Kelowna could be partying in the streets on a regular basis if city councillors have anything to say about it.

Monday morning a review of their outdoor events policy saw councillors exploring how to improve their reputation as a ‘no fun city,’ possibly through smaller, resident-oriented festivals.

The meeting was simply a discussion. No policy or bylaw was set. However, Doris Haas got city councillors talking about why the city’s manner of dealing with outdoor events isn’t exactly winning them fans.

“Some feel the process is too regulatory instead of facilitative,” said Haas, pointing out the city has the bylaws governing outdoor events but little direction for how to encourage more of those events to come here.

Haas gave the city several suggestions for ways to improve the situation, including some simple ones, like adding information on the main page of their website.

Penticton, for example, has a flashing event organizer button to draw prospective organizers in, she pointed out.

She added that the city might also consider sourcing and pre-screening rental companies to help organizers find the fencing, staging, lighting and so-forth they would need to hold their event.

In Kelowna’s post-Wakefest cancellation era, Haas has found a certain mistrust of the city’s policies on events, so she took the opportunity Monday to fill councillors in.

“There’s this perceived attitude of the city not actually encouraging outdoor events,” she said.

“Some of this is just misinformation.”

The trend in the event organizing world is now to work closely with event planners in a “more collaborative effort,” she said.

Haas noted how the federal government offered financial incentives for those who manage to stage marquee events, highlighting the distinct attributes of their community.

She noted the City of Vancouver offers to rent out its staff when organizers may need extensive help.

Coun. Robert Hobson joked about adding an “invite the mayor” button in a similar vein to the one the used by the City of Edmonton, which is known as the events capital of Canada.

Yet, Coun. Graeme James didn’t like what he heard.

“We are currently in a recession and everything here is expensive,” he said, after listening to the recommendations of Haas.

“I just worry that we have to lead people by the hand through this process and we can’t afford to do that.”

At the other end of the spectrum, Coun. Angela Reid noted she thinks a little loosening of the reins might be in order if the city wants to improve its reputation.

There seems to be a collective fear of riot whenever outdoor events are mentioned, she said, pointing out she constantly hears from other young adults that more of this form of entertainment is needed for their generation.

Coun. Luke Stack said he’s really sorry Kelowna’s former marquee event, Regatta, fell by the wayside after a couple of destructive throwdowns on Bernard Avenue several years back.

“It always seems to me, if there had been a couple of big fights in Calgary, would they cancel the Stampede? I don’t think so,” he said.

Reid also noted that if some event organizers are having trouble dealing with the city, the problem may be with the event organizers rather than city hall.

Reid said her own business staff have had no problems whatsoever following the city’s checklists to stage events.

Hobson and Coun. Michele Rule indicated they like one suggestion from Haas, namely to close off streets from time to time to help build more community-oriented, smaller street festivals.

“If the city really wants to get into the big events, you are going to need to get 100 acres of land,” said community services manager John Vos, noting people from those Prairie cities, where festivals rule the roost, are pretty cognizant it takes a good deal of space.

He encouraged council to continue pursuing a strategy that would build on the small, free festivals for locals approach, rather than chase down large-scale shows.

jsmith@kelownacapnews.com