Arts

On a clear winter’s day at the end of North Park Street in Victoria, Marco Bermudez stands in a circle of people who are freestyling rap verses. Sharing stories with each other, everyone in the group is in the moment, getting lost to the rhythm of the beat, and letting their feelings be expressed with […]

It’s the classic story of love and hate, and the beautifully tragic opera Lucia Di Lammermoor will soon be wowing Victoria audiences. The opera, based on a book by Sir Walter Scott, is a familiar story of heartbreak and tragedy. “A young woman falls in love with a young man who is the enemy of […]

Spoken-word poetry doesn’t have to be awkward or unapproachable, especially when you have artistic director of the Victoria Spoken Word Festival, Missie Peters, on the job. Five years ago, Peters wanted to help this discipline grow, change, and continue to be innovative, so she developed this festival that gives spoken-word poets opportunities that have nothing […]

Reservoir Cicurina Vol. 1 (Glory Kid Records) 4/5 Pennsylvania’s Reservoir are about to remind you of what the word “emo” once meant. Once upon a time, bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Mineral actually embraced heart-on-sleeve emotion in music and delivered it to an energetic rock soundtrack that wasn’t overly slick or pandering in […]

Ange Hehr learned to play the drums at age six, the guitar at age 15, and she made it into the top 100 for Canadian Idol at the age of 23. In two years, she has become a staple in the Victoria music scene, playing weekly at pub gigs at the Irish Times, Swans, and […]

That Went By Fast By Frank White (Harbour Publishing) Author Frank White is, at this particular point in time, 100 years old. One hundred years on planet Earth isn’t something I can contemplate. One hundred anything is hard to contemplate; if I had an extra $100, my mind would likely implode. Regardless of my ability […]

Tofino and Clayoquot Sound: A History By Margaret Horsfield and Ian Kennedy (Harbour Publishing) For those who prefer not to spend their free time plundering academic history texts, Tofino and Clayoquot Sound: A History provides an intimate and conversational delivery of the interweaving events that shaped Tofino, Clayoquot Sound, and the surrounding territory. Utilizing an […]

From the West Coast to the Western Front: British Columbians and the Great War By Mark Forsythe and Greg Dickson (Harbour Publishing) The way that authors Mark Forsythe and Greg Dickson chose to relay the history of British Columbia’s involvement in World War I is surprisingly personal and detailed in From the West Coast to […]

The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia By Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane (Harbour Publishing) The Sea Among Us is the ultimate coffee-table book and reference material for all who live by and love the beauty of the Strait of Georgia. The Strait is a semi-enclosed inland waterway located within the broader Salish […]