With Red Dress Day almost here, groups from across the South Okanagan are teaming up and asking for donations ahead of the annual event.
The Ooknakane Friendship Centre, South Okanagan Similkameen Metis Association, Penticton Indian Band, and City of Penticton are calling on the community to support the MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) cause by donating red dresses.
This year’s event in Penticton will feature a walk along Lakeshore Drive on May 5, where red dresses will be displayed on lamp posts “to honour the lives of Indigenous women and girls who have been lost,” a joint press release reads.
“We are reaching out to individuals and businesses in the community to donate red dresses for this vital cause,” it continues. “Your contributions will serve as a stark visual reminder of the many lives affected by this ongoing tragedy.”
Red Dress Day is recognized annually across Canada in memory of the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
More than 50 people in Penticton came out to support the cause at a downtown event in 2023.
READ MORE: Red Dress Day in Penticton marks call for action
Those interested in donating ahead of this year’s event are asked to bring red dresses to the Ashnola Building’s front desk at Okanagan College in Penticton, from Monday to Friday. Anyone needing further assistance with donating is asked to call Samatha Smith at
“Your generous donations will help us ensure that every lamp post along the lakeshore is adorned with a red dress, symbolizing the spirits of the women and girls we walk for,” the press release states.
“This significant event symbolizes a collective commitment to raising awareness and fostering change.”