Tap your feet or get up to dance to the sound of Irish music as groups celebrate their green roots with the distinctive, traditional and lively sound from the Emerald Isle.
Listen to one of Canada’s outstanding young Celtic duos at St. Paddy’s Day with Qristina and Quinn Bachand, at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre on Friday.
Enjoy an evening of traditional Irish music featuring the local siblings, who are two-time Irish Music Awards winners. Qristina plays the fiddle. Quinn can play the acoustic guitar, Irish tenor banjo, clawhammer banjo, bodhran, fiddle and electric guitar. Both can sing.
The event features Irish food and drink, plus the O’Brien Irish Dancers.
Tickets are $20. Doors open at 6 p.m. for dinner service, with the music starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Upstairs Lounge of the recreation centre, 1975 Bee St.
Tickets are available at Oak Bay Recreation Centre reception, Ivy’s Bookshop, or online at beaconridgeproductions.com.
After a day’s rest, the duo will showcase their talents again at Celtic Vespers, a one-hour presentation at St. John’s United Church, on Sunday.
Although there is no admission charge, an offering will be taken at the performance, which runs from 7 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the church, 10990 West Saanich Rd. (across from Deep Cove Elementary School)
The Greater Victoria Police Chorus will perform its annual St. Patrick’s at St. Peter’s concert Saturday afternoon at St. Peter’s Anglican Church.
The Greater Victoria Police Chorus is composed of active and retired police officers, and civilians, who perform to raise money for charity.
This year, it is scheduled to perform locally and as far away as Parksville.
Proceeds from Saturday’s concert will go toward programs for refugees sponsored by the church.
Tickets are $15 at the door. The concert runs from 2 to 4 p.m. The church is at 3939 St. Peter’s Rd.
For more information, go to victoriapolicechorus.org.
Catch a performance by Celtic Reflections at St. Patrick’s Day weekend celebrations at Two Dogs Brewery and Victoria Caledonian Distillery on Friday.
The multi-instrumental and vocal duo, based in Victoria, will perform a wide variety of styles, from traditional Celtic folk to gypsy jazz.
Pints and growler fills are on special during the event.
There is no cover charge for the performance, which runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Saanich brewery and distillery, 761 Enterprise Cres.
For more information, go to victoriacaledonian.com.
Go green in the park for St. Patrick’s Day
Dress like a leprechaun or try to catch one at one of two free family-friendly events celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Victoria.
Even the gold is green at the St. Patrick’s Day is Green event, hosted by the Friends of Uplands Park, Saturday at the Oak Bay waterfront park.
Everyone can join the leprechauns on a green treasure hunt. Ramble though the park, finding evergreen and baby deciduous plants. Perhaps you will chance upon a four-leaf clover, a snake or a pot o’gold.
Touch, smell and get a close-up look using magnifying lenses, using St. Paddy’s photo guide to identify native plants.
Afterwards you can make a green chia craft and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the green way.
Admission to the event is free, but donations are appreciated. It runs from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Meet at the Beach Drive entrance to Cattle Point at Uplands Park.
For more information, call Margaret Lidkea at 250-595-8084.
Get out the green and make your way down to Market Square for its St. Patrick’s Day Family Fun event on Saturday.
There will be live entertainment, complete with Irish dancers, food vendors, an Irish crafting station, balloon art, face painting and a hamster ball course.
Dress in your leprechaun best and bring the kids down for some fun.
The event is free. Festivities run from noon to 5 p.m. at Market Square, 560 Johnson St.
For more information, go to marketsquare.ca.
Raptor rescue society displays work at first festival
Get up close and personal with a bird of prey or meet a wolf at the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society’s first Wildlife Festival, Saturday at the Merville Hall in Merville.
The theme of this year’s festival is North Island Wildlife.
You can meet some of the animals that come through the centre, and find out what caused their injuries and how the society protects them. The society serves the Comox Valley.
Handlers will be on site with birds, including Phoenix the eagle, the facility’s mascot. Gary Allan, an expert on wolves will be there, along with his wolf, Tundra.
There will be guest speakers and educational displays. Society members will be available to answer any questions.
You can also take a tour of the society’s new facilities, at 1331 Williams Beach Rd.
The society has broken ground on a new visitors centre and the group that has designed the indoor displays will give you a sneak peek at what they have been up to, and what to expect.
There will be a kids’ zone with activities and face painting. Food and the ever-popular bake table and society merchandise will be available. Visitors can also join the flight club to help build a flight pen for recovering birds.
Admission is $5 for adults, $10 for a family and free for members. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Merville Hall, 1245 Fenwick Rd., Merville.
For more information, call 250-337-2021 or email Lynda at pauljack@telus.net or go to marswildliferescue.com.
Discover the history within your home
If your walls could talk, what would they tell you? Find out how you can be a house detective at a lecture in Ross Bay Villa tonight.
Every house has history, but how do you tease it out? How do you uncover the interesting stories about the building and the people who lived there?
If Your Walls Could Talk: How to be a House Detective is presented by writer and researcher Nick Russell, who will offer tips on house-history hunting, both for the armchair researcher and those willing to do some legwork.
The research can focus on three components: the place, its structure and the people who lived there.
“A huge amount of information now is available online for house detectives,” Russell said.
“In Victoria, you can find building permits and street directories, and you can often get a construction date. Information about the owners and inhabitants can frequently be found from the census.”
The British Colonist website (britishcolonist.ca) is a wonderful resource, Russell said, in addition to many other sources for news stories, pictures and vital statistics.
He will also show how buildings themselves can yield fascinating stories about their use — and abuse — over the years.
Admission is $10 and reservations are required. The lecture starts at 7:30 p.m. in Ross Bay Villa, 1490 Fairfield Rd.
For more information, go to rossbayvilla.org/category/events. To book a seat for the lecture email info@rossbayvilla.org.
Create art as gallery ushers in spring
Mark the return of spring as the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria presents A Cherry Blossom Festival in a special Family Sunday program.
The event is aimed at entertaining adults and children alike with an afternoon of hands-on art-making, live performance and poetry.
There will be cool activities for all ages taking place throughout the gallery, including the gardens, weather permitting.
The afternoon is a collaboration between the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society, the City of Victoria and Haiku Arbutus.
Admission is by donation.
The event runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at the gallery, 1040 Moss St. For more information, go to aggv.ca.
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