Revelstoke Festivals
Railway Days
It makes sense to celebrate the railroad since it was after Lord Revelstoke saved the transcontinental railway that Revelstoke was named. The 10-day Railway Days festival is hosted by the Revelstoke Railway Museum at the Nickelodeon Museum and other venues. Visitors may have their photos taken with steam locomotives that once chugged through the Columbia Mountains or take rides in a railway maintenance car. Movies about the railroad’s early days and log cabin carving activities provide participants with a sense of 19th Century life. Railway Days events are conveniently located near many Revelstoke hotels and restaurants as well as shopping and entertainment in Grizzly Plaza. Outdoor recreation-lovers may pop in and out of Railway Days events of interest in-between hikes at Revelstoke's two national parks.
Timber Days
Revelstoke’s logging heritage is celebrated every Summer in Centennial Park, Grizzly Plaza and the BC Interior Forestry Museum at the Timber Days festival. A ‘pie-gobble’ contest demonstrates the wrong way to eat dessert after eating a restaurant meal; the festival’s pole climbing competition may seem familiar to those who have hiked on Mount Begbie. Events such as the wood-chopping contest might provide insight into how the Enchanted Forest was cleared to make way for its many life-size inhabitants. Like Railway Days, Timber Days is a major celebration of Revelstoke’s roots as a community when it was first named after Lord Revelstoke.
Revelstoke Music Festival
Revelstoke’s Centennial Park is full of many sounds every Summer at the annual Revelstoke Music Festival: the bang of the bongos, twang of the Spanish Guitar, and plunk of the Bolivian Charanga. For two-days, families may enjoy Blues, Folk and other entertainers from Revelstoke and elsewhere at the Centennial Park Grand Stand. The park is conveniently-located close to downtown Revelstoke near restaurants, shopping and hotels. The rest of the year, other sounds might be heard coming from Revelstoke: sighs from hot springs, grunts from SkyTrek Adventure Park, laughter from the Enchanted Forest, and the whirl of helicopters delivering heli-skiers to their destination peak.
Chickadee Nature Festival
Outdoor recreation-lovers usually visit Mount Revelstoke National Park for hiking, fishing or camping. However, Revelstoke’s annual Chickadee Nature Festival lets nature-lovers of all ages enjoy other activities in the park over a Summer week-end. Turtle and bird walks, as well as owl pellet dissection are just three of the fun activities that families can enjoy during the festival. The Chickadee Nature Festival is an annual event hosted by both Parks Canada and Mount Revelstoke National Park. While there is no restaurant at the park, a picnic area allows visitors to take a break and eat lunch in the grasp of nature. A lack of road-accessible campgrounds in the park means that festival visitors are required to make the short drive back to Revelstoke to stay at a hotel.