Bonfires have a special place on Halloween, and none more so than the Esquimalt blaze held every year behind the Archie Browning Sports Centre.
The Esquimalt Lions, the Township of Esquimalt and the Esquimalt Fire Department are all involved in the gathering.
“People look forward to it and come every year,” said Esquimalt events supervisor Robbie Young. “It’s a pretty well-attended event.”
Young said there are tons of volunteers who help make it all happen.
Throngs of children will be dressed up for the occasion and take part in a costume contest. It’s an all-ages competition, so adults can take part, as well.
The bonfire runs from 6-9 p.m. The Lions will offer hot dogs and hot chocolate by donation, with proceeds going to their community programs.
For Esquimalt residents wanting to make a contribution to the festivities, a wood drop-off — also behind the sports centre — is being held on Halloween from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Young said the wood will be inspected to make sure there are no nails or toxic substances.
A roaring bonfire is also a focus of Halloween fun in Oak Bay. The bonfire starts at 6 p.m. in Fireman’s Park, next to the Oak Bay police and fire departments at 1703 Monterey Ave.
The event will feature a costume contest, along with hot dogs and hot chocolate.
Children can get started before the bonfire with trick-or-treating from 2 to 5 p.m. on Oak Bay Avenue at stores between Foul Bay Road and Monterey Avenue. Participating stores will have pumpkin posters in their windows, and some will take part in a merchant pumpkin-carving contest.
Oak Bay Avenue will be closed for the occasion, which will also feature music and other entertainment.
In addition, Pumpkin Art — a display of pumpkin carvings that includes the Royal Family, local personalities and more — returns to the grounds of Oak Bay Municipal Hall.
Donations will be collected for the Oak Bay Sea Rescue Society’s efforts to refit and replace rescue boats.
At the University of Victoria, FrankenWeek is set to take place from Sunday to Wednesday, delving into Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein from several angles. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the novel.
A number of Cinecenta screenings are scheduled, including the acclaimed National Theatre version of Frankenstein by Danny Boyle, with a cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller.
The legacy of Frankenstein will be discussed Monday in the McPherson Library, featuring books and other items from UVic Libraries’ Special Collections. The panel and exhibit will be held from 2-4 p.m.
On Halloween, UVic’s McPherson Library will offer a livestream reading of the novel from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The complete schedule at UVic is at fonlineacademicacademy.uvic.ca/frankenreads.
See more Halloween events here.
Mushroom show explores the good, the bad and the deadly
Explore the world of local mushrooms on Sunday at the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society’s annual show, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cordova Bay 55+ Centre.
About a dozen experts will be available to identify mushrooms brought in by the public. Admission is by donation.
A craft corner will be set up for youngsters.
Hundreds of mushrooms collected by society members will be labelled and on display. One table will be dedicated to poisonous mushrooms and another to edible ones.
“The diversity is absolutely amazing,” said Brian Hircock, a society member and one of the event’s organizers.
An estimated 10,000 types of fungi grow on the lower Island, Hircock said.
They come in a rainbow of colours — everything from turquoise to purple, bright orange and red.
They can be tiny specimens or reach the size of a basketball or dinner plate.
Some are the classic mushroom shape, while others resemble cauliflower or underwater corals.
Three presentations are lined up: At 11:30 a.m., Kem Luther will discuss types of mushrooms; at 12:30 p.m., Andy MacKinnon speaks about mychorizea and the deadly amanitas; and at 1:30 p.m., Kevin Trim gives a talk called “Finding Fabulous Fungi.”
It can take more than a trained eye to identify some mushrooms — sometimes, it requires DNA tests or examining spores under a microscope, Hircock said.
Sunday’s event is a good opportunity to learn how to avoid death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides), he said.
For more information on the mushroom show and society, go to svims.ca.
Cordova Bay 55+ Centre is at 5238 Cordova Bay Rd.
Sushi to cinema on display at Japanese fair
Sushi, cinema and the ancient art of flower arranging will take centre stage at the 19th annual Japanese Cultural Fair in Esquimalt this Saturday.
The free family event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre and offers visitors a host of new experiences and activities.
People will be able to sample sushi, bento boxes and sweet manju desserts; enjoy traditional Japanese dance and music; and learn about everything from woodblock printing to Japanese cooking.
Among the presenters this year and their topics:
• University of Victoria professor Cody Poulton, Japanese Studies coordinator and advisor, on classical Japanese theatre.
• Paul Allison, supervisor of gardens and grounds at Royal Roads University, on the Nitobe Memorial Garden, located at Royal Jubilee Hospital.
• Donovan Aikman, programmer for the Victoria Film Festival, on some of the greatest directors in Japanese cinema.
• Yasunobu Uchida, owner of Uchida Eatery, on the different kinds of Japanese knives and how to use them.
• Jared Nygard, owner of JagaSilk, on his relationships with tea farms in Japan.
• Su Yen Chong from the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria on the gallery’s extensive collection of Japanese art.
In addition, visitors will get a chance to experience a tea ceremony and ikebana — the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging.
There’s also a kids’ room where master potter Harumi Ota will be doing demonstrations all day. Organizers stress that “you don’t need to be a kid to drop in and watch.”
For more information on presentations and times, visit vncs.ca/wordpress/2018-japanese-cultural-fair.
Island fitness conference tackles everything from rehab to longevity
An algorithm for youthful aging and the top-secret life of a fat cell are just some of the topics being explored in a jam-packed schedule for the 29th Annual Island Fitness Conference, set for this weekend in Saanich and Esquimalt.
The conference, scheduled for Saturday at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence and Sunday at Esquimalt Recreation Centre, promises a wide variety of presenters and subject areas.
Fitness professionals will hear about rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, nutrition, weightlifting, aerobics, goal-setting and visioning, supporting injuries and disabilities in fitness, dance, aquatic exercise, and more.
Featured presenters are Tony Webster and Len Kravitz.
Webster, who teaches in the Centre for Sport and Exercise Education at Camosun College, is scheduled to give a keynote talk at PISE at about 8:30 a.m. called Movement Screening and Corrective Exercise: Helpful or ‘Hype’ ful.
Webster specializes in exercise physiology and training for performance.
Len Kravitz, the program co-ordinator of exercise science and a researcher at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, is set to speak at about 8:30 a.m. on Sunday at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre on the The 10 Key Rules for Longevity.
Participants can register online up to Saturday at islandfitnessconference.com or in person at either site on the day of the conference there.
The conference is $169 for the day or $219 for the weekend.
The Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence is at 4371 Interurban Rd., while Esquimalt Recreation Centre is at 527 Fraser St.
Ba-a-ad Ass textiles for sale in Cobble Hill
Artisanal items made with yarn, fleece and felting will be up for grabs at Saturday’s Cowichan Valley Fleece and Fibre Festival.
Fibre artists, who turn hand-dyed yarn and other fabrics into works of art, will showcase their wares in the Cobble Hill Community Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Visitors can join in knitting and spinning circles and browse vendors selling everything from raw fibre to beautifully made goods.
The festival will showcase more than two dozen vendors, including Ba-a-ad Ass Textiles and Asheep at the Wheel, two Cobble Hill-based businesses that sell hand-dyed roving, fleece and yarn.
The festival is the oldest fibre fair on Vancouver Island.
The Cowichan Valley Fleece and Fibre Festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Cobble Hill Community Hall at 3550 Watson Ave.
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