The Making of a Ballet
Ballet Victoria is inviting the public into their studios to experience the making of their next ballet. Artistic Director, Paul Destrooper and the company are currently creating their final performance of this season A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Destrooper’s choreography, set to the music of Mendelssohn will be on display May 18 and 25 from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Ballet Victoria Studios in St. Andrew’s Church (643 Broughton).
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be performed at the Royal Theatre May 31 and June 1. Rmts.bc.ca. M
The 149th Highland Games
The 149th Annual Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival kicked off last weekend with the Tartan Parade, with pipe and drum bands, highland dancers and heavy event athletes parading through Victoria’s streets.
Now, get ready for the main event. The games, held May 19 and 20 at Topaz Park (Topaz at Blanshard), are a non-stop spectacle of music, dancing, athletics and fun.
Take in everything from sheep shearing and whisky school to caber tossing, falconry, sword fighting, sheepdog herding and haggis tasting.
Included in the festival is the Canadian Scottish Athletics Federation Championships featuring the best heavy event athletes from across Canada and around the world (like five time world chamption Ryan Vierra, pictured left, who will be back this year as a judge).
The International Drum Major Challenge will take place at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
The action runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. Get the full schedule at victoriahighlandgames.com. M
The Woodpile Collective
The Woodpile Collective (Blythe Hailey, Sean McLaughlin, Shawn O’Keefe) is transforming Deluge Contemporary Art into a multimedia outpost broadcasting from an abandoned tent in the primeval West Coast rainforest in Carrion. Dense calligraphic codes, mutable cartography and the tracery of strange habitation combine with emanations of mysterious flora and fauna in transmissions from the past and future. Opening Friday, May 18 at 7 p.m. (636 Yates). Exhibition hours are Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. until June 16. M
Loudon Wainwright III
Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter and actor Loudon Wainwright III is playing Hermann’s Jazz Club (753 View), Monday, May 21. Doors are at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $47.50 in advance at Lyle’s Place (770 Yates) and Ditch Records (784 Fort) and are $50 at the door. M
Ken Faulks New Works
New works by local visual artist and Plein Air painter Ken Faulks are on display at the Havenwood Gallery on the Esquimalt Lagoon (3221 Heatherbell) until May 27. Artist reception Saturday, May 19 at 2 p.m. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Show in conjunction with Mercurio Gallery. M
Kickball Victoria
No matter if you call it kickball or soccer baseball, everyone knows the joy the summer game brings to people of all ages. Kick Ball Victoria is kicking off the summer with their first annual event, Saturday, May 19 at Royal Athletic Park.
Doors open at 10 a.m. for this all day, 10-team tournament with all profits going to KidSport Victoria. The final game will tee-off at 3 p.m.
Sign up a team, sign up yourself, or come join in the community by supporting a great cause. Players must be 19 years old or over, but children are welcome and there will be activities geared just for them.
To play, contact Kick Ball Victoria by phone at 250-889-1413 or by email at info@kickballvictoria.com. M
Scattered Artists studio tour
More than 20 local artists are opening their studios to the public this weekend for the eighth-annual Scattered Artists Studio Tour, Saturday and Sunday May 19 and 20 from noon to 5 p.m. The studios are scattered around Cedar Hill Golf Course, north of Hillside, south of McKenzie and between Swan Lake, Quadra and Shelboune for this free, self-guided tour. Included on the tour is illustrator April Caverhill, this year’s M Award winner in the “Victoria’s Favourite Visual Artist” category. Find out what makes the artists tick and why (and possibly how) they do what they do. Print out a map at scattered-artists.ca. M
