More than 9,000 runners and walkers will take to the streets en masse as Victoria hosts the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon on Sunday.
Participants will be taking part in either a marathon, half-marathon or eight-kilometre road race. Youngsters will take part in the 1.5-km Thrifty Foods Kids Run.
Race weekend includes a Race Expo on Friday and Saturday, with exhibitors showing their latest wares while runners pick up their race packages.
On Saturday, several sports specialists, nutritionists and Darrell Fox, brother of Terry Fox, will participate at a speaker series.
Some of more than 1,600 volunteers who ensure the event runs smoothly will line the route acting as traffic marshals, manning water and first-aid stations, helping set up the course and sorting items for recycling.
The route for each event is available for download at the event website.
Late registration takes place until 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Race Expo, Victoria Conference Centre,
720 Douglas St.
Here is the schedule for Sunday:
6:30 a.m. Marathon early start (for people who expect to take 51Ú2 to seven hours)
7:10 a.m. 8K Road Race wheelchair and visually impaired start
7:15 a.m. 8K Road Race start
7:25 a.m. Half Marathon wheelchair and visually impaired start
7:30 a.m. Half Marathon start
8:40 a.m. Marathon wheelchair and visually impaired start
8:45 a.m. Marathon main start (time limit five hours, 29 minutes)
10:15 a.m. Thrifty Foods Kids Run
There will be a number of road closures.
For a list of affected roads and times, go to runvictoriamarathon.com/race-weekend/road-
closures-and-parking.
For more information on the event, go to runvictoriamarathon.com.
Lose yourselves at farm’s annual Pumpkinfest
Take a hay ride, listen to live entertainment, visit a petting farm, wander through a maze and admire a field that contains up to 50,000 pumpkins at Pumpkinfest, an annual kid-friendly event that runs October weekends at Galey Farms starting Saturday.
Children can spend hours of fun getting lost in a 2.4-hectare corn maze, explore an animated ghost town and haunted mansion, take a take hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick their own and have their faces painted.
“It’s a magical place for kids,” said Rob Galey, owner of the farm. “It also shows them where their food is coming from.”
The petting farm is home to donkeys, chickens, calves, pigs, goats and sheep. Families can take a
20-minute train ride around the perimeter of the family farm. Passengers ride in six red coaches, hauled by a scale replica of a 19th-century steam locomotive that worked around California.
Since the working farm introduced attractions in 2000, it has welcomed tens of thousands of visitors annually, Galey said.
Single tickets (train or corn maze) are $10 for adults, $7 for children and a family pass (two adults, two children) is $45. The petting farm and hay ride are $2 each. Infants (not walking and must be accompanied by a parent) are free. Admission to the petting farm/playground is free with purchase of a train and/or corn-maze ticket. All prices plus taxes.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday to Monday (Thanksgiving) this week and Saturday and Sunday only until Oct. 31 at the farm, 4150 Blenkinsop Rd. For details, go to galeyfarms.net.
• Pendray Farms has launched their first foray into the maze craze with the opening of the Vancouver Island Corn Maze, open Wednesday to Sunday.
The layout of the maze is a tribute to the province, with an outline of Vancouver Island and the Legislative Assembly included with pumpkins and a bird.
Visitors are advised to bring a flashlight and boots. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children five to 12, cash or credit card accepted. The attraction is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday at the farm, 9537 West Saanich Rd. For information, go to vicornmaze.com.
Galiano celebrates its berries
Join in celebrating one of Galiano Island’s most popular fall traditions, the annual Blackberry Festival, on Saturday.
Held every year on the Saturday of the Thanksgiving weekend, the festival honours the island's sweetest, but more prickly, crops — bramble and Himalayan blackberries.
Of the two varieties, the Himalayan variety has larger, later developing berries, but is thornier. The regular bramble can be found growing on main roads and trails throughout the island.
Visitors to the festival can purchase home-made blackberry pies, fresh or frozen. Soup and bread will be served along with ice cream, tea or coffee.
Admission is free. The event is being held in the Galiano South Community Hall at 141 Sturdies Bay.
Saturday is also the final farmers’ market of the season, which is usually held in The Lion’s Park, outside the hall. For more information, go to galianofoodprogram.ca.
High note for lovers of Jewish music
Listen to music filled with love, longing and heartfelt joy as The Klez, a local band that specializes in celebratory Jewish music of Eastern Europe and the haunting music of the Sephardic Jews, performs tomorrow.
The band is made up of Lucila Nerenberg (guitar), Alex Olson (mandolin), Martina Peladeau (flute and recorders), Kate Rhodes (violin) and Barbara Pedrick Blied (bass). They perform traditional folk songs in Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino.
Klezmer music includes aspects of Jewish, Balkan, Turkish, Eastern European, Greek and Gypsy music. The music’s rhythms and exotic modes can change several times, even within a song.
The Klez also plays Sephardic music, which features ballads of the Jews who were driven out of Spain in 1492. The ancient tunes are reminiscent of medieval Spain, when Jews, Christians and Muslims shared a fruitful era of relative peace.
Both genres are foot tapping music, rich with stories of hope and survival.
Advance tickets are $12 at Ivy’s Books and Oak Bay Recreation Centre or $15 at the door. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Upstairs Lounge of the Oak Bay Recreation Centre, 1975 Bee St. The band is on Facebook.
Salt Spring becomes a foodie’s paradise
Join in celebrating the bountiful harvest at Sip and Savour Salt Spring, a food and drink festival that brings together growers, food providers and chefs.
The festival starts on Friday and runs until Monday. Billed as a foodie experience, the event includes the fall harvest at produce stalls at the Salt Spring Saturday Market and opportunities to sample local, fresh food and drinks on a Salt Spring Island Culinary Tour.
A number of restaurants will serve up special menus throughout the weekend, including Harvest and Thanksgiving long-table dinners that feature live music hosted in unique settings.
There will be a tasting event at Salt Spring Island Ales, with regional wine, cider, beer and farm fresh food and products on offer to visitors.
Events run from noon to 11:30 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 7 to 11 p.m. Sunday at participating restaurants and establishments.
To see a full list of participating businesses, go to sipandsavoursaltspring.com.
Mushrooms the subject of walk
Register early to reserve a space on the popular Fabulous Fungi adult guided walk organized by Capital Regional District Parks on Sunday.
Guest naturalist Kem Luther will take visitors, 18 and older, on a two-hour journey to identify common mushrooms and the important role they play in the forest ecosystem. You will discover the fascinating variations.
Admission is $7 plus GST. The event runs from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required by Friday. Call 250-478-3344. Space is limited.
The event takes place at Francis/King Regional Park in Saanich. Arrive 10 minutes before the start of the program and leave pets at home. For information, go to crd.bc.ca/parks.
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