CityGuide for Victoria BC 2009

CITY GUIDE 09

One Victoria, MANY VIEWS

City Guide 2009

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City Guide 2009

CONTENTS

PUBLISHER: Jim Parker EDITOR: John Threlfall

Lily Fawn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CONTRIBUTORS: Amanda Farrell, Greg Pratt, John Threlfall, Jason Youmans

Geoff Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Tattoo You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Wendy Morton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR: Susan Duhamel

Charles Campbell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

PRODUCTION: Rhonda Chisholm, Sean McLaughlin, Lyn Quan

Lisa Baldissera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Let’s Do Brunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

SALES MANAGER: Lynne Bain

Family Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

SALES REPRESENTATIVES: Lynne Bain, Ruby Della-Siega, Selena Roberts

Blog City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR: Jim Hamilton

Offices at 818 Broughton St., Victoria, B.C., V8W 1E4.

Phone: 250-382-6188. FAX: 250-381-2662.

E-MAIL : reception@mondaymag.com, sales@mondaymag.com, editorial@mondaymag.com www.mondaymag.com Annual subscription rate (52 issues): $95 (including G.S.T.) in Canada, $125 elsewhere.

Canadian publications mail R# 112895. ISSN 0832-4719.

One copy of each edition of Monday Magazine is available free to you each week, see our website for pick up locations.No person may take more than one copy without prior permission from Monday Publications.

All contents copyright, 2009. • SUMMER 2009

Alley, Cats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

DISTRIBUTION: Wendy Denison RECEPTIONIST: Marie Morton PRESIDENT: Mark Warner

Fetch.

One Paper, Seven Days BUT WHY IS IT CALLED “MONDAY”?

We may be named after the hardest day of the week, but don’t believe the hype.

Monday Magazine is your easiest source for finding out what’s going down in Victoria.

Cosmo Means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

COVER and INSIDE PHOTOS BY: Darshan Stevens

Published since 1975, Monday remains Mile Zero’s authority on what’s happening, who’s doing it and why it’s important —and how you can get in on it, too. Looking for some Friday night action, or something to do on a Sunday afternoon? We’ve got the city’s most comprehensive events listings. Say you’re trying to make sense of the political scene, or want to know what’s really going on inside City Hall; with more than 30 years of award-winning investigative journalism and insightful commentary, Monday is an essential read every week.

We tell it like it is, with just a touch of cheek.

Best of all—it’s free! Just look for our distinctive yellow boxes at cafes, restaurants, bars and pubs, stores, shops and on the street. You’ll find a new issue out every Thursday (Wednesday in the downtown core), just in time to plan your weekend.

So why is it called Monday? Because no week is complete without it. M

“Digs”, Libations Ambassador

We deliver direct from our walk-in beer cooler this city’s widest selection of island-brewed beer. Plus imports for the poodle in you.

Harris Green LIQUOR MERCHANTS

Delivery Hotline

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4

City Guide 2009

Lily Fawn

OF ANTLERS AND LUBES

What are some of your musical inspirations?

I didn’t learn to play music until I was older and so I learned a lot from my friends: Dave Wenger of Daddy’s Hands, Dan Beckner of Wolfe Parade, Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes, Carolyn Mark and the bands Dixies Death Pool and Pigment Vehicle.

What’s Victoria’s best-kept secret?

The howling tunnel in Esquimalt on the ocean. I can’t say any more . . . it will ruin our Hank and Lily Halloween haunted-tunnel surprise.

Where’s a good place to meet someone?

Long line-ups. Offer someone a bite of your cookie to “break the ice” or keep some emergency chocolate in your purse.

Where’s the first place you’d take out-of-towners?

The Beacon Hill petting zoo!

What’s Victoria’s most overrated feature?

You’d think it might be tough being a deer-girl in the city, but local musician/celebrity/ apothecary Lily Fawn certainly doesn’t feel that way.

“I love the disco clubs and poutine,” she says. “Although, sometimes I have a hard time getting through crowds. Once my antlers got caught in another girl’s hair and we were stuck together for half the night. It was okay, though, ’cuz she was a lot of fun.”

While many know Fawn through her work as a musician—either in her duo with Hank Pine, with local band Meatdraw or as a solo performer—she’s also got a line of natural products called Earth’s Herbal. You can sip on her wide variety of teas in coffee shops around town (or buy them in stores or on her website at earthsherbal.com) and she also makes natural sex products like Stroke It lubricant and menthol-infused nipple gel.

“I started off just making products for myself because back then it was impossible to find any natural lubes in stores. I wanted something anti-bacterial, completely natural, sugar-free, not sticky and completely organic,” she says. “Then a wonderful sex shop in Toronto, Come As You Are, encouraged me to start selling my own secret sexy recipes as products for their store.”

When she first launched her products, Fawn handed out 100 free samples to her friends to let them test drive it and then fill out a survey.

I learned many new great things,” she says. “For example: men love Stroke It solo, as well as with either sex partners; more women than I thought were happy to find a natural sugar-free product; and it’s great to use in the bath!”

LILY’S PICK What’s one thing Victoria needs?

More chickens in yards and more laundry blowing in the wind.

Fawn’s been busy on the music front these days, having just released her first solo album of “slow dark lullaby ballads” (“I’m working on a hardcover illustrated story book to go with it,” she says) and has a new “Robot dance party album” and comic book underway with Pine.

“We also have a fun-filled busy summer of touring ahead of us,” she says, listing dates at North by North East and the South Country Fair, as well as “a kick-ass show in Victoria at the Cambie on July 25 with the Zap Straps.” M

Miniature World. It’s just not to scale! But I do love mini things.

What’s one local must-visit store?

Regalia, my favourite, on Pandora Street . . . which is right beside the best vegan snack place and beside delicious Habit coffee, which is also right beside Hunter Gatherer vintage second-hand. Just go to lower Pandora in general.

What’s your favourite annual event?

The Luxton Fair.

What’s your ideal way to relax?

Usually, I relax by hugging goats and making necklaces for them out of daisies—but if I’m really really stressed out, I need to fly to the island of Hawaii and fill my face with a handful of plumaria flowers and play some ukulele.

Who’s an essential person to know in town?

My hairdresser, Karen Mantell from Licorice. She’s the best—she showed me how to brush my hair! Before, it was a tangled mess of sticks, dirt and glow-in-the-dark paint. She also showed me a better way to put sticks and dirt in my hair when I want to ’cuz she knows I like to be messy!

Where’s the best place to go for a walk?

Start in Esquimalt at the houseboat docks, then walk along the waterfront path until you get to the James Bay houseboat docks. Check out the doggie park, the floating french fry stand, the pirate ship and the Superior Cafe for dessert. Then walk all the way back—but this time dip your toes in the ocean (even if it is cold) and stop for a couple of beers at Spinnakers.

What’s your ideal way to unwind?

