Wed. June 21 - SkaFest returns with free concerts

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning !

The time has come once again: Ska and Reggae Fest is back at Ship Point. One of the region’s most prominent music events takes over the Inner Harbour every year, and today we talk to one of the bands behind it. With SkaFest starting tonight and JazzFest starting tomorrow, the sun has returned just in time to shine down on a week-plus full of music.

NEWS

SkaFest returns for a 24th year with international acts and three free concerts

North America’s longest running ska festival returns to the Inner Harbour today and runs until Sunday. The 24th annual Ska and Reggae Fest brings music from a range of genres that stem from ska and reggae—including dancehall, funk, and hip hop—and welcomes artists from as far away as Jamaica and Colombia.

The main venue at Ship Point will be free on three of the five days, beginning today at 4pm. At tomorrow’s free concert, local band Apex Breaks will be bringing its high-energy show to the stage. It features psychedelic ’60s rock, jungle drum and bass, and pure horn-driven funk—as well as the president of the Victoria BC Ska and Reggae Society on guitar.

He talked to Capital Daily this week about this year’s lineup and how the festival helped bands like his make it through the pandemic.

Capital Bulletin

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny. High 18C / low 11C.

🌫️ Air quality: Low risk today (2/10), possible light smoke over the South Island.

🔥 Island fires: 3 being held (230 hectares, 8ha, and 0ha) / 1 under control (229ha)

🚧 Complete closure of Shelbourne from Donnelly to Pear, may last until mid-July. [Details]

NEWS

More extreme-heat worker protections needed, labour group says

Current BC labour laws don’t go far enough to prevent Island workers from summer heat waves and broader climate change, the local labour group Worker Solidarity Network (WSN) argues. Last weekend it protested this at the legislature with a giant thermometer sign on which workers wrote messages explaining their experiences with having to work in extreme heat.

The WSN says 87% of workers it surveyed saw heat waves as the extreme weather with the biggest impact on their health and safety.

That WSN study focused on food industry workers, particularly those working in kitchens and outdoors. Kitchens can reach extremely high temperatures during a regular summer season, with some employees saying they’ve had to find refuge in the walk-in freezers. The study cites a 180% increase in WorkSafeBC claims for heat stress during the 2021 heat dome for indoor jobs. For those working outside, air quality during wildfire season has also been a major concern.

WSN wants maximum temperature policy for workplaces

Other BC legislation changes WSN is calling for include additional breaks and paid “climate leave” in extreme weather. Current protections place the onus on the employer to determine if conditions could cause heat stress, but WSN says guidelines should be more clear.

“Employment law was not written to anticipate a rise in extreme environmental disasters,” argued WSN’s Jen Kostuchuk, saying that “immediate policy changes need to take place” to protect workers from heat wave health risks.

BC government representatives did not provide a full response by press time to Capital Daily’s questions about extreme heat and labour regulations, but did send this link to the current health and safety regulations.

This summer is predicted to be one of the hottest yet for the province—and the entire country as Canada prepares for its worst-ever wildfire season.

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Capital Picks

🎨 Indigenous Artist Market: In celebration of National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, 20 artists will showcase their work at the Royal BC Museum. 10am-4pm.

😂 Comedy night at The Mint: Get your week’s worth of laughs in at this comedy show tonight, 8pm. [Tickets]

🕑 Honest. Intimate. Enthralling. The early deadline for the Belfry Theatre’s Pay-What-You-Want season tickets is Friday at 4pm. Learn more about the new season.*

🎙️ Louise Rose at Hermann’s Jazz Club: The Canadian singer will perform solo jazz piano and vocals tonight, 5:30pm.

🎤 Tina Turner tribute: Enjoy the music of Tina Turner sung by Caroline Borole and accompanied by dancers, a band, and a brass section tonight at the Royal Theatre. 7pm. [Tickets]

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In Other News

🕷️ Saanich teen’s software features in Spider-Verse
Kiegan Simard, 18, developed MecaFace, a software add-on that allows creators to animate the eyes and mouths of Lego faces. Simard introduced MecaFace to a Toronto teen he was mentoring online, who used the software to create the Lego scene in the popular new animated Spider-Man film. [Saanich News]

🧡 Residential school memorial pole visits Victoria
The pole, which has children’s faces carved into it to commemorate lives lost, visited the Inner Harbour on Wednesday. Today it’s headed over to Vancouver to be installed for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. [Capital Daily]

🚧 Highway 4 reopening confirmed for this weekend
With the Cameron Bluffs fire now under control, single-lane traffic will resume as planned. Debris from the fire has been cleared from the roads and protections, like netting and 124 metres of roadside barriers, are currently being installed.

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In Case You Missed It

🐖 Pig chases off bear in Sooke: Barbie Q. defends her pen from a furry intruder in this video.

🔧 Bike group’s custom cargo bike stolen: Capital Bike says the thief, caught on video on Hillside, has special tools to cut through their high-grade $200 locks.

📰 Tuesday’s headlines: 195 Islanders’ deaths due to toxic drugs in 2023, RBCM CEO resigns after 16 months, Etienne Papineau wins Royal Beach Open, and more. [June 20 newsletter]

🏒 She shoots, she scores! Listen to episode 14 of the Victoria Foundation's Vital Victoria Podcast featuring Micah Zandee-Hart from the Canadian Women's Hockey Team.*

 🗞️ Monday’s headlines: Sooke OCP returns to council, Victoria man dies in freak accident, twins share prestigious award. [Monday newsletter]

🎨 Art on downtown streets: Victoria is calling on artists to apply by July 11 to have their work displayed in Commercial Alley.

👨 Father’s Day headlines: Articles on Island dads headlined Sunday’s newsletter, including a new interview about a local book on fatherhood and mental health.

*Sponsored Listing