Grab a cup of tea, watch a parade, take a midway ride, eat a baron of beef and enjoy an air show and bathtub race at the Oak Bay Tea Party, Saturday and Sunday at Willows Park in Oak Bay.
This is the 57th year of the annual event, an opportunity for up to 20,000 residents and visitors to peek behind the tweed curtain and experience a wide range of activities and entertainment.
The party kicks off with a 45-minute parade that starts at 10:30 a.m. Saturday from Windsor Park. The school marching bands and community and commercial floats wind through the streets of Oak Bay and finish at Willows Beach, just before the opening ceremonies.
The event is well-known for its food. The Esquimalt Lions cook up a pancake breakfast for the early risers, 7 to 10 a.m. on both days. Get in line for up to 500 kilograms of AAA top inside round roast beef destined to become barbecued baron of beef. The Royal Oak Lions will serve up corn on the cob to accompany your meal.
Wash it all down with a cup of tea, with the Girl Guides serving you in the Tetley Tea tent, in Willows Park.
The Oak Bay Kiwanis Tea Room will also be open for business throughout the weekend.
Entertainment will include events on stage, on the beach, grass, water and even in the air, with up to 17 skydivers showing off their skills on Sunday.
Professional tubbers (bathtub racers) will try to be the fastest at the Bathtub Race.
Braver souls who enter the Floating Tea Cup Challenge against Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch, will be happy to just stay afloat.
The young and the young at heart will undoubtedly enjoy the amusement rides and games.
The Castle Kids Corral will return for its third year, with free activities for children
Admission is free. The event runs from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at Willows Park on Beach Drive. The midway will operate from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Parking is restricted in and around the Willows Park area over the weekend. Please consider taking transit or arriving by bicycle.
There is a secured bicycle storage facility, with attendants on duty. For more information, go to oakbayteaparty.com.
Women-only run raises money for cancer trials
Bring out your inner goddess at the Victoria Goddess Run, a women-only race over quiet streets and trails, Saturday at Belmont Secondary School.
You can choose between the BMO five or Westhills 10-kilometre physical run or take part in a virtual run (past entrants ran in Las Vegas, Coquitlam and Parksville) as an alternative to being there.
Apart from the medal, swag and camaraderie, the run is also a fundraiser, with $5 from each entry going to the B.C. Cancer Foundation’s Immunotherapy Clinical Trials Program.
In past years, the run has benefited the Victoria Women’s Transition House, Victoria Sexual Assault Centre and the KidSport Active Girls Program.
All participants will receive a finisher medal, a technical race shirt and race bag.
A post-race festival includes entertainment, games and prizes. A Kids Zone will offer face painting, arts and crafts, and a physical activity station.
Children can also take part in the St. Margaret’s School Kids Dash. Registration is $60 for either distance and $10 for the Kids’ Dash.
Both adult runs start at 8:45 a.m. from the drop-off loop (by the electrical box) of Belmont Secondary School, 3041 Langford Lake Rd.
The Kids’ Run starts at 10:15 a.m. at the school. For details, go to victoriagoddess.com.
Eating at the beach is back in Colwood
You don’t have to cook on the weekends all summer as Beach Food Friday and Saturday returns to Colwood, every Friday and Saturday until Sept. 7, midway along the Esquimalt Lagoon on Ocean Boulevard.
Beach Food Friday and Saturday is a casual event at which friends and family can enjoy food and music in the ocean air, relax on the beach, play in the waves and watch the sun go down.
Four or five food trucks are scheduled to attend for lunch and dinner, and there will be live entertainment in the late afternoon and evening.
There is no charge to attend. The food trucks will be open between noon and 7 p.m. (weather permitting), with the entertainment taking place from 5 to 7 p.m.
For more information, go to colwood.ca/news-events/community-calendar/event/beach-food -fridays-saturdays-colwood-waterfront.
Geologists tell story of Cattle Point
Learn to recognize key clues of ancient and not-so-ancient ecological history at Cattle Point Rocks!, a seaside geological tour at the foreshore of Cattle Point in Uplands Park on Saturday.
Friends of Uplands Park has invited geologists from the Geological Survey of Canada and the B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines to show visitors clues to ancient history, as written in the rocks.
Cattle Point is one of Victoria’s stellar geological sites, showing bedrock features and more recent traces of ice streams from the last glaciation.
Dress for the weather. Cameras are welcome, but no hammers please — this is a natural work of art for all to admire and enjoy.
The guided tour is free to join, but donations to the Friends of Uplands Park are appreciated.
The event runs from 2 to 4 p.m.
For more details, go to friendsofuplandspark.org.
Sooke’s gardening gems go on display
Visit and enjoy gardens of all sizes, representing a wide range of styles, at Sooke’s Secret Gardens, a self-guided tour that benefits the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra, Sunday at various locations.
Thanks to Sooke’s temperate climate, there are many impressive gardens that proliferate throughout the village and surrounding area.
You can expect to see eight private gardens, from a small, urban oasis to a large, park-like estate. This year the tour includes three imaginative gardens that exemplify the rigours of gardening in the woods.
The Artisan’s Garden is the destination garden this year, with plants, gifts, treasures, specialty coffees and treats.
Members of the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sooke Children’s Harmony Project will play music in some of the gardens.
Local artisans will also be on hand with examples of their art work available for purchase.
There will also be master gardeners who can answer questions or provide information on gardening.
Tickets are $25 per person. Admission is free for children 10 and under. The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at various gardens in Sooke and East Sooke.
For more information, go to sookesecretgardens.com.
Double celebration at Sidney sea centre
Celebrate the upcoming World Oceans Day early with a family-friendly outdoor event at Beacon Park, Sidney, followed by admission by donation at the nearby Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea on Sunday.
World Oceans Day is celebrated by events around the world.
The concept was originally proposed by the Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development and the Ocean Institute of Canada in 1992 at that year’s Earth Summit.
Sunday’s outdoor event, hosted by the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea, includes educational exhibits, entertainment, the Four Frames Photo Booth, the Greek on the Street food truck and more.
The Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Sunday, and is offering admission by donation to see its many exhibits.
The World Oceans Day event is free to join. It runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Beacon Park, Sidney.
Admission to the centre by donation is on Sunday only.
The centre is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily at 9811 Seaport Pl., Sidney.
For more information, go to salishseacentre.org.
This year, World Oceans Day is being held on June 8.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