I unwind by spinning exactly the same number of times, but in the opposite direction.

What’s Victoria’s best entertainment bet?

The Great Giffoni’s Magic Show! I love magicians . . . and to anyone who cares, that’s what I want for my birthday.

—Amanda Farrell

City Guide 2009

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Geoff Young TWO-WHEELED PRACTICALITY

On the surface, city councillor and Capital Regional District board chair Geoff Young embodies the Victoria stereotype—white, well-educated and tilting to the small-C conservative side of the political spectrum.

But this is Victoria, after all, and even our conservatives aren’t afraid to get progressive every now and then.

Since first elected to Victoria city hall in 1983, the Harvard PhD economist has been a voice of fiscal reason at the decisionmaking table, reserving his vote until all relevant information is in and all probable outcomes assessed.

This “rational” approach to municipal affairs occasionally puts Young at odds with colleagues whose hearts guide their votes—evident in the telltale frown that crosses his face when he feels logic is being surrendered to emotion. So does this make for enemies at city hall?

“Maybe in the early days I was involved in some rather heated discussions, but over the years I’ve learned that while you may fundamentally disagree with a fellow councillor on a particular issue, you may be in complete agreement with them on something else at the very next meeting, so there’s nothing to be gained by holding a grudge.”

In his professional life, Young is the lead at Discovery Economic Consulting, the firm he founded in 1983 after stints as a university

lecturer and provincial bureaucrat—and one that keeps him connected to members of Victoria’s business community. In his personal life, Young lives in Fairfield with his wife and two teenage children. No doubt the genteel neighbourhood moves at Young’s pace.

“I find scraping and painting relaxing,” he says. “Which is a good thing, because it takes me a summer to do one side of our 1912 house and the paint job lasts about four years.”

And while the rest of the city only now seems to be coming around to twowheel travel, Young—a longtime bicycle commuter—found himself ahead of the carbon curve when he began taking two wheels rather than four to get around and has been a vocal advocate for better bike lanes and walking paths ever since.

“It’s not really a philosophical decision, I just take a practical approach,” he says. “It

What’s Victoria’s best-kept secret?

What’s your favourite annual event?

Summit Park—a jewel that’s hard to find.

The annual model train show is great for all ages.

Where’s a good place to meet someone?

What’s your ideal way to unwind?

On the doorstep—I am a politician!

Playing a game of soccer on the city’s all-weather pitch at Topaz Park.

Where’s the first place you’d take out-of-towners?

Treasures of the British Museum at the Royal BC Museum (unless the out-of-towners are from London, of course).

What’s Victoria’s best entertainment bet?

What’s Victoria’s most overrated feature?

A lot of the issues that people care about are local —and everyone has an opinion.

Our quietness as a place to retire; we just aren’t that quiet anymore.

Who’s an essential person to know in town?

My barber, Gus Papaloukas—who has just retired —seems to know everyone.

Symphony Splash.

Why local politics?

Your political philosophy?

Look for long term solutions—think about how people are likely to respond to quick fixes that look good in the short term.

GEOFF’S PICK What’s one thing Victoria needs?

An effective rapid transit system.

literally takes as long for me to ride home by bike as it would to extract my car from a parkade and drive home,” says Young.

“It also allows you to do your errands on the way home, stop in at the library and so forth, so it’s just I’ve always felt that’s the way I like to organize things wherever I’ve lived.”

From his perch at City Hall, does Young have any idea where our ever-evolving municipality is going? “Victorians will all go where they want to go—I’d just like them to emit less greenhouse gas getting there.” M

What’s one decision you wish city council could do over again?

Years ago we let slip a chance to push for development of the waterfront Reid site . . . and it’s still a parking lot.

Why bike? It’s cheap, it’s fast, it’s healthy—why not?

Is the sewage treatment issue political or environmental?

Both. We knew from the start meeting the political goals of multiple governments and neighbourhoods would be tricky—and now we are finding that weighing the different environmental goals of energy saving, ocean water quality, and resource recovery against each other can also be difficult.

Best decision by council during your time in office?

Support for bike paths and bike lanes.

—Jason Youmans

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City Guide 2009

Cosmo Meens

FRESH AND ORGANIC What’s the best way to spend a rainy day?

Naked in the rain.

Where’s a good place to meet someone?

Cafe Bliss Juice Bar. Where’s the first place you’d take out-of-towners?

Mo:Le for breakfast.

What’s one thing Victoria needs?

A sewage treatment plant and progressive city development.

What’s your favourite annual event?

The Island Chefs Collaborative’s Defending our Back Yard local food festival.

What’s your ideal way to relax?

In my garden with my wife and kids.

Who’s an essential person to know in town?

Degree One. What’s Victoria’s best entertainment bet?

Any show by Atomique Productions.

—Greg Pratt There are many things to ask local foodie Cosmo Meens, the “co-creator and covisionary” of Mo:Le, one of Victoria’s hipper happening food hotspots, and Café Bliss, its neighbour and a welcome (and tasty) addition to Victoria’s raw-food circle. Like, what he thinks of the local food scene (“Wonderful, world-class; simple, fresh, local, organic”) or how business is going (“We sold it to our partner Joshua Miller. It’s going wonderful”).

But, mainly, I had to find out why the place is called Mo:Le. I mean, we’ve got a colon in there, generally a bad idea, and a jarring capital letter halfway through a word that probably doesn’t rhyme with “hole” . . . yeah, it’s kinda messy, but his reasons are good—and simple enough. It’s a combination of the last two letters of his first name and the first two letters of his wife’s name, Leah.

The other big thing to talk about with Cosmo is that since selling both Mo:Le and Café Bliss (he is still a creative consultant for both) he has shifted his focus to Village Family Marketplace, a grocery store opening July 1st at 920 Pandora, that—like Mo:Le—will have many local foodies excited. “We are starting a completely local-food grocery store,” says Meens. “With vegetables, fruit, meats, seafood, eggs, cheeses, nuts, vinegar, honey and whatever else we can find that is produced here on this bountiful island that we live on. We will make preserves and pre-made dinners, soups, sauces and other foods, fresh, frozen and canned.”

COSMO’S PICK What’s Victoria’s best-kept secret?

Our raw sewage being pumped into the ocean.

With all this talk of local, raw and organic food, one would guess that ethics play a part in Meens’ business ventures. And it’s true, they do— Meens isn’t extreme enough to feel that ethics and business can’t mix; he feels that it’s actually the only way to run a successful business.

“There is no such thing as a successful business otherwise,” he says. “To be only financially successful is to have blinders on and an inability to see the whole picture. If you look around at the state of the world right now you will see endless examples of why

this is true. There is a cost that we all have to pay when we build business that focuses only on economic gain. You will see in the next few years that this will all change. We will have regulatory bodies that asses the impact a business has on its workers, its environment and the overall benefit it offers to the people; it is a service, too. If all it does is profit its shareholders then hopefully it will crumble.”

