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Explore: Kite festival, surf contest, water ballet and more

Go fly a kite — or watch professional kite enthusiasts from Canada and the U.S. put on demonstrations at the Victoria International Kite Festival on Saturday and Sunday.
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The Victoria International Kite Festival at Clover Point this weekend will feature a family zone where kids can make their own kites.

Go fly a kite — or watch professional kite enthusiasts from Canada and the U.S. put on demonstrations at the Victoria International Kite Festival on Saturday and Sunday.

This is the second year of the event at Clover Point and organizers expect to draw more than 10,000 people over two days.

The festival features 75 professional flyers from across Canada and the U.S., including some local talent. A headliner is Connor Doran, one of the world’s well-known kite flyers after he flew his way to NBC’s America’s Got Talent top 12 on Season 5. He now travels to events across North America to raise awareness of epilepsy.

The sky over Clover Point will be a crowded place this weekend, with kites of all shapes and sizes in a rainbow of colours. The most popular place for families with young children will be a special zone where they can make their own kites and other activities.

“This year, we are bringing 800 kits,” said John Vickers, executive director for the Victoria International Kite Festival Society.

“We hope that will be enough. Last year we sold out of the 500 we brought.”

Attendants will help youngsters colour the do-it-yourself kites, which cost $3 each. They can fly their creations in a special section of the field.

Their small kites will be dwarfed by some of the larger kites the professionals will fly at the festival. Expect to see kites with wingspans of more than 4.8 metres. One giant kite expected to make an appearance is more than 15 metres long.

Along with large kites, there will be performances of flying skill, with quad teams flying kites in rhythm to music.

Hungry festival-goers can buy food from any of the 10 food vendors set up at the site.

While most of the festival is outdoors, the opening ceremony at noon on Friday is an indoor kite flying demonstration in the Centre Court of the Bay Centre downtown.

Once the sun goes down on Friday there will be a kite-flying demonstration of LED-lit lights from 9:30-11 p.m. at Clover Point.

The festival is hosted by the HeadWay Victoria Epilepsy and Parkinson’s Centre — part of a campaign to raise awareness of epilepsy. In Canada, one in 100 people are diagnosed with the disease every year.

Admission is free. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The kids entertainment program starts at noon. Single and multi-line demonstrations start at 1:30 p.m., quad-line mega-fly starts at 4 p.m. daily at Clover Point off Dallas Road.

Cheer on pro surfers in Tofino

Win $25,000 in prizes or watch as the best surfers in the country compete this weekend at Rip Curl Pro, Canada’s largest surfing competition and the only one in Canada open to all divisions.

Divisions include: pro men, pro women, masters, men’s longboard, women’s longboard, junior men, junior women and children.

The annual surf competition is sanctioned by the Canadian Surfing Association, which means the weekend event will deliver a national champion in each division.

Registration is $35 to $65. Events run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Cox Bay at Tofino. For details, go to ripcurl.com.

Harbour Ferry celebrates 25 years with party, water ballet 

Watch a sail-past and water ballet on Friday as Victoria Harbour Ferry celebrates a quarter-century of moving people in and around Victoria and Esquimalt waterways.

The little ferries fleet will first parade into the harbour to the colourful fanfare of a flotilla of well-wishers. The company will also introduce a high-tech new addition to the ferry fleet launched specially for the company’s Silver Jubilee.

Five of the ferry vessels will then break away to perform their popular Water Ballet.

Special guest speakers will kick off the event at 10:15 a.m., the parade and flotilla will follow between 10:50 a.m. and 11 a.m. and the Water Ballet takes place between 11 and 11:15. Best viewing of the performance will be at the Steamship Terminal Dock, David Foster Way or Inner Harbour Walkway on Belleville Street.

The company is also hosting a 25th Anniversary Community Birthday Party, where visitors will be treated to a community barbecue and enjoy free 30-minute tours aboard the Victoria Harbour Ferry vessel, Lynda Mae 2.

Shore-side activities include kids’ activities, local sports mascots and more.

The event is free. It runs noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Pier B, Marine Shuttle floats, North Ogden Point. For information, go to victoriaharbourferry.com.

Walk to end global poverty 

Join more than 40,000 people in 10 cities across Canada on Sunday for the World Partnership Walk to help end global poverty.

The event, created 31 years ago by a group of women from Vancouver, has raised more than $90 million for international development programs and initiatives, making it the largest and most successful event of its kind in Canada.

Proceeds from the fundraiser go to Aga Khan Foundation Canada international development projects, such as revitalizing rural economies, ensuring clean water and sanitation, strengthening community-based organizations and educating new generations of girls and women.

Funds raised are also used to leverage additional support from major donors such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. This multiplies the impact of every dollar many times over.

There will be a kids’ activity area, including a food court.

Participants can choose between a 2.5- or five-kilometre walk. The event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. from the front of the McPherson Library at the University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Rd. For details, go to worldpartnershipwalk.com.

Check out the yacht club

All hands on deck for Spring Open House at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club on Saturday.

The member-run event is an opportunity for the public to check out the facilities of the club, founded in 1892 by 46 yachtsmen. Visitors to the event will enjoy a host of fun activities for the whole family.

Visitors can learn about sailing programs, paddling groups, club-owned Martin 242 sailboats and highlights from the recent Swiftsure yacht race.

The club is committed to youth, with an active junior section for more than 60 years. Every year, the club hosts a formal training program, teaching close to 300 children about the sport of sailing.

Activities for children include face painting, refreshments, a treasure hunt and even a fun regatta people can watch from the docks.

While the club has stayed true to its roots as a traditional yacht club, it is adding some services, including new docks at both the Cadboro Bay and Tsehum Harbour marinas.

The free event runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the club, 3475 Ripon Rd. Details at rvyc.bc.ca.

Play with trucks for a good cause

Ever wondered what it’s like to get behind the wheel of your favourite truck, including fire trucks, police cars, excavators or dump trucks? Find out on Sunday at the fourth annual Touch A Truck event.

Hosted by Victoria’s Team 4 Hope and the Panorama Recreation Centre, the event features family activities such as face painting and a barbecue lunch.

Proceeds will help fund neuroblastoma research in British Columbia, through organizations such as the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre.

Neuroblastoma is a deadly and aggressive childhood cancer.

Advance tickets are $15 or $20 at the door for a family. The event runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Panorama Recreation Centre, 1885 Forest Park Dr. Details at team4hope.com..