Nov 30 - CFL announces Lions and Redblacks to play at Vic's RAP

Good morning !

For football fans such as our mayor, it’s going to be a Labour Day weekend of love. Marianne Alto’s favourite football team, the BC Lions, will take on the Ottawa Redblacks here in Vic.

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 4.5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧️ 4 / 2

Tomorrow: 🌨️ 7 / 4

Saturday: 🌨️ 10 / 5

7-day forecast

NEWS

Santa’s not the only big man coming to town: BC Lions to make Island road trip

The CFL is coming to Victoria—not for one of those missable pre-season matches, but for a real regular-season game.

The Leos will host the Ottawa Redblacks on Sat. Aug. 31 as the centrepiece behind Touchdown Pacific, a three- or four-day (they’re working on it) football festival that will include music, parties, and Royal Athletic Park (RAP) packed with people paying heed to pigskin.

The league will bring in temporary seating to increase RAP’s capacity to 14K from its current max of 5K.

Amar Doman, the Lions owner who hails from Vic, is beside himself with the opportunity to bring football to his hometown.

“It’s really about sharing the brand and making sure it’s British Columbia’s team,” he said at a kickoff newser yesterday.

It’s also about the region making some tourism dollars because the estimated economic windfall is north of $10 million. That’s how much the Halifax region says a similar game last season between the Argos and Roughriders brought to the Haligonian economy when the league held its fifth annual Touchdown Atlantic ballgame.

Read former CFL reporter Mark Brennae’s full story here.

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⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Blue-green algae bloom. Don’t let your pet drink from or swim in Beaver Lake. Durrance and Thetis lakes? Yep, same deal. 

Royal BC Museum WinterFest. A free, outdoor semi-tented arts, cultural, and community event. Sat. & Sun.

Cold-weather tips to prevent frozen pipes: City of Victoria.

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Ancient tree discovered last week will be protected

It stands pretty tall and sits almost four metres in diameter, so it only stands to reason it’s got to have a majestic name.

Dubbed the “Knight Tree”, the giant Vancouver Island Western redcedar was officially “discovered” last week by American forest conservationist Josh Wright in the woods of unceded Ditidaht territory in the Caycuse Valley, part of the Fairy Creek watershed. That’s an area known for its old growth—and the mercurial logging protests that began in 2020.

Wright, who lives on the Olympic Peninsula but grew up with old growth on Southern Vancouver Island, was involved with the Fairy Creek movement, telling The Westshore he has “spent the past five or so years watching place after place there, get destroyed by logging.”

Fortunately, the Knight Tree won’t fall into that category—and shouldn’t fall at all, at least not by human hand—because it qualifies for protection under the provincial Forest and Range Practices Act’s Special Tree Protection Regulation, thus “must not be cut, damaged, felled, topped or destroyed.”

As Sidney Coles tells us, the massive tree’s neighbours aren’t as fortunate because they’re not, well, massive enough.

Read the story on The Westshore. 

SPONSORED BY TOURISM VICTORIA

The Dine Around Gala returns

Save the date! The Dine Around and Stay in Town Gala returns Jan. 25, 2024, to kick off its 20th anniversary! 40+ restaurants, wineries, and breweries will prepare samples of the Dine Around program, running from Jan. 26 to Feb. 11. It’s the perfect gift for the foodie in your life!

Visit the website for more info.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🏐 AAA Boys High School Volleyball Championships. At Oak Bay High and Lansdowne Middle School. Through Dec. 2.

🚍 Stuff the Bus. BC Transit is collecting non-perishable food items, new, unused toys, and clothing.

🧑‍🍳 Now Hiring: Cooks at The Butchart Gardens.

🗞️ In Other News

Victoria couple wins $5M in lotto
At first, Stacey Donison didn’t believe her “jokester” husband that their ticket from the Esso on Fort had really won the lottery. But now the duo is planning to celebrate with “beers, pizza, and champagne!” in the short term, travel in the medium term, and a legacy for their grandkids in the long term. [BCLC]   

Police say Sooke man lied about cause of dog’s injury
A man says he was on a walk with his dog and two children around Throup and Charters when a stranger attacked his dog, which suffered a broken jaw and had to be euthanized. Police don’t buy 32-year-old Derek Reid’s story so he’s been charged with public mischief and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. [RCMP]

Mideast protest stops UVic governors mid-meeting 
Students representing the group UVic Students in Solidarity with Palestine, have organized multiple walkouts on campus. Yesterday they interrupted a board of governors gathering—which was adjourned shortly thereafter. [CHEK]

No Christmas trips for BC Ferries’ Coastal Renaissance
If it seems like the Renaissance since it was last taking passengers between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen, close, it’s been since Aug. Motor repairs were supposed to be done by mid-Dec., in time for the Christmas rush. Uh. No. [Vancouver Sun]

Man arrested after Santa seen with a gun in downtown Vic
Turns out it wasn’t Santa. Fake beard. Fake gun, too. Police were called to Douglas and Fort at approximately 10:30 yesterday morning after a man dressed as Saint Nick was seen waving what witnesses thought was a gun. [VicPD]

🗓️ Things to do

🎼 UVic Wind Symphony: Timeless. Pieces for wind band with beloved guest conductor and UVic School of Music Professor Emeritus Gerald King. Tomorrow. 8pm. [Info]

🎙️The Debaters Christmas Special. See comedians battle out topics through jokes and logic. See good radio. And holiday standup at Sidney’s Bodine Hall. Tonight. 7:30pm. [Tickets]

🎄 Dance Victoria presents Shumka's Nutcracker. This lavish production features stars from Ukraine's top companies. Fri.-Sun. at the Royal Theatre. Find tickets here.*

🎷 Tribute to Dexter Gordon. Andrew Greenwood Quintet takes on the saxophonist’s repertoire at Hermann’s. Tonight. 7pm. [Tickets]

🎤 Prepare for an enchanting evening of jazz as vocalist, Heather Ferguson takes the stage at Hermann's Jazz Club in Victoria on Fri. Dec. 8. Get your tickets here!*

*Sponsored Listing

👀 In Case You Missed It

Opioid lawsuit settlement: OxyContin maker agrees to pay $150M in agreement with province. [Capital Daily]

Wed’s headlines: Beautiful sea goddess; BC SPCA rescues dogs and cats from Gulf Island home; Oh, the orcas! [Newsletter]

Island tragedy: Three days before his birthday, Victoria physiotherapist Matthew Jackson dies while surfing in Tofino. [Times Colonist]

Langford humanitarians back from Ukraine after delivering donated medical supplies. [CTV]

HarbourCats Annual Christmas Open House. Today. [Info]

That’s it!

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