It’s refreshing to hear a guy who has a couple popular business ventures under his belt talk like this; it’s also nice to see that Meens isn’t just motivated by money, but it is something he still struggles with.

“Let’s wake up and realize how much more there is to do than make money . . . what a waste of time and life. Right now our priorities are all messed up. I am working on this within myself.” M

The Moss Street Market Open for another season of fresh local produce, food & designs!

Saturdays - May 2 to October 31 - 10am to 2pm

Rain or Shine!

Sir James Douglas School grounds at the corner of Moss St. and Fairfield Rd. in Victoria

www.mossstreetmarket.com

City Guide 2009

Tattoo You

IT’S VICTORIA INK

simonchang.com

Together in colour: Tattoo Zoo’s Sarah and Gerry Kramer One thing becomes apparent when walking around downtown: there are a lot of coffee shops and few of them are open after five. Oh, wait, that’s not it. Oh yeah, tattoo shops. We’ve got a lot of ’em. And we’ve got a lot of inked folk in this quiet little city. But that’s nothing unique to Victoria.

“Every city in every province or state has an overabundance of tattoo studios these days,” says Derek Dufresne, owner of Fleshworks Tattoos, where he is also an artist. “Victoria is no different. Most of the studios have been here for years. They’re not going anywhere.”

But Sarah Kramer, co-owner of Tattoo Zoo, doesn’t agree that we’re covered with tattoo shops.

“Do we? I don’t think we do,” she says. “I mean, the downtown core of Victoria is pretty condensed so it may seem like there’s a tattoo shop on every block, but some other Victoria-sized cities have 15 or 20 tattoo shops so six or seven in the downtown core is not really so many and there seems to be enough blank skin for everyone.”

And that everyone can include both locals and those popping into town for a visit. Yes, tourists: the much-maligned sector of the population who become a little less maligned when it’s pointed out they’re helping small local businesses when they stop in town and spend some coin. And that money does often go to tattoo shops.

“Tattoo Zoo is in a perfect location downtown because we’re easy to walk to and, if you’re driving, the Yates Street parkade is around the corner,” says the savvy Kramer. “Our local clientele appreciate that. But we also are in a bustling tourist area so we get a lot of tourists walking by who pop in to look and usually walk out with a new tattoo.”

Dax Brunet, a tattoo artist at Universal Tattoos, says they also get a good mixture of both residents and tourists.

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City Guide 2009

STYLE

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City Guide 2009

INK SPOT What’s your favourite place on the body to do?

“Feet, actually,” says Universal’s Dax Brunet. “They’re painful, but they tattoo great and look really cool.”

“We’re lucky and we seem to get a good flow of locals and tourists,” he says. “The shop has been around since ’78 so it’s a mainstay in the community. It’s always good to have a firm base and be good to your clients, ’cause in the slower months when there is no tourism they’re the ones that you are going to count on.”

But it seems like tourism or no, there is enough demand to keep all of Victoria’s tattoo shops running. “There seems to be right now,” says Sparky of Urge Tattoos, now on Cook Street. “Some shops do better than others and this city seems to weed out the bad artists.

There have been a couple of shops over the years that, for one reason or another, have closed their doors. I’m sure the rebirth of the art in the last 10 years will die down and only the best shops in Victoria will survive, but right now things are good.”

But right now we’re in the midst of a rather brutal recession, one that finds many people being laid off and many businesses suffering.

So are things good in the tattoo industry? Are tattoo shops, like grocery stores and AC/DC, recession-proof?

“I don’t think any business is recessionproof,” says Fleshworks’ Dufresne. “Tattoo studios feel the pinch, just like anyone else; I have heard of tattoo studios having to close down. Recessions are good for trimming the fat. You keep your head down and do great work and just ride it out.”

Kramer laughs and says, “We’ll see,” when asked the same question, but adds that the Zoo is as busy as it’s ever been. Universal’s Brunet says, “There ain’t nothing recessionproof,” with a laugh, and adds, “but we just try not to think about it and just work as much as we can and be thankful for what we got.”

And what we’ve got is a city with no shortage of talented tattoo artists, shops that don’t overlap each other as far as styles go (although many of the artists are adept at many different styles, and often have specialties that draw specific clients) and, for a brief moment in time, a good reason to not complain about tourists. M

What’s your least favourite kind of tattoo?

“It’s all a matter of what the client wants,” says Universal’s Dax Brunet. “Who am I to say it’s a stupid idea?”

“We love to tattoo all styles,” says Tattoo Zoo’s Sarah Kramer, ”but our least favourite is someone who comes in not knowing what they want.”

“Any tattoo where you aren’t allowed creative freedom,” says Fleshworks’ Derek Dufresne.

What’s your least favourite place on the body to do?

“I really don’t like tattooing any place that happens to be extremely painful,” says Urge’s Sparky. “It’s very stressful to tattoo someone that’s in a lot of pain.”

“The ribs,” says Brunet. “It’s a lot harder and a lot slower going but they look great so everyone wants it there.”

“Let’s just say . . . um . . . that if you’re getting a tattoo near or around a private area, wash your junk before you come in,” says Kramer.

Have you ever said no to doing a tattoo?

“Yeah, a few times,” says Brunet. “I won’t do anything racist and I won’t tattoo someone’s face.”

“Lots and lots,” says Sparky. “I really don’t have to tattoo anything or anyone that I don’t want to. I also feel that I have a responsibility to make sure people don’t get tattoos that will make them unemployable or that they will otherwise regret later on in life.”

—Greg Pratt

T

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City Guide 2009

Wendy Morton

OTHER PEOPLE’S STORIES What’s Victoria’s best-kept secret?

Dragon Alley. Everybody knows about Fan Tan, but nobody knows Dragon Alley. People work there and live there, so it’s not as commercial as Fan Tan; the ghosts are still there.

What’s the best way to spend a rainy day?

My favourite place to be anywhere is a hotel lobby . . . I love to just sit there and watch the way people communicate, the way they dress, everything. So I’d go into the upstairs mezzanine of the Empress—which isn’t as good as in the good old days, when you could go into the lobby and just sit.

Where’s a good place to meet someone?

The Black Stilt. It’s a charming place with leather couches and chairs.

Where’s the first place you’d take out-of-towners?

I do love to take them to the Empress, just to see it. There, or Value Village. Often I don’t buy anything—unless it’s a Tuesday, when I get the senior’s discount of 30 percent off—but I just go around and look, because it’s just so much fun; sometimes I call it “VV Boutique Therapy.”

What’s one local must-visit store?

I really like the Market on Yates, because it’s small and people bump into each other. It’s the best chatty store and they have really good seafood.

