The Laurel Packinghouse is a unique and atmospheric rental space for events such as business and corporate functions, private events such as weddings, and community events.
Hours
The Laurel and Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum are open for drop-in visits three days a week this spring, with other times and tours by demand! Contact us to learn more.
| Tuesday | 1:00pm – 4:00pm |
| Wednesday | 1:00pm – 4:00pm |
| Saturday | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
ADMISSION
Admission is by donation.
Suggested donation $5 per person/$15 per family
More to explore at
“The Laurel”
Unearth the agricultural treasures that make our region unique at the Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum in the historic Laurel Packinghouse. Vibrantly coloured fruit crates, fierce-looking equipment and a live beehive (in season) are juxtaposed with barrels, bottles and machinery. Meet the determined people who lived the trials and triumphs of the tree fruit and wine industries. Discover how growing, processing, transporting and enjoying tree fruits and wine diversified our landscape and communities.
A historic Kelowna building
Renting the Laurel Packinghouse
Contact us to learn more about renting the Laurel Packinghouse for your event. We continue to follow Provincial Health guidelines and will update our policy on rentals as these guidelines change.
Kelowna’s Favourite Historic Venue
The Laurel Packinghouse was built in 1917 and completed in 1918, using bricks made locally from Knox Mountain clay. At that time, what is now Kelowna’s Cultural District was packed with fruit warehouses, packinghouses, canneries, and a sawmill. Horses, boxcars, and trucks jostled for position on tracks and dirt roads.
A fire in the 1960s destroyed much of the industrial district, but the Laurel was a working packinghouse until the 1970s. When it was slated for demolition in 1982, members of the community rallied to save it, making it Kelowna’s first designated heritage building. The building was revitalized in 2010.
Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum
Conveyors groaned with colourful fruit, and workers sorted and loaded apples, cherries, apricots, pears, peaches, and plums while the box maker built 100 fruit crates every hour. But the busiest bees in the orchard industry are still at work. “Bee” mesmerized by the activity in the live demonstration hive.
The Okanagan wine industry has boomed, bringing huge changes to our region. Learn interesting stories of wines, wineries, wine makers, entrepreneurs, and the trials and triumphs of the industry.
Kelowna Museums’ Upcoming Events and Workshops
Tombstone Tours: Honouring Chinese, Japanese and Indo-Canadian Communities
Tombstone Tours: Honouring Chinese, Japanese and Indo-Canadian Communities
Kelowna's largest historical site, the Pioneer Cemetery, is full of stories. Led by historian Bob Hayes, you will encounter forgotten neighbourhoods, teacher's corner, mighty pioneer women, and the occasional wildlife spotting in this beautiful setting. Each week is dif...
Lake Tales: A Walking Tour
Lake Tales: A Walking Tour
Is Okanagan Lake a good home for Ogopogo? You decide as we explore the geology, the syilx connection to n̓x̌a?x̌?itkw, and our changing use of the lake. This outdoor walking tour is approximately 1.5km.
Tombstone Tours: A Potpourri of Stories
Tombstone Tours: A Potpourri of Stories
Kelowna's largest historical site, the Pioneer Cemetery, is full of stories. Led by historian Bob Hayes, you will encounter forgotten neighbourhoods, teacher's corner, mighty pioneer women, and the occasional wildlife spotting in this beautiful setting. Each week is dif...