MUSIC
What: Vancouver Island Hardcore Festival featuring Cowardice, AK 47, Hundy Thou, Erode and more
Where: Victoria Event Centre, 1415 Broad St.
When: Friday through Sunday
Tickets: $12 (daily); $30 (festival pass)
Why: The eighth annual all-ages festival of hardcore punk is a whopper, indeed. More than 20 acts from Victoria, Vancouver and Washington state are booked to appear between Friday and Sunday, all for the low-dough price of $30. Daily passes are cheaper, but we recommend sampling everything VIHC Fest has to offer. You could do far worse than a weekend spent hanging out with some of the best underground acts the province has to offer.
- Mike Devlin
MUSIC
What: Digging Roots, with Jon and Roy and DJ Nigel Morrison
Where: Cameron Bandshell at Beacon Hill Park
When: Monday, 6: 30 p.m.
Admission: free.
Why: Don a bib before checking the forecast for the long weekend: the prospect of sunny skies might have you drooling like a St. Bernard. But don't get your tail in a knot if you've neglected to book passes for an out-oftown festival. You don't need to leave town to take in laid-back vibes in the great outdoors. Case in point: Juno-winning aboriginal group Digging Roots will lay down its blues-and-reggaeinfused grooves at its B.C. Day show at Beacon Hill Park. Local surf-folk duo John and Roy will open the proceedings, which the City of Victoria is putting on as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations. The most chill part about it? The event is free.
-Cory Ruf
MOVIES
What: Mayfair Drive-In Movies
Where: Mayfair Shopping Centre
When: Aug. 8, 9: 30 p.m.
Why: Although the drive-in movie, as film buffs of a certain age fondly remember it, is a thing of the past, its spirit lives on. Mayfair Shopping Centre's summer outdoor film screenings are living proof, providing nostalgic fun for a good cause - Canadian Cancer Society, Cops for Cancer and Tour de Rock. While Wednesday's 9: 30 p.m. screening of The Princess Bride, followed by showings of Jaws (Aug. 15) and The Goonies (Aug. 22) on a giant inflatable screen in the shopping centre's parking lot are free, donations will be gratefully accepted. Parking passes honoured between 6 and 8 p.m. on movie nights are available from the Mayfair concierge desk on the Saturday prior to each screening. Firstcome, first-served, cinephiles.
- Michael D. Reid
