Local Victoria BC Singer Launches New Music Video (in French even!)

When you think of Victoria, you don’t normally think of it as a hotbed of French language immersion. But in fact, Victoria has a sizable francophone population — and many French immersion schools. Here is a new music video by Chantzy Q, a talented bilingual recording artist out of Victoria.

Dance Victoria Presents Dance Comedian Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg October 23-26

Dance Victoria, in association with Suddenly Dance Theatre’s 11th Annual ROMP! Festival of Independent Dance, brings Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg to Victoria BC’s Metro Studio Theatre this October 23-26. Described as “half actor, half stand-up comic and 100% dancer,” Friedenberg is nothing less than a phenomenon.

Her satirical, character-driven solos are garnering rave reviews across Canada and the U.S. The Globe and Mail insists that “Friedenberg portrays men better than they can themselves” while the Georgia Straight describes her work as “an incandescently hilarious performance.” In her latest work, you’ll meet slick talk-show host Nick and lovelorn Juanita as they navigate the minefields of lust, desire and love. Friedenberg will amaze you with her dexterity, both as a dancer and as an actor, as she leaps between characters and genders with finesse.

Performances are at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 23; 9:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and a 2:00 p.m. matinee performance on Sunday. Performances will be held at the Metro Studio Theatre, 1411 Quadra Street in Victoria. Tickets are $26 and can be purchased online.

Annual Victoria Masquerade Ball Raises Money for Children with AIDS

The annual Victoria Masquerade Ball will be held beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 27th, at the Fairmont Empress Hotel downtown. This colourful annual event is a fundraiser with proceeds being donated to UNICEF BC and directed towards the Unite For Children, Unite Against Aids campaign. a global effort to alert the world to the fact that children are missing from the global AIDS agenda.

The special guest speaker will Nigel Fisher, president & CEO of UNICEF Canada. He will speak on the urgent need for sustained programs, advocacy and fundraising to limit the impact of HIV/AIDS on children and help halt the spread of the disease.
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Great Canadian Beer Festival Draws Thousands This Weekend

More than 40 craft breweries from across Canada and the Pacific Northwest come together to celebrate the diversity of the brewers’ craft this weekend, September 5 and 6, at the 16th annual Great Canadian Beer Festival held at the Royal Athletic Park at Caledonia and Cook Street.

The GCBF has quickly become one of the worlds’ must attend beer events. People from all over the globe visit Victoria to attend the GCBF — as do brewers from as far away as Australia, England and Belgium. Victoria’s little annual beer festival, first held in 1993, has blossomed into an international brewery event. Only all-natural beers from keg and cask are served - with most of the brewers on hand to answer questions, and accept compliments. Read more

“Half Life” Opens at the Belfry September 16th

Beginning September 16 through October 19, the Belfry Theatre will present Half Life by John Mighton. Winner of the 2005 Governor General’s Award for Drama and the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, Half Life is directed by James Fagan Tait, and stars Mary Black, Anna Hagan, Andrew McNee, Richard Newman, Dawn Petten, Jan Wood and Marcus Youssef.

This delicate, moving piece tells the story of Clara and Patrick, two elderly residents of a home who may or may not have been lovers many years before. Confronted with their parents’ blossoming romance, their children must deal with their own feelings of love and loss. With tenderness and humour, Half Life explores the realities of love, beauty, memory and aging. Read more

Victoria BC Fringe Festival Offers 400 Performances August 21-31

The 22nd Annual Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival will run August 21- 31, 2008. The Fringe is an unjuried, uncensored, international festival of live comedy, drama, dance, spoken word, and more.

Companies are selected by lottery in November. Anyone with a show can apply. In 2007, 16,000 people came to the Victoria Fringe and hundreds volunteered to help make it happen.The Victoria Fringe Festival is one of 23 fringes in Canada and operates under the Canadian Association of Fringe Festival‘s 4 principles: unjuried, festival participation is on a first come, first served basis; no censorship; 100% of the box office is returned to the artists; and, accessibility to all artists.

You may see anything at fringe; dramas, comedy, dance, stand up….even some things that may
make you say, “What the fringe was that?”

The Fringe Festival serves as a playground for artists, with some works getting picked up for
professional runs. The Drowsy Chaperone, Urtinetown, MacHomer and One Man Star Wars
Trilogy (by local playwright, Charles Ross) all started at the fringe and later hit the big time!
Come join 20,000 of your closest friends and 250 volunteers to celebrate this cultural explosion
in downtown Victoria. This year the Victoria Fringe runs from August 21 ? 31 with 11 venues,
50 international companies and more than 400 performances.

