It was in May of 1914 that the S.S. Sicamous entered Okanagan Lake for the first time, and the public is invited to celebrate the 111th anniversary in Penticton where the steamship now rests.
Although the paddle-wheeler officially splashed into the water at 2:13 p.m. on May 19, the celebration in 2025 will be held on Sunday May 18, since the Monday is Victoria Day.
The S.S. Sicamous Marine Heritage Society has arranged for a big birthday bash, complete with music, games and other entertainment from noon until 4 p.m.
There will also be guided tours of the S.S. Naramata CP Tugboat next door to the Sicamous, which the Society also maintains and is working on fully restoring.
The whistle on the S.S. Sicamous will also be returned to service for its birthday.
During its time in service, the S.S. Sicamous plied Okanagan Lake transporting passengers and cargo, from livestock to coal, across the water. Among those that took the boat for a ride were soldiers on their way to Europe during the First World War.
The Queen of the Lake, as she was also known, is now an iconic landmark on the Penticton shoreline, after the city bought it from the Canadian Pacific Railway for a dollar.
The Society and countless volunteers and donations were poured into restoring it, and now it sits as a museum open to the public and the largest sternwheel steam-powered ship in B.C.
