Happy May Long Weekend!
There’s nothing better than the feeling leading into the long weekend, except one that has a parade in it!
Victoria Buzz will be live broadcasting the parade on our Facebook page!
Saturday, May 19th
The James Bay Community Market
What: The James Bay Market is a vibrant community farmers market located at the corner of Menzies and Superior Street in the heart of James Bay. You will still find yourself surrounded by a bounty of fresh local produce and farm goods, beautiful and unique artisan crafts and fresh ready-to-eat foods.
You will love the fine handcrafted wood items, whimsical home décor and naturally crafted body products. We also have top-quality traditional baked goods, speciality sauces and seasonings and dried soup mixes. Hungry? You will find prepared food you can eat right on site in our picnic area. We also have a vast array of farm-fresh products from farm-fresh meats to seasonal veggies and fruits.
Where: The Corner of Menzies and Superior Street
V8V 1S5
When: 9 am – 3 pm
Cost: Free!
Roller Derby! Rotten Apples & Hard Cores | Double Header
What: The gender-inclusive junior team, the Rotten Apples, will take on the Saltspring Island’s The Tempest. You won’t want to miss these adorable youngsters leaving it all on the track! You think adult jammers are sneaky? Following the Junior derby game, The Hard Cores, our developmental team, faces off against the Aftershocks Roller Rebels at 7:30pm, for what will be a hard-hitting and physically challenging game for all involved!
They’ll have cold beer & cider, a 50/50 raffle, half-time entertainment and much more! Fun for the whole family!
Where: Archie Browning Arena
1151 Esquimalt Road
When: 5 pm – 9 pm
Cost: TICKETS! $10 in advance // $15 at the door
Online Advanced tickets are available NOW from Ticketrocket.co
Paper tickets are available at Hive Hair, Logan’s
Kids 10 and under are free (2 per adult)
Bastion Square Public Market
What: Find some of the best local artisan goods, food and live music downtown Victoria has to offer all in one place!
Where: Bastion Square
1140 Government St.
When: 11 am – 4 pm
Cost: Free
VHG Open 2018
What: Welcome to the 1st annual Victoria Highland Games Open! Blood and Iron’s Burnaby and Victoria schools, in association with the Victoria Highland Games, are proud to present Canada’s first major West Coast event.
We’ve developed great local connections as a school, many of whom have offered generous donations and sponsorships for this event. So not only will we have the usual HEMA prizes and goodies (keep an eye out for announcements!), you can expect tons of other goodies too. Like toothbrushes. It’s gonna be great.
Where: Topaz Park
v8w 16p
When: 9 am – 5 pm
Bug at UNO Fest
What: A story about the women in an Indigenous family navigating addiction and inter-generational trauma. Using movement, poetry and prose, creator/performer Yolanda Bonnell weaves the stories of these women who are grappling with a painful past, and who are making tough choices to survive. When The Girl’s addictions manifest as MANIDOONS (Ojibwe word for bug, insect or worm), this creature burrows beneath her skin, pushing her beyond the brink to give into desire. This work is honest, unflinching and raw – it will take your breath away.
Where: Metro Studio Theatre
1411 Quadra Street
When: 4 pm – 5:15 pm
Cost: Tickets are $18
The 80’s photobooth spectacular
What: The next pet photo booth and they’re going retro. They’ll be turning their Fernwood front yard gazebo into the ultimate 1980’s prom photo extravaganza. You’ll get the opportunity to pose with your favourite furry date under a smashing balloon arch while the twinkling disco ball casts shimmering lights onto the sequin backdrop. It will be cheesy, awesome and so much fun!
Where: 1228 Princess Ave
V8T 1L5
When: 10 am – 4:30 pm
Cost: $25 gets 20 min of photo time with you and 1 pet You’ll get 2 full quality digital images sent to you through a private online gallery.
Dirty Dishes, adult only painting night!
What: Paint some Sh!$ and make your pottery explicit our with our “naughty word” silk screens or use your own colourful vocabulary. Truly express what you have to say on any item you choose! Pizza and drinks come with registration.
Where: Fired Up! Paint your own ceramics studio
1801 Fort Street
When: 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Cost: Register here!
Rufus Wainwright w/ guest Lucy Wainwright Roche
What: Rufus Wainwright, one of the great male vocalists, composers, and songwriters of his generation, has released eight studio albums, three DVDs, and three live albums. He has collaborated with artists ranging from Elton John, David Byrne, Robbie Williams, Mark Ronson, Joni Mitchell to Burt Bacharach. His album “Rufus Does Judy” recorded at Carnegie Hall in 2006 was nominated for a Grammy.
Where: McPherson Playhouse
3 Centennial Square
When: 8:30 pm – 11 pm
Cost: Tickets are $49.50
Plethora of concerts
What: The weekend of the parade will feature a plethora of concerts and performances at the Parliament Building from 10 AM to 7 PM on both days. There’s a ton of performances from Killarney Choir, Oakstones Vancouver, GVYMA Jazz/ Symphonic Wind, Sultan High school, Fort Nelson Concert Band, GVYMA Premier and Signature Jazz Ensemble and the Highland Games.
Where: Parliament Lawn
501 Belleville St
When: All day!
Cost: Free!
Sunday, May 20th
Pretty Good Not Bad presents Roomtone
What: Roomtone is an exploration of sonic interactivity. The work lives somewhere between site-specific sculpture, sound art, and interactive installation. While the configuration of the piece–4-speakers, software, and a microphone–is nearly identical in every installation, the nature of the piece is such that the materiality of the space–the size and material of the room–and the inputs to the system (people and atmospheric noises) have a significant impact on how the work expresses itself. In other words, the work is intrinsically site specific with properties emergent from the interaction of many elements.
