UVic Plant Sale: Sunday 3 May

The annual UVic Plant Sale will be on Sunday, May 3 in the University of Victoria’s McKinnon Gym. Doors open at 10 a.m. and the sale ends at 1 p.m.

Gardeners will find a wall-to-wall selection of annuals, perennials, rhododendrons, native plants, trees, alpines, exotics, herbs and vegetables.

Full details: http://communications.uvic.ca/releases/release.php?display=release&id=1029

civic orchestra of victoria – 2 May

This Saturday at 2Pm the Civic Orchestra of Victoria  giving a concert, a Serenade to music. The program is:

Strauss, R – Serenade, op. 7, E-flat major, for Wind Instruments

Bizet – carmen: Suite no. 2

The audience is invited to a celebratory reception following the performance.

For more details see:

http://www.civicorchestraofvictoria.org/concert3.html

Victoria Gallery public tours this summer

Until August the Gallery of Victoria is offering public tours of their current exhibition.
Dates and exhibition tours as followed:

April 25 – Assume Nothing: New Social Practice

May 2 – Emily Carr and her Contemporaries
May 9 – Assume Nothing: New Social Practice
May 16 – Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age
May 23 – Assume Nothing: New Social Practice
May 30 – Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age

June 3 – Emily Carr and her Contemporaries
June 13 – Giant Landscapes: BC Landscapes from the AGGV Collection
June 20 – Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age
June 27 – World Upside Down

July 4 – Emily Carr and her Contemporaries
July 11 – Giant Landscapes: BC Landscapes from the AGGV Collection
July 18 – Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age
July 25 – World Upside Down

August 1 – Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age
August 8 – World Upside Down
August 15 – Giant Landscapes: BC Landscapes from the AGGV Collection
August 22 – Emily Carr and her Contemporaries
August 29 – World Upside Down

Tours are approximately one hour and start at 2PM.

Today 2pm: soundScape/SoundSites: Victoria Tour

April 25, 2009 – SoundScape/SoundSites: Victoria Tour 2:00pm – 4:00pm. Victoria Gallery docent Sheila Bradley leads a walking tour of Andrea Walsh’s project, SoundScape/SoundSites: Victoria. Wear your runners and dress for the weather. you must bring your cellphone to participate in this tour. All calls are local. Meet at the Beacon Hill Park Flag Pole.

Farm fresh fruit and veg

Sunwing tomatoes (and other green house veg) have been open almost two months and the selection of fruit and veggies that they are selling is is growing every week. We bought some lovely small sweet tomatoes, cucumbers and basil there last week. If you don’t know sunwing you can learn all about them on their website:

http://www.sunwingtomatoes.ca/who.html

Assume nothing: new social practice exhibition

The Art Gallery of Victoria exhibition Assume Nothing: new social practice is heading into its last month. This exhibition includes sculpture, video, filmes, and sound works that explore socially engaged art. The quality of the works in this exhibition varies greatly. Some works are original and provoke thought while others are rather dull. However the exhibition as a whole is well worth a look. Check it out before May 24. For a full list of artist bios, events and projects see www.aggv.bc.ca

Earth day film festival 21-22 April

Tomorrow is earth day. Open cinema, VIDEA and the Sierra Club of BC
are presenting the Annual EARTH DAY FILM FESTIVAL FRIEND & FUNDRAISER. Entry is free. For more details see:

http://www.harbourliving.ca/event/open-cinema-presents-2nd-annual-earth-day-film-festival

26th Annual Swiftsure Breakfast – May 23rd Clover Point

The Swiftsure International Yacht race is an annual event that can be watched from Clover point. This year the Fairfield Community association is holding a breakfast which will include yummy Bubby Rose baked goods. If the fine weather keeps up this should be a fun morning event.You can find more details about the race at:

http://www.swiftsure.org/
You can find more details about the breakfast at:

http://www.fairfieldcommunity.ca/events/ssb.html

SWPL # 1 Coffee/cafes Victoria

There are lots of great cafes in Victoria. One of my favorites is Spiral cafe. It has a hippy/ grungy feel. There is always music playing and a changing exhibition of local art.  For lunch they have a daily soup special  (always vegetarian). For coffee snacks they have a wide selection of freshly baked goods including lemon slice, almond croissants and cookies. On Sunday mornings there is a story time for kids. Friday evenings there is live music. Check out details on their website:http://www.goforlunch.com/spiral/index.htm Another favorite is Bubby Rose’s Bakery especially the Cook & Fort st location. They have great baked goods and nice coffee although the service can be a little crazy. Every day there is a different pizza and soup special in addition to a daily lunch plate. On the weekends thy sell beautiful channa french bread with roasted apples. It makes a delicious brunch or large afternoon tea. For more details see: http://www.bubbyrosesbakery.com/

Another great coffee spot is The Black Stilt coffee lounge on Fort st. Good coffee, poetry readings and a friendly ambiance make this a great place to catch up with  a friend or spend an afternoon reading over coffee. http://www.theblackstilt.com/index.html

If you are looking for great views of the ocean then the Ogden Point cafe is the place to go. Neither the food nor the coffee is impressive. The main menu is old school (meat lasagna, quiche, chicken pie, and chili) as are the bakery items.

Details:

Ogden point cafe 199 Dallas Rd, Victoria, BC phone 250-386-8080 s. Summer hours Apr-Oct 8am to 10pm everyday.

Finally for a witty take on white people and their coffee obsessions and snobbery see:

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/18/1-coffee/

Oak Bay artist’s studios walk

Free art walks at Okay Bay this weekend. The website tells us:

Recreation Oak Bay is proud to announce the 10th semi-annual show of fine arts in Oak Bay this April 18 and 19. Many of Oak Bay’s established and emerging artists will use their homes and studios as backdrops to display the products of their creativity in a variety of original watercolour, acrylic, oil, fibre, photographic, woodcut, glass and pottery creations. This juried tour, which is produced by Recreation Oak Bay, will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19, from noon to 4:30 p.m. The two-day special event is free to the public. Brochures with artist descriptions and a tour map are available at www.recreation.oakbay.ca in early April. Brochures are also available at the Oak Bay Recreation Centres, the Oak Bay Municipal Hall and the Oak Bay Library as well as at local businesses on Estevan and Oak Bay Avenue and through participating artists prior to the show. For more information call Recreation Oak Bay at 250-370-7129.

My favorite was the weaving at Jean Betts (no. 13 on the art walk). She has a range of scarves and bags from the quirky, to bright and contemporary to simple and classic.