When it comes to fulfilling creative potential, Wendy Morton should be a template for guaranteed success. Not content with her quarter-century day job as an insurance investigator (although private eye sounds so much better), back in the late ‘90s she decided to tackle a late-in-life reinvention of herself as poet. But not just any poet; as recounted in her 2006 memoir, 6 Impossible Things Before Breakfast, in less than 10 years Morton went from unpublished writer to a professional poet with four books, a pair of impressive—and totally self-motivated—positions (WestJet’s Poet of the Skies and DaimlerChrysler’s Poet of the Road) and at least one achievement that has grown beyond even her own expectation and imagination: the creation of the now nation-wide Random Acts of Poetry week.

Perhaps best known locally for hosting the long-running Mocambopo poetry nights (now based out of the Black Stilt and called Planet Earth Poetry, from which she recently stepped

WENDY’S PICK What’s one thing Victoria needs?

To tear up the boulevards and plant gardens. Let’s do it, man.

down), aside from her garden at her home in Sooke, Morton’s current project is a book fusing archival photographs of Alberni Valley settlers with her poetry based on the stories of historic residents—including seven survivors of residential schools. “It’s a huge departure for me,” says Morton of What Were Their Dreams? Valleys of Hope and Pain: Canada’s History. “It was a really moving experience and it gave me a vision I didn’t have before.”

Despite the fact that she turned 69 this year, Morton—who also helped create Victoria’s poet laureate position—has no plans to slow down anytime soon. “It’s all a state of mind. It’s bullshit to say 69 is the new 50; it’s more like 30 is the new 20,” she laughs. “Age is not a complicated thing: if you move your body, eat good stuff, have purpose and an interesting life of the mind, you’re going to live long.”

Same goes with her career in investigation.

“I don’t think I’ll ever retire,” she says with a bit of a sigh. “I don’t ask for work, they just give it to me. It’s probably the most interesting job I could ever have gotten in my life.”

But for Morton, it’s about much more than just being a snoop sister; it’s about hearing other people’s stories. “That’s what I do on a weekly basis, and that’s what my poetry often is—other people’s stories.” M

Who’s an essential person to know in town?

Dean Fortin. He’s such a nice man and he has a good heart. I introduced city council to poetry, and he was always so eager. He’s the least political politician I know and he’s a very decent human being. I hope the mayor’s job doesn’t change his essential goodness.

Can poetry change people’s lives?

Yes. It sure as hell changed mine! Can it change your life in a thunderbolt way? No, but it can open your heart for a day. So many people say to me, “You made my day.”

What’s been your greatest poetic success?

Random Acts of Poetry. To be able to have poets all over Canada experience what I’ve experienced—the joy of sharing their poetry to people who may not have heard a poem for over 30 years—is just the best thing. It’s okay to preach to the converted, but to read a poem to the unconverted is another thing altogether. Thousands of people have been poemed, affecting not just them but the poets too.

Why is Victoria such a poet-heavy city?

It’s rich, isn’t it? Well, Patrick Lane has been running poetry retreats since 1997, which is a huge thing for encouraging and nurturing poets . . . I started with nothing in 1998 and am now on my sixth book. And it’s a lovely place to live. It’s also a less competitive, more supportive environment than, say, Vancouver or Toronto.

What have you learned from hosting Planet Earth Poetry?

This series has been going on in Victoria for 12 years, and listening to poetry and reading my own have taught me what it means to be a poet.

—John Threlfall

City Guide 2009

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The Gallery 250-658-8333

The Secret Garden 250-658-2455

VQA Wine Shop 250-658-3116

Art Knapp 250-658-1013

Sunday’s Snowflakes 250-658-8499

Mattick’s Mini Golf 250-658-4053

Country Gift Shop 250-658-1812

The Ladybug Boutique 250-658-3807

Lasting Impression Stamps 250-658-8448

Calico Cupboard 250-658-2722

The Continental Kitchen 250-658-8191

Gramma Fay’s Ice Cream & Juice Bar 250-658-1535

Paper Chain 250-658-2725

Adrienne’s Tea Garden 250-658-1535

Red Barn Market 250-658-2998

5325 Cordova Bay Road Victoria, BC Next to Cordova Bay Golf Course | Open Every Day | Free Parking

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City Guide 2009

Charles Campbell

ARTISTIC ACTIVIST

Charles Campbell is a man of balance. Painter, father, activist, a guy who likes to relax by walking his dog . . . in a way, he’s the everyman of Victoria.

He’s also the communications director at the Dogwood Initiative, B.C.’s prominent land-reform organization, recently made even more popular with their No-Tanker loonie sticker project making waves. But Campbell is modest about his ability to balance the different aspects of his life.

“I don’t know if I set a very good example here,” he says, “although I’m learning that I’m often best at my work for Dogwood when I am most engaged with my creative life as a painter. Sadly, I don’t always keep it up.”

But even if Campbell—who is originally from Jamaica and also teaches yoga at Iyengar Yoga Center of Victoria—doesn’t always keep it up, Dogwood does keep fighting the good fight. And even with the town being rife with political and social-rights activity, Campbell says that the activist scene in Mile Zero is more vibrant than it seems.

“It’s much broader and much deeper than you first might think,” he says. “There is a small group that you might immediately identify as ‘activists,’ but a much larger set of people that hold the feeling in their heart that the world must change. These are the people I’m interested in talking to.”

Submerse yourself.

Now open daily.

And people are interested in talking to Campbell, because through his involvement with Dogwood he’s helping to keep B.C. even just a little bit beautiful (the fact that his art has shown at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Havana Biennial, and that he’ll be representing Jamaica at the Cuenca Biennial in Ecuador in October, doesn’t hurt).

And Campbell says that things are going good right now at Dogwood, even during these tough economic times.

“I feel really lucky to be working at Dogwood, not just because of the work we do, but also because of the people I work with. We laugh a lot. It seems like the busier our campaigns, the greater the office hilarity.

Resources are always tight, but in a perverse way this is a source of inspiration. I mean if tiny Dogwood, with its seven staff, can take on multibillion dollar multi-national oil companies, there has to be hope, right?”

Right. But what it all comes down to is this: after all the protests, all the struggles, all the clever signs and chants, can activists just relax and unwind and enjoy the city?

“Enjoying where you are is the key to being an activist,” says Campbell. “It’s all about What’s Victoria’s being aware, and making best entertainment bet? others aware, of the beauty The Belfry. and potential of the world around you.” M

CHARLES PICK

9811 Seaport Place, Sidney, BC, V8L 4X3 250.665.7511 | www.oceandiscovery.ca

City Guide 2009

Welcome to the Amazing world of

Insects and Arachnids Specializing in GIANT tropical insects since 1997 What’s Victoria’s best-kept secret?

Shawn Shepherd and Mary Patterson at Polychrome Fine Arts on Fort Street.

Where’s a good place to meet someone?

Green Drinks. It is one of the few places I feel okay about striking up a conversation with a complete stranger. You get all the credit for being an environmentalist too, but all that’s asked of you is that you show up and drink beer.

