The Kelowna Newcomers Club (KNC) is a non-religious, non-political, activities-based club, run entirely by volunteers.

Our membership is open to individuals aged 19 and over who moved to the City of Kelowna or surrounding areas — West Kelowna and Westbank, Peachland, or Lake Country — within the past four years.

The mission of the KNC is to help newcomers to the area learn about their community and make new friends.

Membership fees are yearly, and you may be a member for up to three years (renewable on September 1).

For further information, please see our Membership Guide.

KNC volunteers organize a range of regular activities, from arts and culture outings and bowling to golf, bridge, wine-tasting groups and dragon boating. A full list and description of current activity groups can be found here.

In addition, we offer  Special Events this year that include, Curling,  seasonal special functions, such as a Spring Fling BBQ, a dinner Boat Cruise, a Halloween Dance and a Christmas dinner dance! 

From September through June we organize monthly meetings, where all members have a chance to meet and mingle, and learn more about our many activities and the Special Events . At most of those meetings, we feature a special guest speaker to help us learn more about the geography, economy, history or other aspects of our new community.

From the Board of Directors to the dozens of activity co-ordinators, everyone who makes the KNC work is a volunteer. And so we count on new members to donate some time to the organization as well.

We also expect all members to be welcoming, courteous and respectful of their fellow members.

In this era of big data, the KNC recognizes that individuals have a right to privacy. That is why we make great efforts to safeguard the personal information of members.

For instance, regular activities and special functions are organized through the Members-Only portion of this website.

For more details on our handling of personal information, including contact information and photographs, please see our Privacy Policy.

The KNC was created in 1968 as one of the earliest such organizations in Canada. Originally set up as the Kelowna Newcomers Society, its mission then, as now, was to help newcomers to the Kelowna area get to know their new community and to encourage the creation of new friendships.

The Club was patterned on its even older counterpart in Calgary. That club was established by the wives of Bank of Montreal executives who were transferred from Montreal to Calgary at the start of the oil boom.

Kelowna, meanwhile, was also enjoying an economic and population boom in the late-'60s, prompting major expansions to the airport, the general hospital and the college. This was also the time of the wildly popular Kelowna Regatta, which came to an unfortunate end when the lakeside grandstand burned down in 1969.

Over the past 50 years, people have continued to flock to the Kelowna region, drawn by our clement weather, sparkling lakes, rolling hills, vineyards and orchards, as well as rich employment, recreational and cultural opportunities.