Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Explore: Dragon boat races, enjoy art in the garden

Enjoy three days of fun and festivities at the Canada Dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival, a three-day racing regatta that starts Friday and runs until Sunday.
D12-dragon.jpg
The 21st Victoria Dragon Boat Festival takes over the Inner Harbour this weekend with three days of competitions and music. The festival begins with the traditional Eye Dotting ceremony on Friday at 1 p.m.

Enjoy three days of fun and festivities at the Canada Dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival, a three-day racing regatta that starts Friday and runs until Sunday.

This is the 21st year of the event, Victoria’s largest Asian cultural festival and a fundraiser for the B.C. Cancer Foundation.

While it is a fundraiser, organizers stress it is a true community event, with money raised through a number of initiatives, including the Lights of Courage Campaign and the Paddlers’ Pledge Program.

“The event is free to the public, with no expectation for people to contribute,” said Mark Mawhinney, chairman of the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society. “Our vision is to bring communities together through dragon boating — and we take that vision to heart.”

Up to 80,000 spectators are expected in the Inner Harbour to watch close to 90 mostly mixed-gender teams, made up of more than 2,000 paddlers, compete in various events.

While approximately half of the competitors are local, the world-class festival also attracts some of the most competitive paddlers in the Pacific Northwest, with hopefuls travelling from Vancouver, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Seattle, Portland and beyond.

All the teams will race in identical 20-person Millennium dragon boats, designed and built on the Saanich Peninsula.

Up to 10 teams will be crewed by breast-cancer survivors.

There will be two ceremonies in memory of those who have been affected by cancer: An illumination of the Lights of Courage at 9 p.m. Friday in the lower causeway of the Inner Harbour, and a Carnation Toss at noon on Sunday, best viewed from Ship Point.

You can also attend the traditional Eye Dotting ceremony, where Taoist priests paint the eye on a dragon boat, signifying the awakening of the sleeping spirit of the dragon and the beginning of the competition.

Entertainment includes Friday’s Decades of Rock show, with three Victoria bands performing a decade of rock music each, from The Beatles to Guns N’ Roses.

Younger Than Yesterday takes on the 1960s, Free Ride plays music of the ’70s and Rock of Ages finishes it off with sounds of the ’80s.

There will be a Kids Tent with crafts, a paddlers’ Air Band contest and dance music on Saturday.

Semi-final races run 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with award ceremonies taking place on the main stage every 15 to 30 minutes, starting at 1:30 p.m., on Sunday.

Fundraising comes in the form of paper lantern sales and pledges collected by paddlers. Last year, the event raised more than $64,000, bringing the total amount raised since 2008 to more than $565,000.

Money raised by the event stays on Vancouver Island to support research at the B.C. Cancer Agency, based at Royal Jubilee Hospital. Funds also go toward the purchase of equipment and machinery for the early detection and treatment of cancer.

The three-day festival is free to attend.

The festival opens with the Eye Dotting ceremony at 1 p.m. on Friday and concludes with awards ceremonies that last until 4:45 p.m. on Sunday at Ships Point in the Inner Harbour. For a complete schedule, or more information, go to victoriadragonboat.com.

 

Connect with Metchosin pioneers in church tour

Learn about Metchosin pioneers and visit the third oldest Anglican Church in B.C. at a Church and Cemetery Tour at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin on Sunday.

The heritage-designated church, constructed in a wooden Gothic Revival-style, was built between 1873 and 1876 in the village centre of Metchosin.

It has significant links to the pioneers of the area, notably John Witty of Bilston Farm, who donated the land, and colonial governor Sir James Douglas, who, along with many others, contributed to its construction.

Many pioneers are buried in the cemetery, including members of the Witty, Helgesen, Weir, Field, Pear, Duke and Arden families.

Although the congregation holds services at a newer church, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin is used for occasional services and is available to the public for weddings and community art events.

It is especially popular in the spring, when fawn lilies, shooting stars and other native plants bloom beneath majestic Garry oaks.

Outdoor harp and keyboard music will be played at Sunday’s event, with tea and refreshments served in the parish hall.

