Regatta Dollar - Kelowna, British Columbia

Kelowna's Regatta Dollar was issued to mark the city's annual summer regatta, one of the oldest freshwater regattas in Canada — a tradition dating to 1906 that drew international-caliber competitive swimmers and powerboat racers through much of the twentieth century. By 1980, the event had long since evolved from a local rowing competition into a week-long civic festival, and the trade dollar program served as a merchant-circulation promotional piece rather than legal tender.

Nickel was an unusual choice for a Canadian trade dollar of this period, when aluminum and brass dominated the format.