MUSIC
What: Victoria Trad Weekend
Where: First Church of Christ, Scientist (1205 Pandora Ave.), and Esquimalt United Church (500 Admirals Rd.)
When: Friday Feb. 15 (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday Feb. 16 (9 a.m.)
Tickets: Friday concert, $25 ($20 youth/student); Saturday workshops, $125
Why: Some of the best traditional musicians from across Canada are journeying to Victoria this week to collaborate with their musical kin from Vancouver Island at the inaugural Victoria Trad Weekend. The event celebrating bluegrass and folk music launches Friday with a star-studded concert featuring visiting fiddlers Calvin Vollrath, Shane Cook and Troy MacGillivray (among others), followed by a series of workshops on Saturday guided by the headliners and local favourites Daniel Lapp, Ivonne Hernandez, Oliver Swain and more. For tickets to the concert and admission to the workshops, visit ivonnehernandez.com.
FILM
What: Great Bear Rainforest: Land of the Spirit Bear
Where: IMAX Victoria, 675 Belleville St.
When: Feb. 15 through March 14
Tickets: $11.95
Why: A film years in the making begins its special engagement at Imax Victoria on Friday. Great Bear Rainforest: Land of the Spirit Bear, with narration from Ryan Reynolds and a score by Hans Zimmer, is the anticipated big-screen debut from Victoria rainforest advocate Ian McAllister, who co-founded non-profit conservation organization Pacific Wild and makes his Imax debut here. McAllister and his team filmed the temperate rainforest on the Pacific coast of B.C. over a period of three years, and grabbed rare footage of a white Spirit Bear during filming. The abundance of breathtaking imagery will keep viewers pinned to their seats.
THEATRE
What: The Trojan Women
Where: Phoenix Theatre, University of Victoria
When: Feb. 14 through Feb. 23
Tickets: $16-$26 from the Phoenix Theatre box office or by phone at 250-721-8000
Why: Ancient Greek tragedian Euripides provides the source material for poet Alan Shapiro’s adaptation about the toll war takes, including on the mothers, daughters and wives of Trojan warriors. Save for Jan Wood, who is in the director’s chair, and movement director Treena Stubel, The Trojan Women is using an all-student cast and crew, one of the many interesting approaches being taken for what should be a much-talked about run at the Phoenix Theatre.
