Okanagan Mission, also known colloquially as the Mission is a neighbourhood of the City of Kelowna in the

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of ...

region of the

Southern Interior of British Columbia Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, located on the south side of the city at the foot of

Okanagan Mountain Okanagan Mountain is a mountain in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, located on the east side of Okanagan Lake on the immediate south of the city of Kelowna and north of Penticton. It is the core of Okanaga ...

. It derives its name from the Okanagan Mission founded by

Father Pandosy Jean-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Félix Pandosy (22 November 1824 – February 1891), commonly known as Father Pandosy, was a French Catholic priest who was the first settler in the Kelowna area in British Columbia. He set up a church and a school an ...

, historically known as the Okanagan Mission, which was located here and was the first non-native settlement in the Okanagan Valley.The History of Okanagan Mission A Centennial Retrospect, Primrose Upton, 1958, Okanagan Mission Centennial Committee The Mission once was a separate jurisdiction before being amalgamated with the City of Kelowna in the mid- to late-20th century. This has caused a fairly vibrant secondary commercial centre to emerge which is entirely separate from Downtown, with low to moderate density residential areas in between. The northern border of Mission is K.L.O. Rd. It is often differentiated as the Lower Mission and Upper Mission. The Lower Mission contains most of the aforementioned commercial areas such as shopping malls, grocery stores, coffee shops, and boutiques. Lower Mission also has extensive recreational facilities, Mission Recreation Park has six softball diamonds as well as soccer fields, community gardens, playgrounds and trails, while neighbouring H2O is Kelowna's largest indoor recreation facility with a 50 m pool, water slides, diving boards and surfing wave. Gyro Beach and Rotary Beach, two of Kelowna's most popular beaches, are also located in the Lower Mission. The Upper Mission begins to extend into the foothills and higher terrain, and many parts of this area boast magnificent views of the city, mountains and Okanagan Lake. As a result, this part of town is widely regarded as luxurious and is indeed one of the most expensive neighbourhoods of Kelowna. It is not unusual to see homes worth one million dollars or more, the most expensive of which can reach five million or even slightly above.

References

External links

Okanagan Mission Residents Association
{{Okanagan communities Neighbourhoods in Kelowna Articles containing video clips