Celebrating neighbours & pop-ups
There are so many good neighbours in Kelowna who are invested in the well-being of their neighbourhood and are always willing to lend a helping hand. Celebrate these amazing neighbours with a simple thank you or kind gesture, give thanks on Neighbour Day, attend a Neighbourhood Pulse Pop-Up together or give them kudos through our Kind Neighbour Kudos program year-round.
Neighbour Day
Neighbour Day is an annual celebration of community in which residents are encouraged to meet new neighbours, perform an act of neighbourliness, connect neighbours through a project or event or simply gather and have fun. Kelowna's tenth annual Neighbour Day is on Sunday, May 4, 2025.
The goal of Neighbour Day is to help build relationships between neighbours because knowing your neighbours can help transform neighbourhoods into welcoming, safe and inclusive places to live. Building social connections is especially important as it helps prevent loneliness, isolation, and depression, especially among the elderly, vulnerable and those new to Canada. It’s also a good opportunity to learn who lives around you and share the unique skills, passions and talents.
Getting involved in Neighbour Day doesn’t need to be a grand gesture, it can be as simple as taking the time to welcome a new neighbour to the area, hosting a neighbourhood BBQ, or having neighbours over for tea or coffee.
It doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment, condo, townhouse or detached home, there are many ways to connect with your neighbours. Here are a few suggestions:
- introduce yourself to a new neighbour
- invite a neighbour over for coffee or tea
- go on a walk or hike with your neighbours
- have a meal or BBQ with your neighbour
- host a block party or porch party
- host a karaoke, trivia, card game, or talent show night
- put together a neighbourhood art gallery to highlight artists in your neighbourhood
- decorate sidewalks/streets/driveways with chalk
- leave kindness rocks around your neighbourhood
- organize a street scavenger hunt
- play a game of street hockey
- write kind notes to your neighbours
- have a gardening party and help your neighbours with their garden
- share baked goods or produce from your garden
- create a sharing list of everything you are willing to share with your neighbours (tools, recipes, skills, advice,)
- organize a community clean up
We encourage everyone planning a Neighbour Day event, activity or initiative to register their plans.
By registering, you:
- help us to see where and how many people are helping build strong neighbourhoods.
- will receive a Neighbour Day package including swag and resources to help make connections with neighbours easy.
- will be invited to the Strong Neighbourhoods year-end event in November to celebrate the various community projects, events, and neighbour acts of kindness that took place throughout Kelowna in 2025.
- will be entered into the draw to win one of two Neighbour Day prizes:
- Bouncy Castle support for a future neighbourhood event; or
- $100 gift card of your choice to put towards your Neighbour Day activity.
General prize draw details
- Neighbour Day registrations will be accepted until May 4, 2025, however, those who register their activity by April 30, 2025 at 12 p.m. will be entered into the prize draw.
- Draw will take place on April 30, 2025 at 1 p.m.
- Kelowna residents and non-profit organizations who register their Neighbour Day activity are eligible to win one of the two available prizes (see below).
Bouncy castle prize
The winner of the bouncy castle prize draw will receive:
- Onsite support from City staff for up to 3 hours during your neighbourhood event. Staff will oversee games and activities including the bouncy castle and various lawn games such as giant connect 4, giant tic tac toe, chalk, bubbles and more.
The winner will be contacted to coordinate details prior to your event.
$100 Gift card prize
The winner of the gift card prize draw will receive:
- A $100 gift card of your choice to put towards your Neighbour Day initiative.
Please note that gift cards cannot be used towards alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, or lottery. The winner of this prize will be contacted prior to Neighbour Day to confirm the gift card type.
Extra Entry Opportunity
BONUS! If you know a neighbour who makes a difference in your neighbourhood, offers to help others, or shows up on doorsteps with fresh baked goods we want to hear about them.
Nominees who submit a Kind Neighbour Kudos recognition by April 30, 2025, at 12 p.m. will get an extra entry into the Neighbour Day prize draw. Give your kind neighbour some kudos!
Neighbourhood Pulse Pop-ups are your go-to, free events held in local parks, featuring activities like bingo and comedy shows, trivia and more. Think of it as the ultimate hangout spot for adults, where you can vibe with your neighbours, make new connections, and enjoy some seriously fun moments right in the heart of your neighbourhood. Come for the fun, stay for the connections!
If you have a neighbour who deserves some kudos, we want to hear about them!
Big or small, acts of neighbourliness have an enormous impact on our neighbours and neighbourhoods. Our goal is to bring awareness to what it means to be a kind neighbour by helping you give kudos to those individuals who make your neighbourhood great! Acts such as stopping to say hello, helping with yard work, sharing baked goods or garden harvests, or panning neighbourhood events show care for one another and build connections between neighbours which in turn, build a strong neighbourhood.
Tell us about your kind neighbour, and we will deliver a Kind Neighbour Kudos package for you to give to them. This includes a certificate, gift and thank you card. In addition, you have the option to enter them in a draw to win two tickets to an upcoming show at Kelowna Community Theatre (show and date to be determined upon draw).
For residents of Kelowna only. Neighbours can only be nominated once per year. Deliveries and draws take place four times a year in February, May, August, and November.
