So coming from an ignorant American, do most of the places in and around Penticton take United States Dollars, or will I need to exchange it for Canadian money?
usually most places will take US $ but they may not always give you a favorable exchange rate. Most places will have posted the exchange rate that they are using.
Penticton is a small town. Many of the business are not geared towards taking USD, but I imagine they do more readily around IM time. That being said, they will likely not give you a great exchange rate. Best bet is to get some Canadian cash from the bank. There may be some alternatives for really getting the best exchange rate, but I don’t know them.
The small places probably wont take american, and as mentioned give a crappy rate. just go get your loonies and toonies before coming over.
You can go to any ATM in Canada and withdraw CAD using your us bank card. I have found these are usually the best exchange rates I can get. The credit card rates are usually good too, but most tackle a 2-3% FX conversion fee on top of the purchase, so keep that in mind.
All the good advice concerning favourable exchange, etc aside, trust me, ALL Canadian businesses will be more than happy to relieve you of your USD currency.
As stated, for a uniform exchange rate you’re better off just withdrawing from the ATM using your debit/CC - all North American ATM networks are supported by Canadian banks/ATMs.
-John