Where’s the first place you’d take out-of-towners?

Grab a burrito at Hernande’z and then head up to Mt. Doug for a view of the city.

What’s one local must-visit store? Hemp & Co. What’s one thing Victoria needs?

A covered year-round market; I suggest the Crystal Gardens.

What’s your ideal way to relax?

Ideal? On a boat, with a red stripe, on a hot day with enough breeze to keep the sails full. But that was a different life. Mostly, I go down to the beach and read.

Who’s an essential person to know in town?

Knowing yourself is usually a good start.

Where’s the best place to go for a walk?

I’m a dog owner, so have to say Dallas Road.

What’s your ideal way to unwind?

Cooking dinner for a friend.

631 Courtney Street • 384-BUGS (2847) • www.bugzoo.com

—Greg Pratt

We add art to your life.

1 0 4 0 MO S S ST. V I C TO R I A B C • 2 5 0 . 3 8 4 . 4 1 0 1

CO L L E C T I O N • E X H I B I T I O N S A RT I ST TA L K S • G A L L E RY S H O P P U B L I C & FA M I LY P R O G R A M S S P E C I A L E V E N T S • A G G V. B C .C A

Monday2009-UltimateGuide.indd 1

5/29/2009 4:29:57 PM

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City Guide 2009

What’s your dream public-art project for Victoria?

Mid Century Modern, Vintage, Country, Antique

Furniture & Collectibles

Charmaine’s

Past & Present Home Collections

I think an interactive site in a local park would be amazing; a kind of open site for performers and artists to participate in a fluid programme, devoted to a wide variety of art projects—from objects, to events, to performances—to expand the notion of public art in the city. In fact, I could see this as a city-wide happening, much like CAFKA in Kitchener-Waterloo, which would allow us to experience a wide variety of art events throughout the city—either during a festival-style 10day event or ongoing throughout the year—to build our knowledge base and give artists and the various publics that make up any city a variety of opportunities to experience the expansion of consciousness and discourse that occurs through vital public spaces.

What’s Victoria’s best-kept secret?

Atomic Vaudeville—although I think more and more people are finding out about this troupe. I still can’t believe they haven’t been lured away to LA or New York.

We are lucky to have Britt Small and Jacob Richmond here in this city, producing this kind of edgy work.

What’s the best way to spend a rainy day?

At the Gallery, of course!

Where’s the best place to go for a walk?

1082 Fort St. • 250-382-1083 • www.charmaines.org

East Sooke Park.

Where’s the first place you’d take out-of-towners?

Aside from the Gallery, East Sooke Park.

What’s one local must-visit store?

Oscar and Libby’s.

What’s one thing Victoria needs?

Support for a new space for the Art Gallery; given the new economic times, it’s not right on the horizon for us right now, but something we continue to build toward.

What’s your favourite annual event?

Antimatter Film Festival.

Who’s an essential person to know in town?

Jon Tupper is an essential person to get to know —he’s great addition to the city!

What’s your ideal way to unwind?

A ride on the Galloping Goose Trail.

What’s Victoria’s best entertainment bet?

Other than Atomic Vaudeville, the Gallery’s VIBE programme which is overseen by Tania Muir is ambitious and wide ranging—and, of course, the Belfry is always a fantastic place to go for live theatre and Dance Victoria, for a truly remarkable contemporary dance experience.

What’s Victoria’s most overrated feature?

I’m not sure if it’s overrated, but thinking of ourselves primarily as a tourist town encourages us to look at quick marketing strategies designed for those who do not live here—a focus on the British colonial life, for example, when there were so many other people who came to Victoria to make it the city it is (Chinese settlers, for example) or were here for millennia (the broad rich

City Guide 2009

15

Lisa Baldissera

CULTURED AND CONTEMPORARY

For the past decade, Lisa Baldissera has run the contemporary art wing of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. The UVic alumnus has recently wrapped curating Assume Nothing: New Social Practice, a 115-day exhibition that included live performance, film screenings, the creation of off-site art spaces and a host of other activities—an experience that Baldissera says she learned a lot from.

“I love to see people at play in the field of ideas, which is exactly what happened with Assume Nothing,” she says. “During the various tours and events that happened, I had some great conversations with people, both new to—and seasoned veterans of—social practice, public art and urban planning. Art allows for this kind of openended dialogue to take place, which is often the vanguard, the place in which true innovation happens, liberated from a focus on specific outcomes and broadened to spaces of visionary thinking.”

Although she just finished curating the AGGV’s largest-ever contemporary art exhibit, Baldissera isn’t slowing down. Next on the list? Great New Wave: Contemporary Art from Japan, slated to open in January 2010.

“It’s a co-production with the Art Gallery of Hamilton, featuring six artists and some of the most innovative work from that country, including Tabaimo, who participated in the 2007 Venice Biennale, as well as Miwa Yanagi, featured in Global Feminisms, a big contemporary project presented in Brooklyn, New York which looked at recent ideas in feminism,” she explains.

Baldissera feels that the contemporary-art

topography of First Nations experience beyond objects alone, as well as new immigrants to the city). Marketing plans are powerful and even though they are recognized as oversimplifications, they can come to dominate a city’s idea of itself. Representing ourselves from the inside out allows us to create a truly unique city.

—Amanda Farrell

scene in Mile Zero is a strong one, citing alternative spaces like the Ministry of Casual Living, Studio 16½, Deluge, the Fifty-Fifty and Open Space.

“Contemporary galleries reaching beyond expected tourist markets are essential, and these kind of innovative commercial galleries are important to a thriving scene, so it is good

to see,” she says. “We’ve also seen more collaborations between institutions and that is always a good sign.”

But hey, it’s not all work for Baldissera. Her ideal way to relax? “A great coffee at one of the 1001 great local coffee shops that grace our city, and the Globe or NY Times on a Sunday morning.” M

“ The Little ShopThat Does It Right”…

C E L E B R AT I O N S EVENTS WEDDINGS REMEMBRANCES

LISA’S PICK Where’s a good place to meet someone?

Daidacco—the best little authentic Japanese restaurant tucked away uncannily near the Bug Zoo on Courtney Street.

Daisy Chain F L O R I S T S

L I M I T E D

950 FORT ST VICTORIA 250.382.2512 w w w. d a i s y c h a i n f l o r i s t s . c o m

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City Guide 2009

Let’s Do Brunch

SLEEPING IN, EATING LATE

If you’ve ever gone for brunch on a Saturday in Victoria, you’ve no doubt spent some quality time in a line-up. Despite a veritable horn of plenty in the city, it seems there’s always more people waiting to eat brunch than seats available.

But what makes us such a brunch town?

In search of an answer, we went straight to the source: Mile Zero’s own self-professed “bacon and egg queen,” Rosamund Harcourt, owner-operator of the famed Blue Fox. (“Better make that operator-owner,” quips the hardworking Harcourt. “There is a difference.”)

