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Jan 19 - Victoria's best mocktails
Music fest ends. Murder trial resumes.
Capital Daily Team
January 19, 2025
Good morning !
Today we have stories on how to drink the best when you're drinking less, and on a South Island fest that will soon be missed.
Remember that to see the full rest of this Sunday edition, and to get all of the stories in future Sunday editions, you'll need to be a Capital Daily Insider.
— Cam
Today’s approx. read time: 4 minutes / 6 minutes
🌡️ Weather Forecast
Today: 🌤 6 / 1
Tomorrow: ☀️ 5 / 2
Day after: ☀️ 6 / 1
FOOD
The best non-alcoholic drinks to try in Victoria
Photo: Wind Cries Mary (Instagram)
As January enters its second half, we're bringing you more New Year-related stories for your Sunday read. One of the most common resolutions is to cut down on alcohol, quit, or participate in the increasingly popular Dry January—a month-long break from drinking.
Earlier in the month we covered a new alcohol-tracking online tool created by UVic researchers, and last month we looked at how Islanders have been drinking more than elsewhere in BC.
But not drinking doesn't have to mean, well, not drinking
People avoiding alcohol this month (or in general) have a chance to discover some of the most robust and innovative non-alcoholic creations in the country.
Local musician and non-alcoholic drink cart maestro Aidan Knight told Capital Daily last summer that residents of this craft-beer-crazy region are increasingly interested in beer alternatives. “Near beers” such as the Phillips Iota line are now common in local stores—but he’s also seen interest in hop water, mocktails, and other ways to indulge in the flavours of drinking without the, you know, drinking.
Try some of Victoria's best professional mocktails
In recent years some of the biggest and most decorated local breweries and distilleries have expanded into non-alc offerings. And the best local bars and restaurants are more than happy to come up with delicious new drinks to feature them.
Keep this month exciting with one of Tasting Victoria's roundups of the most innovative mocktails being stirred, mixed, and shaken across the city.
Highlights include Q at the Empress's Queen’s Delights (Bright Light Lumette, Giffard elderflower, lemon juice, Bottega Sparkling Life, & grapefruit pearls) and the Spagliat-NO (Bottega Sparkling Life, Giffard bitter) from Zambri's.
Or make your own at home, with local ingredients
Here's a rundown of some of the best local non-alcoholic offerings along with recipes to turn them into delicious mixed drinks, with mocktails ranging from classic dark ‘n’ stormy to elderberry pear kombucha.
⚠️ Capital Bulletin
Sun & cold: Below-seasonal temp.s (with some lows below 0) expected to accompany clear skies until likely rain on Thurs.
CRD park/trail closures: Sooke Hills trail partly closed next Monday morning (not tomorrow); Bridge replacement in Matheson Lake park next month; Galloping Goose closed Feb. 3-7 at Cecelia Cove Park. [CRD info]
Some eggs in BC recalled over salmonella concerns: Compliments, Foremost, Golden Valley Eggs, IGA, No Name, and Western Family eggs; expiry dates Feb. 16, Feb. 22, March 1.
Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via
NEWS
Laketown Shakedown festival goes down in shake-up
The Cowichan Valley summer music event is over after 8 years. Per a Friday announcement, the newly named Laketown Amphitheatre will instead now “look at all options for 2025 and beyond to maximize the benefits of having a permanent amphitheatre.”
The Shakedown festival brought in big names in recent years including Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and Gwen Stefani. But organizers will shift away from going all-in on one event. Instead, they will pursue “a wide array of single and multi-day events between May and September.”
This multi-event framework would be more like the one used at Parksville’s new stage near the waterfront.
There is no indication that summer country music weekend Sunfest will not go ahead; some 2025 performers are already being advertised.
The change comes at a time when there have been some signs of recovery for the Island festival scene. That industry was shaken up by COVID on top of a decline in BC festivals by the late 2010s compared to the early 2010s.
In recent years festivals have increasingly cropped up in Langford’s Starlight Stadium and at the Rock-Bay-Area Matullia Lands (where Rifflandia moved last fall). However, Capital City Comic Con announced in Nov. that it would end permanently.
NEWS
Trial restarts tomorrow for Langford man accused of mother's murder
Raymonde Elder, 59, was found in her home on New Year's Eve 2021. Police said they found knife, blunt force, and strangulation injuries; they claim her son Ryan Elder disposed of clothes and electronics in the days after her death on Christmas.
The trial-by-judge will now hear arguments from the defence that Ryan Elder, now 30, was not criminally responsible for the killing. In the current trial, neither Elder nor his lawyers spoke in his defence.
Justice Jennifer Power was initially slated to give a verdict last Wednesday, which, if it was guilty, the lawyers intended to respond to with an argument of not-criminally-responsible due to mental disorder. But on Weds., Power chose to reopen the trial and have the defence make that case, beginning on Monday, as part of it.
Accused confessed the killing to police, court heard on Tues.
Per the crown prosecutor, police said that Ryan Elder told them in 2021 that he killed his mother Raymonde by stabbing her, after trying to strangle her. His reasons shifted, however, ranging from longstanding resentment over her authority over him to claims it was self-defence or even a “mercy killing” that she welcomed.
Elder had a history of mental health problems, family members have said, and was living with his mother at the time of her death.
⭐️ Capital Picks
🐿 Meet a flying squirrel from Powell River who is staying with MARS wildlide rescue for the winter. [Instagram photos]
💿 CFUV radio's top 100 most-played albums of the past year.
🔎 See the many tiny cups of bird's nest fungi, found on Island Beach logs, up close. [ Wanderin’ Weeta blog]
