Here we go. I have a list of things that I want to do with my kids this summer before they go back to school. Feel free to share your own ideas and experiences about family friendly summer fun in Kamloops.

1. Go to Music in the Park at least once a week – it starts a 7pm in Riverside park and is every night through July and August. You can find the schedule of artists playing here.
2. Visit the farmers market on the North Shore and downtown every week – I love seeing what appears as the season goes on and the kids love being so close to the food they are going to eat. Encourage health, local choices and support your local farmer’s and artisans.
   Saturdays – 200 block of St Paul St - 8am – 12pm
   Fridays – McDonald Park, McDonald Avenue – 4pm – 8pm
3. Take the kids on a backpacking trip – most likely quite close to home and a short walk in since my youngest is 3.5 my daughter and I did a trip near the end of school that was 5.5km in and then back out. Wells Gray is a great family friendly area.
4. Swim at the outdoor pool in Westsyde – crazily Kelowna does not have any outdoor pools but Kamloops (being far superior) has several. I have yet to take advantage but intend to visit at least one this summer. You can check out the schedule posted here
5. Eat the fruits of our labours – we planted a garden this year. Each of the kids got to decide one thing that they would plant. My daughter chose strawberries and is eating the first round right now. I chose potatoes and the plants are super tall! My son chose peppers, chocolate peppers to be precise and he is so excited to taste them. It isn’t too late to get some produce in the ground to eat later in the summer or see above to eat the fruits of someone else’s labour!
6. Komasket Music Festival – if you haven’t been you need to check it out. This is one weekend that we never miss for the positive vibes and fabulous music it is a beautiful environment to spend a few days with your family and others.
7. Bike ride at McArthur Island – one of our favorite passtimes but certainly not reserved for summer vacation. My son’s fav is the ‘dirt hills’ aka BMX track. We like to go early in the morning so we can see the deer on the golf course.
8. Build a Solar Oven – we (me) are super excited about this project it is partially completed and we hope to cook our first potatoes in it on Sunday the kids are skeptical but extrememly curious.
9. Float the Thompson River – you may want to wait until your kids are a bit bigger to attempt this one as the currents can be dangerous. My daughter is a healthy swimmer this year so we are going to dawn some life jackets and dingys and introduce them to their first Thompson River Float.
10. Camp in the backyard – ok so we have already done this one but who says you can’t do any of these more than once?! It is fun to pretend you are in the wilderness while giggling steps from your door and you can always retreat inside quickly incase of bears.

That is it. Have a happy summer my fellow Kamloops Parents may all your summer camps, camping trips and activities be filled with joy and laughter. Hope to see you out there!