For the few who don’t know it, the Blue Fox on Fort Street is both a breakfast trendsetter and arguably still the reigning brunch champion—which Harcourt says is no accident. “We’ve been improving for the past 18 years and we’ve kept our market share because we’re changing all the time.” She cites a reliance on Island products, such as free-range eggs, local chicken and Fernwood Coffee, as well as the more elusive factor of customer loyalty. “That’s kind of odd,

actually,” she says. “Maybe it’s that morning thing, where you need a bit more soothing and comfort, whereas by the time evening comes around you’re ready to take on the world. But we’ve got customers who came here as university students and are now parents who bring their kids here—as well as people who haven’t been here for five or six years, and then come back and say, ‘Wow, this place is actually better than I remember it.’”

But again, that’s no accident. “It’s just hard work and being here all the time,” Harcourt says. “I work as hard as I did on day one, maybe a little harder.”

Monday’s resident food writer, James Russell, has a slightly different take on the brunch bunch. “It might be due to the fact that we have a lot of high quality restaurants in general, a lot of foodies and active people who are out anyway,” he muses. “It can also be a showcase for talented cooks to do something special for a day or two a week that is more affordable for most of us than their dinners.”

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Russell notes that brunch can be an effective entree into the local scene. “When new restaurants open in Victoria, they know there is a market for brunch so they get in on the act.”

In addition, he points to the fact that there are not only a great deal of restaurants per capita here but also a lot of people working in said restaurants. “A lot of the brunch crowd are actually from the large food service industry,” he says. “They work late, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, and winding down

City Guide 2009 after a busy night often includes some heavy duty nightlife. Then, of course, they wake up late and need to eat something good before heading back for the next night’s shift.”

And while he was hesitant to reveal all his favourites (who wants bigger lineups?), Russell’s top brunch spots include The Village, Mo:Le, Sunshine Cafe, Fort St. Cafe (“a funky underground place with a Mexican inspired brunch buffet and really nice people”) and the very new Devour (“the food is awesome”). But Russell is clearly not alone in his love for the mid-day meal; with the most recent spate of brunch spots including the likes of Cabin 12, Lucy’s in the Square, Bubba Rose, the Heron Rock Bistro, Solomon’s, the Reef, the Blue Coast and Ferris’ upstairs, it seems like there’s always somewhere trying to do something new with eggs and toast.

The final word goes back to the Foxy lady herself. “You’ve just gotta go forward,” says Harcourt. “Keep trying to make it better and everybody else will just fall in line with that.”

If you’ve yet to get out and have your fill, here’s our tips for the city’s best brunch bets.

—John Threlfall Avalon - Great toast, few tables, so get there early.

1075 Fort. 385-2129.

Blue Fox - A local tradition for all sorts of delicious reasons. 919 Fort. 380-1683.

Cafe Mulatta - A James Bay mainstay.

281 Menzies. 385-9616.

Cup of Joe - Go downstairs for another longstanding JB fave. #1 - 230 Menzies. 380-2563.

Demitasse - Try the breakfast taco.

1320 Blanshard. 386-4442.

Ferris’ Oyster Bar & Grill - Oysters for brunch?

Why not? 536 Yates. 360-1824.

tasting room the anti-restaurant

Floyd’s Diner - Bet on the Mahoney, where you can flip your server to see if your random breakfast is free or costs double the menu price. 866 Yates. 381-5114.

Fort Street Cafe - Top-notch cafeteria-style eatery with a great soundtrack. 742 Fort. 382-3130.

John’s Place - It’s not just the waffles that have made this place a local legend. 723 Pandora. 389-0711.

Lady Marmalade - Fresh flavours and funky atmosphere.

608 Johnson. 381-2872.

SERVING ARTISANAL CHEESES C U R E D M E AT S & W I N E O P E N W E D N E S D AY T H R U S AT U R D AY 600 PM TO 1130 PM

Mo:Le - Go for a window seat and the best tofu scramble in town. 554 Pandora. 385-6653.

Nautical Nellies - Six different versions of French toast and so much more. 1001 Wharf. 380-2260 Pluto’s - Your best bet for eating on a sunny patio.

1150 Cook. 250-385-4747.

Shine Cafe - A great all-day breakfast spot.

1548 Fort. 595-2133.

The Superior - Music with brunch in a decidedly artsy atmosphere. 106 Superior. 380-9515. M

537 Herald Street Victoria BC | 250.380.0005

w w w . u n i o n p a c i fi c a f t e r d a r k . c o m

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City Guide 2009

Get Out

Get face-to-face with the fish at Sidney’s Ocean Discovery Centre

FAMILY FUN

At first glance, Victoria doesn’t seem to boast much in the family-friendly line. While there has been a long-standing push to establish a children’s museum downtown (somewhere, sometime), we’re lacking the obvious handson science/waterslide/amusement park kinda places that bigger cities like Vancouver seem to have in spades. But what we lack in big-ticket admission rates, we more than make up for in free, outdoorsy fun. Yep, if you’re looking for parks, nature walks and other up-close and personal takes on the world around us, it’s hard to beat our city on the edge of forever.

“That’s one of the most important and underappreciated things to focus on today,” says Nicole Polet, manager of the nature house at Goldstream Provincial Park. “Kids aren’t connecting with nature like they used to; what we do here is help foster that connection, help kids see the benefits of taking care of our environment.”

Polet, a biologist and senior park naturalist, has spent the past four years introducing families to the environment at Goldstream.

“I love the job,” she says. “I’m one of those who got the connection with nature when I was little, and I love connecting kids with nature.” In addition to the most popular times of the year—the famous salmon from midOctober to December, and the immediately thereafter bald eagle salmon-feast that runs through to the end of January—Goldstream’s calendar includes events like the Dog Days of Summer (August 1-2), Ice Cream Sunday (August 16), Art in Your Parks (August 29), the biannual Nature of Island Artists art show (mid-

September to mid-October) and the Salmon Run 5K Run (October 18). But events aside, Polet feels it’s essential to get children back into the great outdoors.

“Kids today know a lot about global warming and the environment, but they can’t go outside and identify local species any more,” she says. “They don’t seem to have that personal connection to nature. Technology and society is changing, but the sad thing is now is the important time for us to have that connection, and we don’t.” M

TREASURES of

Playing this summer WHALES s GRAND CANYON s AFRICA: THE SERENGETI s OCEAN OASIS s JOURNEY TO MECCA Located inside the Royal BC Museum 250-480-4887 imaxvictoria.com

City Guide 2009 While Goldstream—with its abundance of nature and hiking trails, educational programs and a pair of waterfalls (one even called Niagara)—may be the most obvious place for an outdoor excursion, the CRD is blessed with an abundance of great parks and playgrounds, many of which have been updated over the past few years. Swan Lake Nature House is another ideal all-season destination (the nature house itself is great in the rain, while the surrounding park is filled with walking trails and duck food is a steal at 50 cents a bag). And, of course, there are our many fine beaches (notably Willows, French, Cadboro Bay, Esquimalt and Witty’s Lagoon), swimming spots (Thetis, Matheson, Sooke Potholes), gardens (Abkhazi, Finnerty, Glendale) and parks (Beacon Hill being the crown jewel).

