Color Your Adventure: A Valleys & Vineyards “Spark” Program Story

Art has long been part of the way people experience destinations in BC. For Kelowna-based artist Shannon Clark, founder of The Boho Sketch Co., this sparked a question: could art become part of the traveller journey itself, as visitors colour their way across BC?

That idea gained momentum through the fall 2025 Valleys & Vineyards “Spark” Mentorships & Grants Program, an initiative presented by Destination BC in collaboration with the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) and the Tourism Innovation Lab. Designed to support innovative tourism ideas across the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys, the program provided winning applicants with mentorship, seed funding, and partner support to help bring new experiences to life.

The Valleys and Vineyards “Spark” Program focused on developing ideas to enhance the visitor experience for Refined Globetrotters, travellers drawn to world-class destinations, fine dining, and the authentic charm of new places, as well as other visitors to the region. Shannon’s story shows how the program is bringing these experiences to market while advancing Destination BC’s strategic goal of growing tourism by compelling travellers to visit more communities across the province in all seasons.

The Artist’s Vision & Winning Idea

Shannon came across the Valleys & Vineyards “Spark” Program on Instagram in fall 2025. At the time, she was working as a live event painter in BC, often creating art outdoors, which inspired a new line of thinking.

She began to consider how her artistic process could extend beyond events and become something travellers could be part of for themselves. After reflecting on the concept, she applied to the “Spark” Program with a clear goal: to turn her new idea into a viable product and continue building a full-time career as an artist.

Emerging as one of the winning ideas, Shannon’s “Color Your Adventure” product is now available for purchase online as a series of curated travel colouring kits featuring places and routes in BC. To develop them, Shannon begins by taking the journey herself, visiting each destination, exploring local cafés, viewpoints, and small towns. She sketches locations along the way while gathering input from local tourism businesses and partners to help inform each experience.

These sketches are transformed into adventure-based colouring kits, each featuring 10 black-and-white, hand-drawn illustrations printed on 5×7 watercolour art paper cards, with information about the location and its historical significance included on the reverse side of each card. Designed to be completed over time, they encourage travellers to visit each featured location and colour their way through all 10 stops. The kits include quality standard-grade pencil crayons and access to a digital travel guide that features local businesses, additional places to visit, and helpful maps. This product delivers a story-led way to unwind and relax while exploring BC at a slower pace through art. It helps visitors discover spots they might otherwise miss, while also becoming a take-home souvenir that connects them to the places—and memories—they experienced.

The growing collection currently includes:

• Okanagan Essentials Kit: Guides travellers from Osoyoos to Sicamous, highlighting must-see stops, scenic viewpoints, and experiences. 
• Kelowna Walkabout Kit: Leads visitors through beaches, public art, and city spaces while encouraging them to pause and create along the way. 
• Kettle Valley Rail Trail Kit: Designed to be completed over longer trips, encouraging cyclists to visit five different sections of the trail.
• Highway 3 Kit (coming soon): Guides travellers across a longer route from Fernie to Hope, encouraging stops at historical sites and natural landscapes.

Wellness kits are also in development but not yet available for purchase online. They are designed to be used by facilitators such as healers, coaches, and retreat leaders. Each kit features mindfulness prompts and colouring exercises that enhance the visitor experience to support relaxation and self-awareness during BC-based retreats and workshops.

From Concept to Production

With funding support from the program, Shannon moved quickly from idea to execution by focusing on creatively building a market-ready, Valleys & Vineyards destination brand-aligned tourism product. She tested suppliers, refined packaging, and invested in high-quality materials such as art paper and pencil crayons. 

The funding reduced barriers and supported early marketing and travel to develop and test sample experiences. Attending the 2026 BC Tourism Industry Conference helped her share the concept with industry partners and better understand how it fits within the broader tourism landscape and BC’s destination brands.

Mentorship & Bringing the Product to Market

Through the program’s mentorship component, Shannon was paired with a team of mentors at the regional tourism association, TOTA, to support the development of a Valleys & Vineyards destination brand-aligned tourism experience. The mentorship team included:

• Barbara Bonnough – Industry Training and Tourism Centre Manager
• Mike Overend – Director of Destination Development
• Jenna Labossiere – Marketing, Media, and Communications Manager

One of Shannon’s biggest learning curves was positioning her creative concept for retail. With guidance from her mentors, she worked through the practical details needed to bring the product to market, from barcodes and packaging to connecting with retailers. She also explored its potential to be used as a promotional and fundraising tool.

Value for Communities

“Color Your Adventure” supports the communities it features by encouraging visitors to spend more time locally and explore further as they work toward completing their sketches, helping drive spending at small businesses.

Giving back is also built into the product model. The goal is for each edition to support a related local cause, with $1 from every kit sold directed to an organization connected to the place featured. For example, $1 from every Kettle Valley Rail Trail edition sold supports the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Foundation, which contributes to trail maintenance and development. An upcoming Wells Gray Park edition will support the BC Parks Foundation, which works to enhance park infrastructure.

What’s Next

Shannon sees strong potential to expand the concept through other routes and themes, from wine-focused experiences in the Okanagan to journeys across Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast through the BC Ferries network. There are opportunities to collaborate with Indigenous communities to co-create illustrations that reflect local knowledge and stories, guided by those communities, as well as to create ones for special events including festivals, concerts, and sports tournaments.

As the concept grows, she is hoping to partner with more communities and tourism organizations across BC to develop new kits and expand their availability in visitor centres and other retail outlets.

Watch this short video to learn more about the product. Follow Shannon’s journey and latest creations on Instagram at @wander_infullcolor.