The Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society — the oldest rock and alpine garden society in North America — is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a spring show and plant sale at Mary Winspear Centre on Friday and Saturday.
The society has been an active part of the south Vancouver Island gardening community over the past century. It supported the establishment of the Thetis Park Nature Sanctuary in 1958 (now Thetis Lake Regional Park), contributed plants to Playfair Park in Saanich and helped to rebuild Thomas Francis’s cottage, which burnt down after he donated his forested property to become Francis/King Regional Park on Munn Road.
Fifty years ago, to mark its first 50 years, the society installed a demonstration rock garden in Beacon Hill Park. This year, the society plans to extensively renovate the garden to prepare it for the next 50 years.
The society held its first annual spring show in 1939, the first rock garden show in North America. This year’s show will feature the best rock, alpine, woodland and bog plants. It will offer a crevice garden demonstration, plant sales, door prizes, a silent auction, tea and lunch.
The society will host a symposium during the second morning of the show with speakers Panayoti Kelaidis, senior curator with Denver Botanic Gardens in Colorado, and Laura Caddy, curator of E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden at UBC Botanical Gardens.
Admission to the spring show and plant sale is by donation. It runs from 1 to 8 p.m. Friday (crevice garden demo is 2 to 5 p.m. Friday) and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Mary Winspear Centre, 2243 Beacon Ave., Sidney.
Registration is required for the symposium. Registration is $35. It runs from 9 a.m. to noon.
• For more information, go to virags.com and on Facebook.
Museum’s Massive Marine Garage Sale
The Maritime Museum of B.C. is holding its annual Massive Marine Garage Sale at Ogden Point on Saturday.
This is the 18th year of the sale, which attracts dozens of marine vendors from all over Vancouver Island.
“Buyers can expect anything and everything in, around, outside, or related to boats,” said Anya Baker, events and development co-ordinator at the museum. “We can’t wait to see everyone.”
Proceeds will go toward Maritime Museum of B.C. operations as well as school and public programs. Coffee, hot chocolate and pastries will be available by donation, and a hot dog vendor will be onsite. A 50/50 raffle will also be held, with two draws.
General entrance fee is $5. Early bird entrance is $10. Children 12 and under are admitted free.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to noon (early bird 8:40 a.m.).
It will be held at Pier A at the Breakwater District at Ogden Point, 185 Dallas Rd. Saturday.
Scholarships for Indigenous students
A second-year business student at the University of Victoria is one of two students awarded scholarships aimed at supporting Indigenous students with their post-secondary studies.
Island Savings, a division of First West Credit Union, recently launched a scholarship and bursary program. The program has awarded $22,000 to 10 students, including a $3,000 scholarship to Madison Downey.
“As someone who is a first-generation student who is self-funding their studies, finances are fairly difficult and the opportunity to have some of that burden alleviated is incredibly appreciated,” says Downey.
She hopes her education will contribute to her ultimate goal of making fine arts and theatre more accessible to youth and low-income individuals.
As part of the program, she will be paired with a mentor to help navigate her educational pursuits and provide insight into the business world.
“We want to set these students up for success and although monetary support is a crucial component to that success, it isn’t the only one,” said Kendall Gross, president at Island Savings. “As we build out the program further, we want to walk alongside these students to provide mentorship, educational, and possibly even employment opportunities to help kick-start their careers.”
For more information, or to apply, go to uvic.ca/registrar/safa/index.php.
Public asked to report bat activity
The B.C. Community Bat Program, in collaboration with the province of B.C., is asking the public to report any bat activity they observed in winter and if they find any sick or dead bats before May 31.
Biologists are looking for help in the effort to detect and prevent the spread of White-Nose Syndrome, a fungal disease that is harmless to humans but has devastated North American bat populations — some species’ populations have declined by more than 90 per cent.
The fungus attacks bats while they are hibernating, appearing on their wings and faces to give an appearance of a white nose.
The disease was first detected on the West Coast close to Seattle in 2016 and has since spread to several counties across Washington state. With the arrival of the disease in southern B.C. deemed imminent, people are asked to be on the lookout for affected bats in all regions.
Two species of bats in the province, Little Brown and Northern bats, are listed as endangered under federal species at risk legislation. While there is not yet a proven cure for White-Nose Syndrome, several promising treatment options are being developed and it may be possible to mitigate the effects of the potential wildlife health crisis, the bat program says.
If you find a dead bat or have sightings of winter bat activity, please report it online at bcbats.ca, via email at info@bcbats.ca or by calling 1-855-922-2287 (1-855-GOT-BATS).
Funding to upgrade performance and rehearsal spaces
The City of Victoria has announced a new Cultural Infrastructure Grant Program with $400,000 in funding to support upgrades for performance and rehearsal spaces, including improvements to make venues safer and more accessible for artists and audiences.
There will be $250,000 in annual funding, plus an additional $150,000 in one-time funding in 2022 for accessibility upgrades.
“Over the last two years, arts and culture organizations have shown tremendous resilience as they pivoted and found new ways to bring programming to the community,” said Mayor Lisa Helps. “The city has lost affordable arts and culture venues during the pandemic and many that remain have pressing needs. This is why we are making the Cultural Infrastructure Grants an ongoing funding program to make venues safer and more accessible for everyone.”
The program provides funding ranging from $15,000 to $100,000 per organization, depending on the project. Organizations can apply and receive funding for one project per year.
Eligible applicants include Victoria-based arts and cultural spaces operated by non-profit societies, non-profit co-operatives, registered charities, Songhees and Esquimalt First Nation councils or urban Indigenous non-profit organizations.
The city is hosting an online information session at 5:30 p.m. on April 5 for interested organizations to learn more about grant guidelines. The event will also be recorded and posted on the city’s website for those who are unable to attend.
The deadline for applications is 4 p.m. on April 29. For more information, go to victoria.ca/EN/main/residents/city-grants/cultural-infrastructure-grant.html.
Church hosts classical music concert
St. Andrews Presbyterian Church is hosting a live performance of classical music featuring seven violinists and multiple pianists on April 3.
Thanks to a COVID Recovery Grant from the Victoria Foundation, the church has been able to provide students from the University of Victoria’s School of Music the use of the sanctuary as a practice venue, it said in a statement.
“Bringing people back downtown to a historical and acoustically sound venue will give the community an opportunity to connect again with others all while listening to beautiful live performances of classical music,” said the statement.
Admission to the performance is by donation. It starts at 2 p.m. on April 3 at the church, 680 Courtney St. (at the corner of Broughton and Douglas streets).
parrais@timescolonist.com