But if you’re looking for things to do with your family, here’s a crash course in all-ages destinations in and around Victoria. • Royal BC Museum: It’s more than worth getting an annual pass (adults $45, kids 6-18 $10), as it’s the best place to go when the weather is lousy. And the attached IMAX theatre also sells a limited number of annual passes ($42) but only in late November and they typically sell out by the end of January. • Sidney’s new Ocean Discovery Centre: Finally, an Island aquarium we can be proud of. With 17 tanks, a beautiful setting and a very reasonable annual pass (adults $22, $16 for kids 6-17), this one is a must-visit. • Craigdarroch Castle and Hatley Castle: Rapunzel aside, who doesn’t love a castle? • Fisgard Lighthouse and Fort Rodd Hill: Watch for the whales and discover our historic past.

• Maritime Museum of British Columbia: Learn about our coastal history (and ask about their pirate camp). • Butchart Gardens: Flowers and fireworks, a fabulous summer stage, lots of grass and paths to explore, plus it’s dog- and picnic-friendly and will soon have a beautiful carousel. Again, an annual pass ($52 regular or $76 with fireworks) is worth considering. • Children’s Fun Hour: Held weekly at Hillside Centre and featuring a rotating series of free live entertainers. • The Bug Zoo: Where else can you wear a living millipede moustache or handle a real tarantula? It’s worth multiple visits, making the $25 annual pass a bargain. • Kid-friendly movies: The Roxy and UVic’s Cinecenta are the obvious choices for inexpensive weekend matinees, but most of the mainstream movie houses also offer babyspecific screenings. • Strong Start: Various local elementary schools offer this highly regarded early learning program for preschool kids. • The CRD has an abundance of libraries, pools and community centres well worth visiting. • Keep your eye on Monday’s Calendar for seasonal events like Fringekids, the Selkirk Waterfront Festival, the easter egg hunt at St. Ann’s, the Oak Bay Tea Party, Esquimalt’s Buccaneer Days, Luminara and more. • Finally, if you’re looking for family resources online, check out some of the popular local parenting sites like nouvellemama.com, kidsinvictoria.com, playvictoria.org and victoriastroller.ca, as well as the ever-popular and always informative (and free!) Island Parent magazine.

—John Threlfall

Goldstream Park is a great place to connect with nature

COME TO ART SCHOOL THIS SUMMER weeke end workshops

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City Guide 2009

Blog City

KEEPING UP AS IT HAPPENS

With general-interest media in decline, the public is turning more and more to venues that speak directly to the issues they care about, in a voice they understand. And so blogging—the art of citizen-generated journalism (often with a heaping helping of opinion)—continues to grow.

We asked journalist Sean Holman—who oversees the most well-read blog emerging from the CRD these days—what the appeal is of this form of communication.

“It allows ordinary people to seize the means of information production,” he says. “Whether or not they have actually taken advantage of that opportunity is another question entirely.”

Which is to say, Holman thinks we lag behind our southern neighbours where forming digital communities is concerned.

And what of concerns that just any schmuck can start posting his opinions as fact?

“Any kind of information should be assessed on the basis of its source,” says Holman. “For

funky new shops

Sean Holman helps keep B.C. politcs transparent example, I’m a journalist, so I do my best to keep my facts straight, I do my best to ensure that the reports I publish are accurate, therefore I think Public Eye is a trustworthy source. I think everything has to be taken on a case-by-case basis.”

So with that caveat in mind, dive into the local bloggosphere for a view of the city through someone else’s eyes.

35

MARKET

SQUARE

locca favourites local

LOCAL BOUTIQUES & EATERIES VISIT OUR WEBSITE marketsquare.ca arketsquare.ca | 560 Johnson

All Things Civic • Robert Randall, the chair of the Downtown Victoria Residents Association gives his first hand account of municipal politics and land use decisions that affect life in the core at robertrandall.wordpress.com.

• Find some thoughtful analysis on politics and development in the Capital Region from Bernard Schulman, a man who knows more about public policy than most politicians, at victoriavision.blogspot.com. Also links to plenty of other local blogs from his site.

City Guide 2009 • Spawned from disillusioned Langford residents tired of getting half the story from the their local newspaper—and none from their local politicians—the diligent writers at insidelangford.ca attend every meeting on the calendar and chronicle the events.

• For a slightly less objective view of life on the WestSHore, visit WTF Langford at wtflangford.blogspot.com and link from their to the web presence of the region’s ecoactivist crowd.

• Putting into words the long-simmering thoughts of many CRD residents, amalgamategreatervictoria.blogspot. com spells out the many reasons to ditch a few excess municipalities.

• Although the blog is updated infrequently, the discussion forum on vibrantvictoria.ca/blog is the place to be for people concerned about South Island affairs.

• Other blogs of note include the musings of local thinkers Rob Wipond and Yule Hiebel on their respective sites, try househuntvictoria.blogspot.com for thoughts on the local real estate scene and find out what really lurks behind Oak Bay’s tweed curtain at coreyburger.ca.

Politics and Public Policy • Daily scuttlebutt from the bowels of the provincial parliament can be found at publiceyeonline.com. Secrets revealed and untruths uncovered—all by the least popular man in the legislature.

• Journalists from around the province post to the Tyee’s always informative, always evolving thread at thetyee.ca/ Blogs/TheHook.

A Taste of the City Given that we’re such a foodie destination, no surprise we’ve got a second helping of foodie blogs.

SUNDAY

• The Victoria Burger Blog at vicburgers.blogspot. com continues the hunt for the perfect local burger.

Cheese & Antipasti Plates $10 Wines just above cost

• If food by the kilo is more your style, check out the Victoria Buffet Blog at vicbuffet.com.

MONDAY

• As charming to read as its name, Melody Wey’s Audrey Needs More Wooden Spoons at paigeout. blogspot.com is always fun and informative.

Muddled Mint Drinks $4 Momos $5.50

• And, of course, veteran vegan Sarah Kramer is a must-follow blogger for anyone on the alt end of the food spectrum. She’s got a great pair at sarahstourdiary. blogspot.com and goodfoodca.blogspot.com.

TUESDAY Pints of Phillips Beer $4 Naan Pizzas $5.50

All Things Arts • Check the city’s fashion scene at thevicchic.blogspot. com.

WEDNESDAY Martinis $5 Prawns $7.50

• Stay up on what’s going down in jazz with music writer Rick Gibbs’ jazz blog at islandjazz.ca.

• Just what’s going on with Victoria’s public art scene?