Where: Upside Studios
18 1/2 Fan Tan Alley
When: 10 am – 6 pm
Cost: Free
Family Sunday: Monkeying around with Technology
What: Enjoy an afternoon of exploring hands-on art-making and ideas connected to current exhibitions and programming! Join us for cool activities for all ages which take place throughout the Gallery, including the gardens in warmer months. This recurring program often features special guests like storytellers, artists, performers or musicians.
Where: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
1040 Moss Street
When: 2 pm – 4 pm
Cost: Program is included with admission
Vegan Outdoor Potluck
What: Come enjoy an evening of Frisbee and food at Government House garden. This event is free and family friendly. Just bring a vegan dish large enough to share with 8 people along with your own cutlery and cup. This is a casual event so arrive and leave when you please. There will be Frisbee and possibly other outdoor games. Instruments welcome. Non-vegans entirely welcome so long as the food you bring is vegan.
Where: B.C. Government House
1401 Rockland Avenue,
When: 5 pm – 9 pm
Cost: Free!
Synth Petting Zoo featuring Sunshine Jones
What: The Garden City Electronic Music Society welcomes synthesizer and electronic music enthusiasts of all ages and all levels of experience to join us for our first “Synth Petting Zoo” event. Those who would like to bring their synth set-up (modular rigs, DIY synths, vintage rarities) to this edition of the Synth Petting Zoo should get in touch with the “Zookeeper” (Lorne Hammond) to make sure we can provide enough table space and power outlets for those participating. Please send the Zookeeper a list of what you’d like to bring and the rough footprint it would take up on a table. The available tables are approximately 4′ by 2′ in size.
Where: Ticket Rocket
101- 804 Broughton St
When: 1 pm – 4 pm
Cost: Free all ages event!
Deep Down Luau – Sunday May Long Party
What: Bring those Hawaiian print shirts, bucket hats, leis, summer dresses and gear, it’s about to get hot in the Deep Down Luau.
DJs – Kyle Fichtler & Combo.
Where: Distrikt Nightclub
919 Douglas St
When: 10 pm – 2 am
Cost: No cover
True Tears Comedy
What: True Tears Comedy is back at Wheelies and it is time to laugh your dicks and or tits off! Sunday May 20th for amazing food, cold local beers and of course JOKES! Get there early as seating is limited.
Where: Wheelies Motorcycles
2620 Rock Bay Ave
When: 7 pm – 11 pm
Monday, May 21st
120th Island Farms Victoria Day Parade & Celebration Square
What: As the Island Farms Victoria Day Parade is the largest parade of the year in Victoria, there is no better place to spend your Victoria Day holiday! Previous parades have attracted tens of thousands of spectators and featured approximately 150 entries—including Canadian and American marching bands, musical floats, cultural entries and festive clowns.
If you can’t make it down to watch the parade, Victoria Buzz will be broadcasting the parade live on our facebook!
Where: The parade itself starts at Mayfair Mall at 9 a.m. and continues along Douglas Street finishing at the intersection of Douglas and Humboldt Street.
Victoria Day Block Party
What: After watching the parade, stroll over to the Victoria Day Block Party (on Humboldt Street, between Government and Douglas). FREE and open to the public, the Victoria Day Block Party celebrates Victoria Day and British Columbia’s unique maritime heritage. Activities and admission to the museum will be by donation, all supporting the Maritime Museum of BC.
Bring friends and the family along to enjoy events and activities, including performers, artists, Pirate School + Inflatable Pirate Ship, an obstacle course, interactive Lego Builds, face-painting, food vendors, a beer garden, and much more!
Where: Humboldt Street, between Government and Douglas
When: 11 am – 5 pm
Cost: Free!
Canvas Family Festival
What: Bring your family to this FREE community event located at Veterans Memorial Park on the corner of Veterans Memorial and Goldstream Ave.
Enjoy 3 amazing inflatables, more than 20 game and arts & crafts booths, prizes, live music, face painting, tea, lemonade, hamburgers, and hot dogs.
Where: Veteran’s Memorial Park Langford, Bc
Veteran’s Memorial Parkway and Goldstream Avenue
When: 11 am – 3 pm
Cost: Free!
Movie Monday Presents Paddington 2 on Victoria Day!
What: Celebrate Victoria Day with Movie Monday! One of the most critically acclaimed movies of the last few years with a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel PADDINGTON 2 has been considered by many to be equal or superior to the original PADDINGTON, which recently screened at Movie Monday.
Perfect for ALL ages! Bring the whole family, although note this is NOT just a “kid’s movie”…PADDINGTON 2 has wonderful messages for all ages, a terrific cast and stunning direction by director Paul King.
Where: 2328 Trent St
but the entrance to the theatre is on Fort Street end of the building,
When: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Cost: Admission is by donation
Matchmaker Monday Featuring “The Newlymet Game”
What: Well “Come on down!” to the VEC on Monday, May 21st for the first ever Matchmaker Monday! A place to mingle and meet new folks, start up a convo, and possibly take part in a round of our very own live dating game show: The Newlymet Game!
In the spirit of retro dating game shows (minus the misogyny and heteronormativity), the theme for this event is the 1960’s! Whether you are more mod or a full on flower child, let your freak flag fly in your best 60’s fashion! Costumes are encouraged but not required.
Where: Victoria Event Centre
1415 Broad St
When: 7 pm – 10 pm
Cost: Get your tickets here!
For more things to do, check out our events page!
