Saturday, May 23, 2026

☕ Good Morning

Saturday, May 23 is more useful than heavy: World Cup celebrations are coming to Riverside Park, splash parks are already on, and Yew Street gets a full North Shore block party.

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📰 News

Kamloops gets a piece of the FIFA World Cup party on June 18. The City says Canada Celebrates will bring live match viewing, music, culture and community programming to Riverside Park. Kamloops is one of 35 Canadian communities on the route, and the stop lands on a Team Canada match day. (City of Kamloops)

Gardeners, watch for Japanese beetle rules. CFJC reports new regulated areas are being established as crews work to limit the invasive pest’s spread. Treatment took place this month in parts of the city centre and Westsyde, and private land inside treatment areas may be eligible for free treatment covered by the province. (CFJC Today)

Splash parks are open ahead of schedule. Castanet reports warm spring weather pushed the City to open public water parks two weeks before the usual June 1 start, including splash pads at Albert McGowan, McDonald, Riverside and Westsyde Centennial parks, plus the Prince Charles Park wading pool. (Castanet)

A Kamloops ultimate player is heading to worlds. Castanet reports 19-year-old Gage Androlick has earned a spot on Team Canada’s U20 ultimate frisbee team for the World Junior Ultimate Championships in Spain this July. He is the only Interior-based B.C. player on the roster and is raising money for travel and training costs. (Castanet)

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🏛️ City Hall

The City is trying a civics explainer page. Castanet reports the new “Let’s Learn” page is meant to clear up misconceptions about city responsibilities, decision-making, housing, homelessness, crime, safety and other local-government topics. (Castanet)

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🚨 Safety

Kamloops RCMP get a new tool for mental-health calls May 27. Radio NL reports HealthIM will guide officers through roughly 20 questions during crisis calls, then send risk and safety information to hospital staff before a patient arrives. The rollout also includes BC Highway Patrol and several Thompson-Shuswap detachments. (Radio NL)

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📅 Events

Civic Operations Open House, Saturday, May 23. The free event runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 955 Concordia Way, with shop tours, face painting, planter painting, toilet races, traffic-signal activities, a crane activity, rubber duck races and a barbecue. (Castanet)

The Shore Block Party, Saturday, May 23. Yew Street turns into a free, family- and pet-friendly event from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., with vendors, food trucks, eight musicians, inflatables, face painting, robot making, mascots, a KFR fire engine and axe throwing. (Castanet)

Journey to Japan marks Asian Heritage Month on Saturday, May 23. Saki Earl, Sally Arai and Chizu Kan perform traditional and contemporary Japanese music on koto. (Castanet)

Monster Madness, Saturday, May 23. Monster trucks and FMX World Tour performers take over Mt Paul Events Centre at 1:30 p.m., with tickets listed at $25 to $50. (Tourism Kamloops)

Fleetwood Magic, Sunday, May 24. The Fleetwood Mac tribute show starts at 7:30 p.m. at Sagebrush Theatre. (Castanet)

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🛣️ Roads & Weather

🌦️ Weekend weather: Environment Canada calls for a chance of showers and 27°C Saturday, May 23, then cloud and 22°C Sunday, May 24. AQHI is low. (Environment Canada)

🚧 Highway 1 bridge work continues: DriveBC says construction between Pacific Way and Summit Drive continues until June 15, with traffic reduced to one lane each way in the westbound lanes and overnight detours from 10 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. (DriveBC)

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🎮 Daily Game

Framed — guess the movie from stills, one frame at a time.

KamloopsContractors.ca is a free local directory I made to make it easier to find Kamloops-area contractors by trade.