Find out at publicart.ca.

• And, of course, for the last word on the quirky history of our region, check out former Monday editor and man of a thousand tales Ross Crockford’s Unknown City at unknownvictoria.blogspot.com, where he answers all your questions about this wacky waterfront.

(You can also read his column of the same name in Monday each month.)

—Monday staff

THURSDAY Pints of Phillips Beer $4 Thunder Spaghetti $7 Open Everyday 5:30 pm - 2:00 am 1414 Douglas Street, Victoria BC

250-386-6468 (MINT)

21

City Guide 2009

22

Alley, Cats

• Nootka Court

For a city with such a distinct lack of back lanes, Victoria sure seems to have a lot of notable alleys. Some, like Chinatown’s Fan Tan and Dragon alleys, are holdovers from a more labyrinthine era, when narrow walkways and connecting corridors were natural developments in getting from point A to point B sans automobiles. Others are more recent shopper-friendly shortcuts, offering a handy hideaway for chic boutiques and off-thebeaten path eateries. Here’s a quickie guide to some sneaky spots.

• Millie’s Lane

GET BETWEEN THE STREETS

• Fan Tan Alley Once the entrance to a maze of courtyards, passageways, gambling dens and opium parlours, Fan Tan Alley (named after the popular 19th century betting game) still offers some of the funkiest shops in the city in the short span between Pandora and Fisgard. But don’t go if you’re claustrophobic—Fan Tan is less than a metre wide at its narrowest point and is often crowded in the summer.

• Trounce Alley Named after local pioneer Thomas Trounce, don’t miss the century-old authentic gas lights on this, apparently one of only two still-privately-owned alleys in Canada.

• Bastion Square In addition to all the fine brickwork and the Maritime Museum, this centre of the city’s history features a pair of somewhat grungy alleys to explore, one to the north and one to the south. Just watch where you walk.

• Waddington Alley A short connector between Yates and Johnson streets, the most visible remnants of “Victoria’s original shopping mall” are the wooden bricks that act as a charming reminder of the city’s history. While little besides the bricks and the soon-to-be-restored Morley’s Soda Factory remains of Alfred Waddington’s 1858 “private alley,” you can learn all about what used to be there courtesy of the historical marker on the Yates side.

Less of an alley and more of a landscaped passageway to escape the rain, this is a great local hideaway connecting Courtney and Humboldt streets. Inside, you’ll find gardens, a totem pole, an old British phone box, the Bug Zoo and a great sushi place.

Also called Odeon Alley or Maynard Court by most residents (due to the close proximity of the neighbouring Odeon theatre and Maynard building), this proletariat passageway is less quaint than its LoJo neighbour, Waddington Alley, and mainly serves as a quick connector for anyone zipping between upper Johnson and Yates (UJo? UpYa?). It’s named for the late Millie Hawkes—who, along with her husband Bernie, ran Manton Shoe Repair in the alley for over 30 years—and officially received its new name in 2007.

• Dragon Alley The newest addition to the city’s backdoor routes, this recently restored connector between Fisgard and Herald is often favoured more by locals than tourists. While little remains of the shacks and huts once inhabited by the city’s iconic Chinese community here, this charming pedestrian passageway is well worth a meander • Monday Alley Aside from offering a handy shortcut between Fort and Broughton streets for visitors to the Y, the daily flock of lawyers en route to the city’s courthouse and us staff at the Black Press building, there’s not much to see in this tiny space between buildlings . . . unless you have to pee, or are looking for a place to sleep for the night. (And no, it’s not really called “Monday Alley.”)

Still curious about local history? In addition to the various bus tours, harbour tours and Kabuki Kab tours of the city, there are also a number of walking tours that will give you the lowdown on Mile Zero’s people and places, both famous and infamous.

Discover the Past Perhaps the best of the city’s walking tours, Discover the Past is mainly famed for its spooky after-dark Ghostly Walks (now offering an “extreme” version too), but also for their fascinating and informative Chinatown and Neighbourhood Discovery Walks. Ghostly Walks ($8-$12) run nightly from the Visitor Info Centre across from the Empress in the Inner Harbour and Chinatown Walks on

Almpresents a de España Flamenco Dance Company & School 19th Annual Summer Flamenco Workshop Guest Instructor Carmen Romero Also

July & August Technique Classes Tuesday & Thursday Evenings Beginners to advanced levels with Amity Skala

Flamenco Bootcamp at noon with Veronica Maguire

Stroll down Waddington Alley Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. Click over to discoverthepast.com or call 250-384-6698 for full info.

Walkabouts Historical Tours The only tour company allowed to offer tours inside the Empress, Walkabouts also offers 90-minute excursions into the Inner Harbour, Old Town, Market Square, Antique Row, Chinatown and some of our finest heritage homes.

Featuring 11 multilingual guides (including French, German and Spanish), the $10 Empress tour runs at 10 a.m. daily mid-May to October, while some other tours must be arranged in advance. Visit walkabouts.ca or call 250-592WALK for more on them.

Secrets of the City The Downtown Victoria Business Association prints its own free self-guided walking tours—Secrets of the City, Walk Downtown and the Walk/Run loop map—available at the DVBA HQ at 20 Centennial Square, as well as City Hall, the Bay Centre, the Visitor Info Centre and many downtown stores.

AIBC Each summer, the Architectural Institute of BC offers six different $5 tours of Victoria’s unique architecture, each running 90 minutes to two hours, rain or shine. Most tours meet at the Community Arts Council gallery in the Sussex Building, G6 1001 Douglas at 1 p.m. daily and run Thursday-Saturday, July to the end of August. Visit aibc.ca or call 604-683-8588 ext. 333 .

Cemetery Tours The Old Cemeteries Society offers $5 walking tours of local cemeteries (but mostly Ross Bay) at 2 p.m. every Sunday from February to December, with a different theme each week. Call 250-598-8870 or see oldcem.bc.ca to find out about waking the dead.

CFB Esquimalt

One week only August 3 -7 2009

Photo credit: Cylla Von Tiedemann

F o r m o r e i n f o : c a l l 2 5 0 . 3 8 4 . 8 8 3 2 • w w w. a l m a d e e s p a n a . c o m

Do some real naval gazing at these free two-hour guided tours, running 11 a.m. weekdays from mid-May to the end of August at the Canadian Forces Base on Admirals Road in Esquimalt. Note: picture ID is required for anyone over 12 (it is a military base, after all). See navy.forces.gc.ca/ marpac or call 250-363-5291.

The Parliament Buildings Finally, you can really get inside the political scene with this guided tour of our governmental seat. Tours run yearround—9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily in the summer and 9-5 weekdays the rest of the year—are offered in different languages and, best of all, they’re free. (Your tax dollars at work!) Visit leg.bc.ca or call 250-387-3046 and ask for Gordo.

City Guide 2009

e h t r o F er

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