Blog

This August, Abkhazi Garden is bringing back their popular “Music in the Garden” series, featuring light, upbeat music by a variety of artists.

Until July 29th, the 2012 Victoria International Buskers Festival will be presenting the world’s top street performers on event stages across downtown. The free-to-attend, family-oriented event includes performers from around the world as well as from our own backyard busking scene.

The Moss Street Paint-In, Vancouver Island’s largest outdoor visual art event, is taking place on Saturday, July 21st. Over 150 invited professional and emerging artists will take to the street to display and produce their work, giving visitors the opportunity to meet with an enormous variety of artists and learn about their work and techniques.

The Paint-In will take place on Moss Street between Fort St. and Dallas Rd. from 11:00am – 4:30pm. In addition to the outdoor event, there are plenty of other artsy activities to enjoy that day:

The Bastion Square Market is celebrating its 17th year in the heart of downtown Victoria. Stretching from the waterfront on Wharf Street to Government Street, this vibrant open-air market features a colourful array of locally produced food, arts and crafts.

The Bastion Square Market runs 11 AM – 5:30 PM on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from May 31 thru Sept 29.

We’re delighted to announce that our 2nd book, Easy Elegance from Fabulous Fairholme: Breakfast.Brunch.Lunch is now available for purchase! As the follow up to our bestselling cookbook, Fabulous Fairholme: Breakfasts & Brunches, this book is filled with delicious but simple recipes, easy-to-make gifts from the kitchen and special-occasion menus for breakfast, brunch and lunch—all accompanied by gorgeous colour photographs. You’ll also find recipes from Sylvia’s cousin, celebrated chef Nora Pouillon of Restaurant Nora in Washington, DC, and repeat guest at Fairholme Manor Inn, chef Chris Young, co-author of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking.

The Victoria International JazzFest kicks off this weekend! The ten-day music festival runs June 22 thru July 1 and is one of Victoria’s longest running and most popular music events, with more than 425 musicians staging 95 performances. This year’s headliners include Dianne Reeves, George Benson, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Wayne Shorter Quartet and a whole lot more. Shows will be taking place in Centennial Square and at various venues throughout downtown Victoria.

The tall ships are back in town this weekend! While there are no shore activities planned, the ships will be busy all weekend, taking children and students out on halfday sails as part of the Victoria Tall Ship Society’s youth outreach program. Their arrival coincides with World Oceans Day, so after admiring the beautiful ships in the harbour, you can head over to Bastion Square where the Maritime Museum of BC and Ocean Networks Canada will be hosting their first World Oceans Day Festival.

Celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee at the Royal BC Museum! The new exhibit, opening June 1st, features 60 portraits by royal photographer, Cecil Beaton. The photographs depict Elizabeth in her roles as princess, monarch and mother, portraying her as a striking younger woman—an image that may be unfamiliar to younger generations. The exhibit includes a number of rarely-seen photographs, as well as extracts from Beaton’s own personal diaries and letters.

This weekend, sailors from all over the world will descend upon Victoria for the 69th annual Swiftsure International Yacht Race. The race, which runs May 26–28, 2012, is the Pacific Northwest’s premiere long distance sailing race, attracting boats from as far away as California, Hawaii, New Zealand and even Russia.

Clover Point, which is a short walk from Fairholme Manor, is the best place to watch the start race. The boats will be lined up, ready to go, at 10 AM on Saturday. You can also soak up the excitement in the Inner Harbour, where there will be entertainment, beer gardens and fun activities for the kids.

Silk Splendour: Textiles of Late Imperial China (1644–1911) showcases the pomp and ceremony of Manchu court life and the Chinese aristocracy during China’s last imperial dynasty. The textile collection includes a large donation of Chinese costumes from an American donor, Helen Jahnke, as well as an informal robe once worn by the Last Empress of China.