Honour in the Arts Award

Honour in the Arts Award 2023 - Finalists

The 49th annual Civic & Community Awards finalists will be celebrated on April 24 at the Civic & Community Awards Gala, taking place at the Laurel Packinghouse.

Tyson Cook (Freida Whales) 

For the past six years, Tyson Cook, a.k.a. Freida Whales, has been bringing stories to children as part of the Okanagan Regional Library’s Drag Story times. When faced with opposition over the story times this past year, they used it to their advantage and organized the largest story crowd ever, with over 300 people listening and another 700 outside. This powerful event raised funds to support trans youth in our community and earned Freida Whales the Quesnel award for Most Courageous Queen. Currently voted Best Drag Artist in Kelowna, Freida spreads their message of self-acceptance at many community events throughout the year. 

Stephen Jefferys 

Stephen is the cofounder of Shakespeare Kelowna, formed over 30 years ago. He has helped bring the immortal words of Shakespeare to life in Waterfront Park, Okanagan wineries and local theatres, for both locals and tourists alike, with over 1,000 people attending last summer’s production of, As You like It. Stephen has also been involved with all our community’s theatre groups and last fall, directed and produced the new Trident Player’s production of The Fighting Season. As Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage,” and Kelowna is grateful we have Stephen Jeffery’s helping it to “play on.” 

Brianna Wells 

As the managing director of Opera Kelowna, Brianna was left with the herculean responsibility of trying to reschedule Opera Kelowna’s Cosi fan tutte, having been cancelled by the McDougall Creek fire last summer. This involved rebooking artists from across the country and orchestrating the teardown of the stage set and finding somewhere to store it until the new date. With her ‘show must go on’ attitude, Brianna successfully rescheduled the production. Her efforts also ensured the remaining productions in 2023 were available to the community. Thanks to her hard work, all the opera’s shows were a success and the free Opera Under the Stars drew in 1,000 people. 

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Award Criteria

• Awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to Kelowna through cultural and/or artistic efforts.  
• Selections are based on the nominee's special accomplishments, contributions and awards for the year 2023.
• Past information may be included, but should primarily be regarding the current award year.
• Finalist selections are based solely on the information in the completed nomination package.

Nominations for the 49th annual Civic & Community Awards are now closed. Check back in fall 2024 for information about the 50th annual awards nomination period.