagan Foundation's official release of a report that graded the Regional District of Central Okanagan on various community attributes, such as housing, safety, and transportation.[15] Later that year, the theatre hosted the play Miss Muffet's Christmas Party.[16] The Sunshine Theatre Society performed more than twenty productions at the theatre between January and April 2011.[17] In September 2011, Sheryl MacKay taped Why Music Works at the theatre.[18] In 2012, the theatre hosted performances of She Has a Name, a play by Andrew Kooman about human trafficking.[19]