Okanagan Festivals: The Annual Calendar

The Okanagan's festival year follows the seasons. Wine festivals open and close the year, Penticton celebrates peaches in August and beer in September, and the wineries light up for the holidays in late November. Here are the annual festivals worth planning a trip around, in calendar order. Each guide covers when it happens, where, what it costs and how to make the most of it.

Winter

• Okanagan Winter Wine Festival (January to early February): grand tastings in Penticton and Kelowna, plus winery events across the valley.
• Fireside Festival (late January or early February): Kelowna's homegrown winter music and arts weekend.

Spring

• Okanagan Fest of Ale (April): two days of BC craft beer and cider in Penticton.
• Spring Okanagan Wine Festival (early May): ten days of new releases, tastings and winemaker dinners.

Summer

• Penticton Peach Festival (early August): five free days of concerts, parades and peaches on the Penticton waterfront, held since 1947.

Fall

• Penticton Beer Week (September): ten days with Penticton's seven craft breweries.
• Okanagan Feast of Fields (September): a roaming harvest tasting on a Kelowna-area farm.
• Fall Okanagan Wine Festival (late September to early October): harvest season across the valley's wineries.

Holiday season

• Naramata Bench Winterfest (late November): free holiday tastings, lights and fire pits along the Naramata Bench.
• Light Up the Vines (late November and early December): evening tastings under the lights on Summerland's Bottleneck Drive.

Planning tips

• Book a driver. Most of these festivals involve tasting. Shuttles, tour companies and taxis fill up fast on festival weekends.
• Check dates every year. Organizers set new dates annually, and summer events can change at short notice during wildfire season.
• Stay central. Penticton and Kelowna make the easiest bases. See our Okanagan guides for where to eat, drink and stay.

Last updated October 2026. Dates come from each festival's organizers and may change.