A Canadian Armed Forces Sea King helicopter, part of the 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, will be one of the more visible additions spectators at the Victoria Day Parade will see on Monday.
The CH-124 Sea King, based at Victoria International Airport, will start the annual parade, with a fly-past along the parade route. The flight is also meant as an honour to Ron Butlin, who organized the parade, as well as the Santa Claus Parade, for 21 years. He died in September at the age of 89.
“Those are huge shoes to fill,” said Kelly Kurta, his successor at the Greater Victoria Festival Society, the parade organizers.
“Fortunately, I have been blessed with an amazing, dedicated, committed team who have stepped in to help.”
This is the 117th year of the parade, which usually draws a crowd of up to 50,000 spectators lining Douglas Street to watch 113 entries perform. There will be 15 marching bands, with 10 from Washington and Oregon will join five Canadian entries, two from Vancouver and Lambrick Park, Reynolds Secondary and Spectrum High School from Victoria.
Savvy parade spectators are easy to spot. They are usually the ones with sun screen, sunglasses and rain gear close at hand. They can be spotted lounging on a folding chair or blanket, sipping on water and even enjoying a snack to get them through the three-hour parade.
After the military, members of the Songhees First Nation will lead a contingent from Morioka, Japan, as they celebrate their 30th anniversary as sister city to Victoria.
Entries include the Highland Games, Panorama Recreation Centre, Walking Puppets, race cars, antique cars, multicultural entries, dancing golf carts and commercial floats.
Other changes this year include is the introduction of food trucks in front of the Royal B.C. Museum on Government Street — a portion of the proceeds from the trucks will benefit the Mustard Seed. The Greater Victoria Concert Band will play in front of city hall.
“We are also asking downtown businesses to consider donating three per cent of their profits for the weekend to the Mustard Seed Food Bank,” said Kurta, who was born in Victoria and took part in previous parades.
“If we start this as a yearly tradition then we could potentially help them raise $100,000 — at 1,000 businesses at $100 each — every Victoria Day long weekend.”
The parade starts at 9 a.m. and runs along Douglas Street, from Finlayson to Belleville Streets, ending approximately at noon. Douglas Street will be closed to traffic from Tolmie Avenue to Belleville Street from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The block of Finlayson Street between Blanshard and Douglas streets will also be closed. Douglas Street will reopen in sections as the parade moves from Finlayson Street toward downtown.
Celebrate all things Scottish at Highland Games
The Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival, the longest-running festival on the West Coast, will also be the largest ever this year, with new events, an added day and longer hours, from Saturday to Monday.
This is the 152nd year of the festival, which showcases Scottish and Celtic arts and culture. Family-friendly events planned include pipe band and highland dancing competitions, sheepdog herding trials, heavy events and kilted-mile athletics.
“The Victoria Highland Games have become a premier destination for people looking for the best festivals of Scottish and Celtic music, dance, sport and heritage,” said Jim Maxwell, president of the Victoria Highland Games Association.
“In 2015, we will be hosting the Victoria International Heavy Events Challenge, Canadian Invitational Drum Major Championship, the McNamara Cup for Gaelic football and hurling and the inaugural Victoria Strongman Challenge.”
While not yet a competition, the sport of haggis hurling returns by popular demand. Attendees can join in on a tug of war, watch Irish dancing and Scottish country dancing, fiddling performances, falconry and sword fighting. They can also enjoy Scottish/Celtic and folk music bands, Scottish clan and genealogy booths and displays, historic military demonstrations and displays, food and vendors.
New displays this year include blacksmith forges, spinners and weavers, a steam engine and 17th and 18th-century re-enactors mingling among the crowd.
Adults 19 and older can enroll in single malt whisky school and enjoy their favourite tipple in one of three beverage areas.
There will be a large children’s entertainment area where kids can play in inflatable amusements, have their face painted and compete in mini-heavy events, sack races and the 100-yard dash.
Local Celtic bands will perform into the wee hours at the Celtic Music Tent, with shows starting at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
A clan torchlight ceremony will be held at the legislature grounds at about 8 p.m. Saturday to acknowledge the clans that will be represented at the Games. Pipe band performances will start and end the ceremony.
