Okanagan Arts Awards 2014 Winners Announced

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white14 copy      The Arts Council of the Central Okanagan is pleased to announce the winners for the 7th Annual Okanagan Arts Awards.  In total 41 nominations were adjudicated to be entered into this year’s Okanagan Arts Awards and all honourees were given recognition for their commitment and excellence in the arts at the Okanagan Arts Awards held on Saturday, March 22, 2014. The artists represent a wide range of visual, performing, literary, media and culinary artists, from communities throughout the Okanagan and Thompson Valleys, and they reflect the depth of talent in the region.
      Held in the Rotary Centre of the Arts, Mary Irwin Theatre,  the evening featured a formal Nominees Reception and a spectacular Showcase Performance, along with the Awards presentations, which were once again hosted by CBC’s Gillianne Richards and Chris Walker.  At the Awards, the winners were presented with an original award created by a Vernon artist Julie Oakes.  The 2014 Award is a steel sculpture entitled ‘Elemental Okanagan’. Elemental Okanagan is a representation of the elements, fire, water, air and earth.
The 2014 Okanagan Arts Awards Winners are:
Youth Arts Award:  Chloe and Kyle Davidson – Kelowna
Culinary Award:  Rod Butters – Kelowna
Art Educator:  Rena Warren – Kelowna
Music:  Andrew Smith – Kelowna
COF Community Arts Group:  Kelowna Actors Studio – Kelowna
Media Arts:  Mountain Lake Films: Glen Samuel and Wendy Ord – Lake Country
Graphic Arts:  Timothy Tweed – Penticton
Literary Arts:  Shane Koyczan – Penticton
Dance:  Okanagan Dance Studio – Penticton
Visual Arts:  Ann Kipling – Falkland
Theatre:  Bumbershoot Theatre – Kelowna
Supporter of the Arts: Glenna Turnbull – Kelowna
Lifetime Achievement: Arnold Draper – Kelowna
Awards chair Sharon McCoubrey also announced that for the first and only time the jury was presenting four semi-finalists in the newly established Youth Arts category with Honourable Mention Awards. Those recipients were:
Ben Klick – Kelowna;  Laura Sciarpelletti – Kelowna;  Colleen Venables – Armstrong
Marko Prodanovic – Kelowna
We salute and congratulate all the winners of the 2014 Okanagan Arts Awards!