The nearby Metchosin School and Pioneer Museum in the village centre will also be open Sunday.

The event, which runs from 2 to 5 p.m., is free to attend. Two guided cemetery tours will be conducted, at 2:15 and 3:45 p.m.

The church, at 4345 Metchosin Rd., will also be open.

For more information, contact Gaert at 250-381-5752 or go to stmarysmetchosin.ca..

 

Artwork, music bloom in the garden

Admire works by some of Victoria’s emerging artists, dine out and listen to music in a bucolic setting at the Arts and Music in the Gardens event, Saturday and Sunday.

This is the 21st year of the event, a major fundraiser for the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific.

Visitors can view the works of more than 30 artists, with newcomers joining returning favourites. The art, located throughout the gardens, will be accompanied by music, as some of Victoria’s finest musicians set up at multiple stages throughout the property.

Visitors can also admire original Land Art designs, by the Victoria Flower Arrangers Guild and the work of members of the Vancouver Island Bonsai Club.

Food vendors will be on hand to entertain your tastebuds, with wine or cider available.

Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, and free for children under 16. The event runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days at the centre, 505 Quayle Rd. Bring your bike or buy tickets online for $1 off admission.

Parking will be available at the east lot of the Vancouver Island Tech Park, with a free shuttle every half hour starting at 10:30 a.m.

 

Go to the (bed) races for charity

If you’ve never seen a hospital bed hurtling down the road, you might want to head to the Bed Races on Beacon on Sunday.

This is the second year for the fundraising event, sponsored by radio station 100.3 The Q. Last year, the competition attracted 200 participants and up to 500 spectators to raise more than $20,000 to support palliative-care services at Rest Haven Lodge in Sidney.

Teams are encouraged to wear costumes and decorate their beds with props. Up to 20 teams are expected to participate.

Rivalries to look out for include the Island Health Red Riding Hood/Big Bad Wolf and the TD Bank team looking to take the crown from last year’s winners, the Town of Sidney.

The event begins with a parade of racers down the street. Activities for children will be provided by Panorama Recreation, with costume contests, an obstacle course and face painting.

The event runs noon to 4 p.m. on Beacon Avenue in Sidney between 3rd and 5th streets. For more information, go to resthavenfoundation.com.

 

Immerse yourself in art in Oak Bay

Home to many renowned artists, Oak Bay hopes to establish itself as a thriving arts and cultural district with its inaugural Arts and Culture Festival, which began last week and continues until Sunday.

Some of the remaining activities include:

• Thursday: Guided Art Tour of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel — join Elizabeth Levinson from the Winchester Galleries for a detailed tour of the art collection housed in the hotel. Works by prominent Canadian artists hang throughout the hotel’s public rooms, as well as in all 100 of the guest rooms. The tour is free and starts at 11 a.m.

• Friday: Songhees Islands Cultural Boat Tours — A two-hour cultural tour of Discovery, Trial and Catham Islands with a First Nation guide. Passengers will learn about seaweed, lift a crab pot or watch many species of wild fowl. Sometimes orca and grey whales can be seen feeding in the area. Tours, which cost $75 per person, run 6 to 8 p.m. Friday and Sunday from the fuelling dock at Oak Bay Marina. The tours are offered by Coastal Sea Ventures. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to coastalsea ventures.com.

• Saturday: Live art in Estevan Village from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Sunday: Bowker Creek Brush Up Art Show and Sale — More than 30 artists will be demonstrating their art form, en plein air, on the shady banks of Bowker Creek Park, with paintings, pottery, jewelry, photography and more on display.

Interact with local and internationally known artists, including Pat Martin Bates and guest artists Leslie Redhead, Daciana Dao, Hugh Marshall Kaiser and Lynn Kaiser.

There will also be representation from emerging young artists. Children can explore their skills at an art booth provided by Recreation Oak Bay. The event is free to attend. It runs 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the park, 1700 Hampshire Rd.

For a full schedule and more information, go to oakbaytourism.com/ experience/arts..