Sunday, May 22, 2016

Architect details amphitheatre plan

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star


Bill Chomik looks at the ravine below Okanagan College and sees an open canvas.

The Calgary-based architect is working with the Okanagan Summer Festival Society to design a 5,500-seat amphitheatre in Coldstream.

“I haven’t seen a site so suitable for a project like this. This is an architect’s dream,” he said during a visit to the area Friday.

“God has given us this piece of land to put it in.”

While nearby residents have expressed concerns about noise during performances at the Kal Bowl, Chomik insists the gully will act as a sound barrier.

“The sound will be reflected up and not across,” he said, adding that large roofs over the stage and seats will also help.

“They will bounce the sound back into the amphitheatre and we will get spectacular acoustics.”

Another goal, Chomik says, is to preserve the natural environment of the ravine.
“It touches the earth gently,” he said.

“The idea is to bridge across the gully with infrastructure and not dump a bunch of dirt in.”
A culvert would allow water to flow.

“We are going to make this facility very green,” said Chomik of solar energy and the use of wood during construction.

Another concern that has surfaced is that existing parking at the college won’t be sufficient during performances.

“We will encourage people to use group transit. Hotels could use shuttles to bring guests to the site,” said Diane Bond, with the society.

“We would encourage park and ride from a central location, such as in Kelowna.”

As part of developing a plan for the amphitheatre, society officials will talk to senior government in the next month.

“We hope they will be funders of a significant majority of the capital portion,” said Bond.

“We will be putting together a timetable for the formal submission.”

Cost estimates are being established now.

There are no immediate plans to consult with nearby residents.

“As we have reports on subjects, such as traffic, we will hold information sessions,” said Bond.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

God ‏@TheTweetOfGod 20 Nov 2014

The meek shall inherit the earth, right after the powerful are done destroying it.

Anonymous said...


“The itch for naming things is almost as bad as the itch for possessing things. Let them and leave them alone--they'll survive for a few more thousand years, more or less, without any glorification from us.”

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.”

“No more cars in national parks. Let the people walk. Or ride horses, bicycles, mules, wild pigs--anything--but keep the automobiles and the motorcycles and all their motorized relatives out. We have agreed not to drive our automobiles into cathedrals, concert halls, art museums, legislative assemblies, private bedrooms and the other sanctums of our culture; we should treat our national parks with the same deference, for they, too, are holy places. An increasingly pagan and hedonistic people (thank God!), we are learning finally that the forests and mountains and desert canyons are holier than our churches. Therefore let us behave accordingly.”

You can't see anything from a car; you've got to get out of the goddamn contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbrush and cactus. When traces of blood begin to mark your trail, you'll see something, maybe.”
― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

Anonymous said...

Absolutely blind to the wishes of the community most directly, and negatively, affected by it....."Spicer Block Part 2" here we come! I'm pretty certain we are not talking about the same God!

Penny S. said...

Well, what did we expect him to say? It is a fat, well paying commission so he is looking after his own pocket here. He'll say whatever it takes and so will the "sound experts" they plan to hire [with our money?] Easy money for them. Also, being from Calgary of course it looks wonderful to him - nothing like it where he comes from. His comments are just ridiculous.
Let me know when you need a picket!

Anonymous said...

There is an excellent letter to the Editor of Castanet re this unfortunate proposal. The attached image accompanying the letter, shows terrain Georgia Okeefe would have painted.

Black Mesa Georgia O'Keeffe:

http://www.wikiart.org/en/georgia-o-keeffe/black-mesa-landscape-new-mexico-out-back-of-mary-s-ii
Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico - Out Back of Mary`s II ...
www.wikiart.org
Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico - Out Back of Mary`s II by Georgia O'Keeffe. Precisionism. landscape
http://www.castanet.net/news/Letters/166141/No-place-for-amphitheater

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I have been a resident of Coldstream since 1976. I have had 15 years of experience on Council, 3 years as Mayor. As a current Councillor I am working to achieve fair water and sewer rates and to ensure that taxpayers get fair treatment. The current direction regarding water supply is unsustainable and I am doing all I can to get the most cost effective water supply possible.