Victoria BC’s Saanich Fair Opens Saturday with Spectacular Horse Show

The 141st annual Saanich Fair will get off to a grand start at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 30th, with a spectacular horse show. The fair is held every Labour Day weekend and is western Canada’s oldest continual agricultural fair. In addition to horse shows, there are dog shows, 4-H activities, and the Farmers’ Market are at the heart of this annual fair that also includes midway rides and lots of good food.

There will be a Draft Horse show, dog shows, scarecrow and pumpkin contests, and model boat races, to name a few of the exciting events happening all weekend. You won’t want to miss the Direct Farm Market area, where you can buy fresh veggies and fruit, homemade breads, jams, jellies and ostrich products and much more, all available for sale during the three days of the Fair. Another shopping area is the 60 commercial booths.

Tickets to the fair are $8, $5 for seniors and youth seven to 13 years old, and children under six free on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, tickets are $7, $4 for seniors and youth, and children under six free. All-day wrist bands for the midway rides are $25 on Saturday and Sunday, $20 on Monday.

There is plenty of free parking at the fair, and the #75 bus stops right beside the fairground entrance. The fairgrounds are located at 1528 Stelly’s Cross Road in Saanichton, about 20 minutes north of Victoria on Highway 17.

Victoria BC Free B-Movie Films Under the Stars in Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park This August

This is the kind of event that makes Victoria such a fun place to live and visit. Once again this August, the Victoria Film Festival will host FREE screenings of classic B-movies outside under the stars at the Cameron Bandshell in Beacon Hill Park. All shows start at 9:00 p.m. on select Friday and Saturday nights.

The films are absolutely FREE. Just bring your own snack, flashlights and blankets!

The lineup this year includes:

Labyrinth
Fri, Aug 8th • General; 101 min.
David Bowie stars as the fiendish Goblin King, sending a young Jennifer Connelly through a devious maze in order to save her baby brother from his evil goblin minions. Plus it’s got all the cool, incredible worlds and fascinating creatures from Jim Henson’s Muppet Workshop that you know and love so much.

Teenagers from Outer Space
Sat, Aug 9th
(General, violence); 86 min.
Aliens descend from the stars to take over the earth and turn it into a giant ranch for hideous space monsters! It’s Rebel Without a Cause… but with “lasers”.

The Princess Bride
Sat, Aug 16th • PG; 98 min.
The ultimate fairy tale! High adventure and comedy abound in this fabulous star-packed “twoo-wuv” story of pirates and giants and tyrants. Oh my! Star Fred Savage may be a lot older now but this is a story that will live on forever.

Forbidden Planet
Sat, Aug 23rd • General; 99 min
The sci-fi story that ushered in a new era for the silver screen! On the edge of the galaxy, a strange invisible monster threatens to destroy a lost expedition before they can discover the secrets of the long-dead civilization that once populated a strange and fantastic world.

The Goonies
Fri, Aug 29th • PG (may frighten young children, course language); 114 min.
Get your 80s on because “The Goonies” is back! A mysterious pirate treasure map takes a group of kids on a perilous journey through an old and secret series of caves. Fighting to save their home from an evil developer, those caves will take them on the greatest adventure of their lives…

Bikini Beach
Sat, Aug 30th • General; 100 min
Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello: need we say more? The usual gang of suspects is back for big hi-jinx and slapstick laughs on the surf and on the sand when a millionaire sets out to prove his pet theory about the local teenage population and their strange little surf-happy lifestyle.

Spectacular Tall Ships Return to Victoria BC June 26-29!

Victoria’s scenic Inner Harbour will once again provide the backdrop for an event that will touch the hearts and minds of thousands this June 26-29, 2008. During four unforgettable days of revelry and celebration, the city will commemorate its maritime heritage with the historic visit of over two dozen tall ships from around the world.

This renowned international event means Victoria will have an unprecedented opportunity to experience history at first hand. Visitors will be able to walk the decks, touch the massive timbers, look up through the rigging at the sky, and turn back the clock to a time when the city’s future was being built by ships like these.

In addition, there will be a program of interactive educational activities, concerts, craft fairs and festive events that will celebrate Victoria’s history and BC’s 150th anniversary.

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Kid Rock Performs July 5th at the Victoria BC Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre

American rocker Kid Rock will perform July 5th at the Victoria Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre with his “Rock And Roll Revival Tour” including featured guests Reverend Run, Peter Wolf, and Dickey Betts in addition to Kid Rock’s Twisted Brown Trucker Band. The band is to play a medley of hits has garnered the best reviews of Kid Rock’s career.

The Kansas City Star describes Kid Rock’s music this was: “It was lowbrow and hardcore and rock solid and it made for one of the most entertaining live shows you can see these days.” Kid Rock’s hometown paper The Detroit News concurred, saying “this revue-style rock and roll revival is the most musically impressive tour Rock has ever put on.” Nielson SoundScan reported Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus” is climbing the charts, hitting number 19 in mid-June. Read more

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