Best of the City

Jacksun Fryer, left, and Carlow Rush at the Vancouver Island Exhibition last month. (Greg Sakaki/News Bulletin)

Vancouver Island’s Funkanometry dancers put their best feet forward

Central Island dance duo creates series of viral videos

 

Looking up at the ceiling in the interior foyer of 1515 Douglas Street. 1515 Douglas Street is a six-storey class AA LEED Platinum office and retail building located across from Victoria City Hall. Design by D’Ambrosio architecture and urbanism. (Don Denton/Black Press Media)

Victoria’s architecture steeped in history

Taking a look at some of the prominent names and places in the city’s architectural history

  • Aug 29, 2021

 

Yumbrosia Fine Foods offers a wide variety of quality products imported from Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)

Best of the City: Yumbrosia brings a world of flavour to Oak Bay

Owner Ihsan Askar provides quality international products to Victoria and beyond

 

Isaiah Archer (from left), Nina Colovic, Iwan Williams and Matt West-Patrick are partners of Whistle Buoy Brewing Co. Fifth partner Colin Curtis is not pictured. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)

Best of the City: Beers, buds, no boats – this is Whistle Buoy Brewing Co.

Following the local craft brewing trend, Whistle Buoy has made over 120 names for itself

Isaiah Archer (from left), Nina Colovic, Iwan Williams and Matt West-Patrick are partners of Whistle Buoy Brewing Co. Fifth partner Colin Curtis is not pictured. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)
Ceramic artist Samantha Dickie works away happily in her home studio. Dickie designed the house and expansive second-floor studio herself upon settling in Victoria after the birth of her second child. (Photo by Cathie Ferguson)

Best of the City: Victoria ceramic artist contemplates space in work and life

Frequent trips around Canada’s north have inspired Samantha Dickie’s work

Ceramic artist Samantha Dickie works away happily in her home studio. Dickie designed the house and expansive second-floor studio herself upon settling in Victoria after the birth of her second child. (Photo by Cathie Ferguson)
Busker Mark Weston plays his accordion outside Munro’s Books along Government Street. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)

Buskers fill downtown Victoria with joy as pandemic subsides

Artists, musicians happy to perform again with increased foot traffic on Government Street

Busker Mark Weston plays his accordion outside Munro’s Books along Government Street. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)
The patios in the 1300-block of Gladstone Avenue serve as a pilot program as Victoria explores permanently allowing street and sidewalk dining spaces. (Courtesy Build Back Victoria)

Build Back Victoria programs add vibrancy to the city

Supporting local businesses leads to trial runs for City of Victoria

The patios in the 1300-block of Gladstone Avenue serve as a pilot program as Victoria explores permanently allowing street and sidewalk dining spaces. (Courtesy Build Back Victoria)
Much of O’Keefe’s artistry is inspired by works of the renowned Group of Seven. (Courtesy of Shawn O’Keefe)

Graffiti to greenery: Shawn O’Keefe’s journey as a visual artist

Maple Bay graphic designer has been won over by the landscapes around him

Much of O’Keefe’s artistry is inspired by works of the renowned Group of Seven. (Courtesy of Shawn O’Keefe)
The Songhees Food Truck is only one of numerous innovations the Nation has launched in the last decade. (Facebook/Songhees Event and Catering)

Songhees Nation continues road of innovation, healing, success

Nation launched two cannabis stores so far this year, another expected

The Songhees Food Truck is only one of numerous innovations the Nation has launched in the last decade. (Facebook/Songhees Event and Catering)
Head baker Brook Schaddelee, (from left), manager Michele Byrne and chocolatier Jack Schaddelee smile behind the counter at the Dutch Bakery and Diner. The establishment has operated for 65 years and the current operators still use the traditional European recipes of grandfather and founder Kees Schaddelee. (Courtesy of Dutch Bakery and Diner)

Best of the City: Third-generation owners keep Dutch Bakery recipes alive after 65 years in Victoria

Bakery thrives again after readapting business model during pandemic

Head baker Brook Schaddelee, (from left), manager Michele Byrne and chocolatier Jack Schaddelee smile behind the counter at the Dutch Bakery and Diner. The establishment has operated for 65 years and the current operators still use the traditional European recipes of grandfather and founder Kees Schaddelee. (Courtesy of Dutch Bakery and Diner)
Airbrush artist Paul Archer stands before his newest mural in Victoria on Burnside Road, a project that took him only seven days. Archer estimates himself to have completed roughly 15,000 works of art, most of which are murals of various sizes. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)

Best of the City: Victoria airbrush artist spreads good vibes worldwide with his murals

Paul Archer has dedicated himself to realism and portraiture since age three

Airbrush artist Paul Archer stands before his newest mural in Victoria on Burnside Road, a project that took him only seven days. Archer estimates himself to have completed roughly 15,000 works of art, most of which are murals of various sizes. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)