Government Street will be transformed into Boo Boulevard, Oak Bay Village will come to life with a pumpkin art display and there will Eerie fun in East Sooke and spooky bike riding in Victoria as Halloween approaches.
On Sunday, the city celebrates its first Wicked Victoria on a car-free Government Street. The inaugural event is hosted by the Greater Victoria Festival Society.
Vehicles will be banned for the free pedestrian-only family event with frightfully fun activities taking place between Courtney and Yates streets.
Each block will feature a different theme: The Feeling Ghouly Music Zone runs from Courtney to Broughton Street, Ghostly Giving, from Broughton to Fort, Moonlight Harvest Market, from Fort Street to View Street, and the Too Cute to Spook Wicked Kid Zone, from View to Yates Street.
The first 300 kids of all ages will get a free pumpkin to decorate (no carving involved). Kids’ activities include a giant checkerboard, face painting and everybody can take part in the Monster Mash March parade.
A stage with goulish acts by local entertainers will greet visitors at the entrance to Boo Boulevard at Courtney Street.
The event is free. The celebration runs noon to 5 p.m., including Munro’s Books Spooky Storytime at 2 p.m. and a parade at 3 p.m. Money raised during the event will benefit Jeneece place. For information, go to gvfs.ca.
Oak Bay Village kicks off its annual Halloween celebrations with the opening of the fifth Pumpkin Art on the Avenue, featuring more than 500 pumpkins by artist John Vickers starting Friday.
Expect to see local personalities, cartoon characters, the Royal Family, the Beatles and more. Proceeds from the event benefit the Oak Bay Kiwanis Eliminate Project, which aims to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.
Admission is by donation. The display is open 5 to 9 p.m. until Oct. 31 behind the Oak Bay Municipal Hall, 2167 Oak Bay Ave. For information, go to visitoakbayvillage.ca.
Eerie Acres is not your everyday haunted house. More than 20 volunteers will take victims (visitors) on 20-minute guided tours of a creepy house on a one-acre property in East Sooke, a spooky forest and even a cemetery filled with roaming creatures on Saturday.
For the past nine years, thrill seekers have come from as far as Oak Bay and Sidney to have some Halloween fun for a worthwhile cause. Tours are customized to suit the participants’ scare level.
Last year, more than 500 people visited the attraction over three nights. A portion of the proceeds goes to local charities, and non-perishable food items are collected for the Sooke Food Bank.
Admission is $4 or a non-perishable food item. Tours run 7 to 10 p.m. at the house, 1468 Woodcock Rd., East Sooke. For information, email [email protected].
Decorate your bike and yourself for the Spooks ’n Spokes Ride on Saturday. The group ride is 20 easy kilometres long and one of the most popular events hosted by the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition.
Participants can ride and learn about spirits who live in some of Victoria’s finest homes and castles — in places where bikes can go but cars cannot.
Suggested donation is $5. The ride begins at the fountain at Centennial Square at 6:30 and ends at about 9 p.m. Pack water and a snack for the rest stop along the way.
Participants are required to wear helmets and bicycles must be in good mechanical condition. All bikes need to have functioning front and rear lights. For information, go to gvcc.bc.ca.
Victoria goes cuckoo for cocktails with two-day festival
You can have your martini shaken, stirred or pumpkin spiced at Art of the Cocktail, a two-day cocktail festival at various locations in downtown Victoria on Saturday and Sunday.
You can sample classic cocktails or modern mixology at the annual Grand Tasting event, with a focus on the thriving Best of the West coast distilleries.
The festival includes two 90-minute seminars held on Sunday — Meet the Island Makers and Cheese, Please!
The Best of the Pacific Northwest bartending competition will conclude the weekend. The annual event pits bartenders against each other to create unique cocktails that represent the northwest with a special ingredient. For 2015, the ingredient is mushroom.
Tickets are $10 to $50 at tickets.artofthecocktail.ca., at 1215 Blanshard St. or by phone at 250-389-0444.
Events run from 7 p.m. Saturday to 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
For information, go to artofthecocktail.ca.
Get gussied up and go gluten free at the gala
The Gluten Free and Allergy Gala, which runs Saturday and Sunday,
is an opportunity for people with dietary restrictions and/or allergies to learn more on the topic and meet others in the community who share their sensitivities.
Attendees will learn which restaurants on Vancouver Island can accommodate dietary restrictions, observe chefs creating delicious gluten-free dishes and listen to informative guest speakers.
Bring a gluten-free or allergen-free non-perishable food item for The Mustard Seed food bank and get a ballot for a raffle.
Tickets $10 (per day) online or at the door.
The event runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Pearkes Recreation Centre,
3100 Tillicum Rd. For information, go to glutenfreegalaevents.com.
Models will turn heads at the Sally
See the world in miniature at the Island Classic Scale Model Contest and Exhibition on Saturday.
Enter to win prizes or just marvel at models of aircraft, ships, military equipment, automotive, sci-fi, action figures and more at the family-friendly event.
There will be a Young Modellers Award for the most promising young modeller under 19 as well as vendor tables.
Admission is by donation for adults ($2 suggested), free for children 13 and under. Contest entry fee is $5 for up to five models. The event runs 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Salvation Army Citadel, 4030 Douglas St.
For information go to islandclassic.shawwebspace.ca.
Find out what’s big in Japan
Immerse yourself in Asian culture at the Japanese Cultural Fair, hosted by the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society on Saturday.
This is the 16th year of the event, which features traditional Japanese entertainment, martial arts, cuisine, crafts and hobbies.
Activities scheduled include demonstrations of: the Japanese tea ceremony, taiko (drum) performance, koto (a stringed musical instrument) performance, bonsai (miniature plant), rakugo (storytelling), karate, cooking with Japanese vegetables, ikebana (flower arrangement), kyudo (Japanese archery), iaido (the way of the sword), Bon Odori dance, Kendo (martial arts with swords), How to Wear a Kimono, calligraphy, Japanese animation and a performance by members of the youth choir from the Victoria Japanese Heritage Language School.
Fairgoers can sample a bento lunch box, sushi, manju (sweet cake) and other baked goods.
Admission is free. The fair runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Esquimalt Recreation Centre, 527 Fraser St. For information, go to vncs.ca or Facebook.
Flamenco ace brings new show
Paco Peña, considered one of the world’s foremost flamenco guitar players, returns to Victoria with his newest show, Flamencura, on Sunday.
Peña is a guitarist, composer, dramatist, producer and artistic mentor of this archetypal Spanish art form. America’s Guitar magazine has named him Best Flamenco Guitarist of the Year for five consecutive years.
He will be in Victoria with his world-renowned flamenco troupe to present his newest show to audiences.
Tickets are $45 to $55. The two-hour show starts at 7:30 p.m. in the University Centre Farquhar Auditorium, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Rd.
For tickets, contact University Centre Ticket Centre, 250-721-8480 or tickets.uvic.ca.
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