FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 insight S19
Life & Culture
Destination:
Victoria, B.C. Quaint beauty, outdoor adventure and cultural opportunities By Larkin Schmiedl
B
ritish Columbia’s capital city is a place of wonder, beauty and natural spectacle. It’s also home to an active chapter of the India Canada Cultural Association, a few temples and many Indian restaurants. The Victoria Hindu Temple plays a big role in educating about Indian cultural stories and myths. About 150 families meet to pray and to socialize at the temple, but it’s open to anyone, whether they are familiar with Indian traditions or not. Throughout the year it’s active in hosting events, with an average of three to four holiday celebrations, Pujas and more.
The ICCA, “is the face of Indian community and participates in all major festivals and celebrations in and around the city of Victoria,” says its website. At its India Mela festival mid-August, the ICCA hosts dinners, dances picnics and more. “It’s a two-day event, full of programming, kiosks, mehndi, henna, palmistry, all kinds of Indian stuff. We try to create a scene of an Indian village,” said Bhatia. It’s continuous 16-hour programming for two days in Spirit Square downtown. The ICCA also holds a Diwali dinner and dance.
During the Canada Day weekend, the Hindu Temple holds a Cultural and Arts Festival of India, featuring vegetarian food, Indian classical music, Bollywood dance, henna, and popular Indian fashions, including last year’s workshop on “how to drape a sari.” To see more, visit www. victoriahindutemple.com.
The India Canada Cultural Association (ICCA) of Victoria has been around “for close to 30 years,” said Sunil Bhatia, its former president. “The idea was to bring the cultural activities and our heritage to our children who are born and raised here, and to educate the mainstream community.”
For more information visit www.iccavictoria.com. The Society for Indian Classical Arts (SICA) runs through the University of Victoria, and organizes four to five classical Indian musical events per year. You can find SICA’s schedule of events at http://web.uvic.ca/~sica/. In Victoria as a whole there is much to do. Sightseeing is beautiful in the city, and just strolling around Victoria is a satisfying experience.
Downtown, the inner harbour is full of sailboats and vendors, sitting right in front of the provincial legislature building, the seat of the British Columbian government. Beacon Hill Park is only a five-minute walk from the legislature; a large park where you can wander, visit gardens, picnic, see the petting zoo, and relax on grassy hillsides overlooking the ocean. If you walk (or drive) down the hill to the ocean you’ll arrive at Dallas Road, a long slow winding path following the edge of the water. You’ll be looking across the ocean to mountains in the Olympic peninsula of Washington State. You can follow the water’s edge, or relax on the driftwood-covered beach.
There is even a wild seal that hangs around because it likes to be fed.
No matter where you go in Victoria, there is beauty. The city is surrounded by shoreline, and there are many beaches, trails and charming driving routes.
If you venture out of the city, worldfamous Butchart Gardens are just a half-hour bus ride or drive away.
Victoria neighbourhoods are colourful and gardens abound. Known as the garden city, the temperate climate means there are flowers year-round. Spring comes early and winter temperatures don’t often drop below freezing. There is lots of shopping downtown and many delicious places to eat. At Fisherman’s Wharf in James Bay you can eat at a floating restaurant and visit floating homes in the harbour.
Thetis Lake Park is a popular swimming spot a half hour from the city, and in Goldstream Provincial Park, you’ll find majestic old-growth forest and mountain trails. If you visit in autumn, you might even get lucky enough to see the salmon run. For a smaller mountain adventure in the city, visit Mount Douglas Park. A smaller climb (or drive) will get you to the top of the mountain where you’ll have an eagles-eye view of the whole city and the surrounding ocean and mountains.
For those who like to be more active, the Galloping Goose and Lochside bicycle trails cover more than 100 km of the area, with lots to see, and there are plenty of opportunities for ocean kayaking or canoeing. Many tourists also enjoy whalewatching adventures. Victoria’s South Asian population is more than 7,000 people – only two per cent of the city as a whole but enough to create a distinct cultural presence. “There is a large concentration of people from Northern India here,” said Sunil Bhatia of the India Canada Cultural Association.
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