Gate tickets single day Saturday and Sunday: $15 adults, $12 seniors and youth, Monday $10 adults, $8 seniors and youth. Weekend pass $30 adult, $24 seniors and youth. Free admission for kids under 12. Cash only. ATMs on site.
The event runs 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday at Topaz Park. There are two entrances this year, one off Topaz Avenue and the main gate off Finlayson Street.
Free parking and free shuttle bus (10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) are at CDI College on Hillside Road between Blanshard and Quadra Streets (enter off Kings Road). Other parking is available at Mayfair Centre and SJ Willis Education Centre.
For information, go to victoriahighlandgames.com
There is life after rodeo at Luxton
The calf roping and bull riding may be gone. But there will still be a fair this weekend in Luxton.
The Luxton Pro Rodeo, an Island staple held over the Victoria Day long weekend for the past 39 years, was cancelled after the fall event last year. But the annual rodeo will continue as the Luxton Spring Fair this weekend.
“Holding a fair costs a lot less than holding a rodeo on the island,” said Sandy West, co-manager of the fair. “There was the increasing cost of bringing animals over from the mainland. We’re going to try it this way and see how it goes.”
Fair-goers will find vendors and displays of heritage and antique farm equipment, blacksmithing on the grounds.
The midway offerings have been increased with more rides.
The highlight of the weekend is the country dance on Saturday night featuring Montgomery County, Vancouver Island’s premier new country band.
Admission to the grounds is free and the event runs noon to 6 p.m. Friday to Monday at the Luxton Fairgrounds, 1040 Marwood Ave., Langford.
West Coast Amusements carnival midway rides are $29 to $37 for all-day wristbands. The midway is open 3 to 10 p.m. Friday, 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 1 to 6 p.m. Monday.
The country dance is $20 and starts at 9 p.m. Saturday at Luxton Hall. Advance dance tickets sales only. Available at Willow Wind Feed and Tack, 2714 Sooke Rd. Parking by donation at corner of Sooke and Luxton Roads. For more information, go to luxtonprorodeo.ca or call 250-478-4250.
Go back in time at Fort Rodd Hill
Visitors to Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites of Canada will wonder if they have been transported back in time as members of the Victoria-Esquimalt Military Reenactors Association occupy the park as part of the 18th annual Historic Military Encampment this weekend.
The public can stroll through marquee and bell tents representing various periods from Canada’s military past — from the 1850s to the 1950s. Equipment, uniforms and motor vehicles from those eras will serve as props for the military reenactors, who will be dressed in historically authentic uniforms. Most of the re-enactors will be happy to chat about military life of the past.
The event is included in the price of regular admission: $3.90 adults, $1.90 youth and $9.80 family. The re-enactors will be on site 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the grounds of Fort Rodd Hill, 603 Fort Rodd Hill Rd. For details, go to www.pc.gc.ca and follow the links to Fort Rodd Hill.
Dinner raises cash for Nepal
The Filipino community in Victoria is hosting a fundraising dinner for earthquake victims in Nepal on Friday.
All money raised will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross. Organizers are also soliciting donations of food to help with the cost of hosting the event.
If you can’t attend the dinner, you can still make a donation, with tax receipts issued either from the Bayanihan Cultural and Housing Society or the Canadian Red Cross.
The dinner is $15. The event starts at 5 p.m. at the Bayanihan Community Centre, 1709 Blanshard St. (Blanshard and Fisgard). For details,
go to bayanihan.ca or redcross.ca.
Help clean up historic St. Luke's cemetery
Volunteers are needed for a community cleanup of St. Luke’s historic cemetery on Saturday.
The cemetery, located in the shadow of the church, is the final resting place for more than 1,000 church parishioners.
The first recorded interment was in 1886, although there likely were earlier unrecorded burials.
A cemetery committee that oversees maintenance and upkeep organizes an annual cleanup. Volunteers can help by cleaning headstones, weeding or cleaning grave sites. Participants are asked to bring their own gloves, pruners, clippers, hoes and scrapers. Water is available for cleaning monumental markers, but please bring your own bucket and scrub brush.
Refreshments will be served.
The event runs 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the church, 3821 Cedar Hill Cross Rd.
For details, go to stlukesvictoria.ca or call 250-477-6741.
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