News & Events

Bilingual Musician Touring the ORL Region June 30, 2010

Will Stroet, a Vancouver-based bilingual performer and educator, will be visiting 27 ORL branches this summer performing free concerts for children of all ages as part of Summer Reading Club (SRC) programming. Will's blues, rock, and pop-inspired tunes about animals, the environment and active living fit perfectly with this year’s SRC theme - “Reading Rocks”.

Will begins his tour on Monday, July 5 and will spend the next three weeks visiting communities throughout the ORL's area. Dates, times and locations for all of his concerts can be found below or on branch pages where he is touring.

Since 2005, Will has released four CDs of original music: “Let’s All Dance” (November 2005), “Will et sa maman: Chantons et dansons” (July 2007), "My Backyard" (November 2008), and "Dans mon jardin" (May 2009). Recently, "My Backyard" was nominated for "Best Children's Recording of the Year (2009)" by the Western Canadian Music Awards. For more on information on Will and to hear his music, check out his website at http://www.willmusic.ca/

Summer Reading Club is sponsored in partnership by the ORL, the BC Library Association, and the Ministry of Education.

Kelowna - Mon. July 5th 10:00 a.m.

Westbank - Mon. July 12th 10:00 a.m.

Rutland -Mon. July 5th 1:00 p.m.

Lake Country - Tues. July 13th 10:00 a.m.

Mission - Tues. July 6th 10:00 a.m.

Lumby - Tues. July 13th 1:30 p.m.

Peachland - Tues. July 6th 1:00 p.m.

Cherryville - Wed. July 14th 10:00 a.m.

Summerland - Wed. July 7th 10:00 a.m.

Vernon - Wed. July 14th 1:00 p.m.

Kaleden - Wed. July 7th 1:00 p.m.

Silver Creek - Thurs. July 15th 1:00 p.m.

Naramata - Wed. July 7th 3:30 p.m.

Falkland - Thurs. July 15th 3:30 p.m.

Okanagan Falls - Thurs. July 8th 10:00 a.m.

Enderby - Fri. July 16th 10:00 a.m.

Oliver - Thurs. July 8th 1:00 p.m.

Armstrong - Fri. July 16th 1:00 p.m.

Osoyoos - Thurs. July 8th 3:30 p.m.

Keremeos - Fri. July 9th 10:00 a.m.

Princeton - Fri. July 9th 1:30 p.m.

Golden - Tues. July 20th 10:00 a.m.

Revelstoke - Tues. July 20th 3:30 p.m.

Sicamous - Wed. July 21st 9:30 a.m.

North Shuswap - Wed. July 21st 1:00 p.m.

South Shuswap - Wed. July 21st 3:30 p.m.

Salmon Arm - Thurs. July 22nd 1:00 p.m.

Project Manager for New Vernon Branch Announced June 29, 2010

TASK Construction Management Inc. has been selected by the ORL as the project managers to oversee the building of the new library facility in Vernon. The new branch will be located at 2808-30th Avenue with a targeted opening date in 2013 or earlier. TASK’s next step will be working with the ORL to hire an architect to design the facility.

“We’re very excited about returning to Vernon for this important community project,” says John Hiebert, President of TASK Construction Management. “TASK looks forward to re-connecting with the many contractors and vendors that made our local Performing Arts Centre and Multiplex projects so successful.”

The ORL hopes to move quickly to hire an architect and have drawings for the ORL Board to review by fall. Plans for public input into the process will be made available over the summer. The estimated cost on the building is approximately $11 million, which the ORL intends to borrow from the Municipal Finance Authority at competitive rates with the assistance of the North Okanagan Regional District.

“The alternate approval process is underway and going well,” explains ORL Board Chair Ted Bacigalupo about the financing of the project. “This is the most cost-effective way to get the people of the North Okanagan the library services they need, and the Board is very pleased to get this project underway with TASK’s construction management expertise.”

TASK is a wholly Canadian-owned company headquartered in Burnaby that specializes in large-scale community and recreation centre construction throughout BC.