Sip and eat the afternoon away at Feast of Fields in Metchosin
The 16th annual Vancouver Island Feast of Fields takes place Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m., at Metchosin Farm, 542 Wootton Rd., in Metchosin.
This popular sip-and-eat-the-afternoon-away event features dozens of local chefs, restaurants, wineries, breweries and producers set up around the property.
When guests arrive, they’ll be handed a menu of what’s being served, a wine glass and a napkin, and be sent on their way to indulge. While they do, they can relish the fact that money raised from Feast of Fields supports local food and agriculture initiatives.
Music will be performed by Masala, a world drum and percussion band; the Roper Show, an energetic singer-
songwriter passionate about Metchosin; and Jane’s Way, a Celtic musical group.
Tickets for Feast of Fields are $95 per person. They must be purchased in advance, and are available to those 19 and older. Two pieces of ID will be required to meet B.C. Liquor rules.
Tickets can be purchased at farmfolkcityfolk.ca, or Cook Culture, 1317 Blanshard St., Victoria. Ticket sales end at 11 p.m. on Sept. 20.
On-site parking is off Witty Beach Road. There will also be a shuttle-bus service that costs $10 return and can be purchased in the same way as regular tickets. The shuttle bus will leave Mayfair mall at noon, and from the Juan de Fuca public library branch, 1759 Island Hwy., Colwood, at 12:20 p.m. The bus will leave the event at 5:15 p.m.
Saanich Peninsula feast celebrates local food
An affordable, eco-friendly local food and farms celebration is on the menu Saturday night at the Saanich Fairground’s main hall.
The fifth annual Saanich Peninsula Harvest Feast featuring local food, most of which is grown or raised within
10 kilometres of the fairground, takes place at 6 p.m., with doors opening at 5.
The event begins with a wine and cider tasting of products from Muse Winery, Dragonfly Hill Vineyard and Winery, DeVine Vineyards and Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse. The seasonal feast, with a main course prepared by Brentwood Bay’s Zanzibar Café, will be followed by desserts showcasing fruit grown on the Peninsula, including lemon-meringue pies made from North Saanich-grown lemons and Farmer Phil’s fresh-pressed apple juice.
The focus of this year’s not-for-profit community event, supported by the North and South Saanich Agricultural Society and the Southern Vancouver Island Direct Farm Marketing Association, is on youth in agriculture, with proceeds aiding 4-H clubs.
In keeping with the event’s zero-waste philosophy, organizers encourage diners to bring their own durable dishes and clean them afterward. Select food waste collected during preparation and after dinner will be fed to local pigs.
Tickets to the celebration at 1528 Stelly’s Cross Rd. in Saanichton are $25; $10 for children 10 and under, with a Bring Your Own Plate table-setting option offered for $22 and $7. Tickets are available at Brentwood Bay’s Breadstuffs Bakery, Saanichton’s Fresh Cup Roastery and North Saanich’s The Roost Farm Centre.
For details call 250-812-1312 or go to islandfarmfresh.com/harvestfeast.
Maritime Museum hosts shoreline cleanup in Victoria
Ocean lovers will want to look after the shoreline with a beach cleanup assisted by the Maritime Museum of B.C. on Sunday.
The museum will be site co-ordinator for a shoreline cleanup between the Johnson Street Bridge and Barclay Point, on the south side of Rock Bay.
The Maritime Museum will also be working with Plastics for Change, an initiative to recycle plastic debris into usable products.
The effort is part of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, an initiative led by the Vancouver Aquarium and World Wildlife Fund.
Since 1994 it has become one of the biggest environmental cleanups in the world. Thousands of Canadians have come out to pick up garbage washed up on our shores.
Anyone interested should be at the Maritime Museum of B.C. on Sunday at 1 p.m. All volunteers are asked to bring their own gardening gloves.
Edwardian fundraiser benefits Royal Roads University gardens
Fans of English period dramas such as Downton Abbey can live an Edwardian fantasy at Royal Roads University on Saturday.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Roads gardens and to raise money for their preservation, the university is hosting An Edwardian Affair.
Beginning at 4 p.m., guests are invited to take guided tours of the gardens. At 6 p.m., guests will retire to the quarterdeck in the Grant Building for a fine four-course meal.
The Edwardian era roughly covers the reign of Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. In contrast to the stuffy reign of Queen Victoria, King Edward set a fashionable style, drawing from European tastes.
Timothy Vernon, artistic director of Pacific Opera Victoria, is master of ceremonies for the evening, which will also feature live music from the era.
Hatley Castle at Royal Roads University was built in 1908 by B.C. coal-mining tycoon James Dunsmuir. The gardens are recognized as the best surviving example of landscape architecture from the period in Western Canada.
For more details go to royalroads.ca and click on Events.
Victoria walk benefits Vancouver Island AIDS groups
Vancouver Islanders will remember friends and family lost to AIDS, and celebrate those who continue to live with the disease, during the Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life.
The event begins Sunday at Centennial Square. Registration opens at 11:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 1 p.m. This year’s theme is, “POZitively Fabulous.”
The walk encourages individuals and groups to raise funds for two local HIV groups: the Victoria AIDS Resource and Community Service Society (VARCS) and the Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society.
Participants are encouraged to arrive in costume.
Chamber of Commerce invites Victoria to 150th birthday bash
The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce is inviting the city to its 150th anniversary party with music, art and family fun downtown Saturday.
From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Centennial Square, the Chamber has arranged to bring entertainment, good times and eats with local performers and community partners.
Walking tours of the heritage parts of the city will also be arranged.
Performers include: the Canadian College of Performing Arts, the Stephanie Greaves Trio, the Chantrelles, Will Stroet and the Backyard Band, Asmira’s School of Bellydance, Jolly Tars of the Naden Band and David Morin and The Foundation.
Food vendors include Puerto Vallarta Amigos, Deadbeetz Fresh Food, Grilled to the Mac, Tacofino Victoria, Le Petit Dakor and the Victoria/Vancouver Island Greek Society.
Helping out will be the City of Victoria, the Victoria police and fire departments, the Times Colonist and Rogers Broadcasting.
The Chamber, formed in 1863, is a business lobby group with more than 1,500 members.
