May 19 - It's parade day

Good morning !

The big day is here as the Victoria Day Parade celebrates a century and a quarter in the city whose name it shares. Details below.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌦️ 15 /9

Tomorrow: 🌦️ 16 / 8

Wednesday: ☀️ 17 / 8

NEWS

Victoria Day parade celebrates 125 years

Victoria’s longest-running parade will feature floats, marching bands, and performances in its 125th anniversary edition, which begins at 9am. Last year, and in other years, the parade drew 75-80K people. The 2.5-hour procession will feature 100+ different entries this year.

Here’s what to know about today's big holiday event:

How to get around 

Douglas itself will be closed up to Tolmie (along with one block on the streets attached to it) but reopened in phases as the parade passes. Parking in City parkades and metered spots is free—but spots are limited and walking, cycling, and arriving by transit are recommended. The bike valet will run 8:30am to 5pm. More info from City of Victoria.

How to watch from home 

CHEK’s livestream will air here, and on TV, beginning at 9am.

The Douglas Mile

This charity run / walk will proceed at 8:30am ahead of the full parade; it is collecting donations for the Parkinson Wellness Centre.

Festival Society made recent safety upgrades

These measures are in response to last month’s tragedy in Vancouver, where 11 people were killed and many others injured when an SUV driver drove into the crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival. These additional measures include placing traffic control trucks at both of the event’s entrances, along with VicPD vehicle blockers along the parade route.

Fewer bands attending from US this year

Washington and Oregon high school marching bands have consistently had a presence in the parade—some for 50+ years. But, with US-Canada travel declining, this year's visiting bands have dipped from 10-12 to just 5, the Greater Victoria Festival Society told the Times Colonist.

City steps in after province cuts funding stream

Wanting to maintain those longtime relationships with US schools is part of the reason that Victoria council gave the parade an extra $25K (on top of its already-committed $17K) to make up for the provincial BC Fairs, Festivals, and Events Fund being cut this year.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Today's morning rain expected to shift around noon to sun, cloud, and chances of afternoon rain.

Traffic disruptions and CCTV downtown for today’s Victoria Day Parade.

UV Index Moderate (5) to High (6) today.

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Local startup providing self-assessment platform for clinics across Canada

Victoria's HiBoop, which develops mental health technology, is rolling out the beta version of its assessment platform to clinics and healthcare providers across the country.

The platform allows patients to complete self-guided, evidence-based assessments before they see a clinician, and generates reports that help providers understand symptoms and potential comorbidities early on.

HiBoop’a software was built in collaboration with clinicians and tested across a range of healthcare settings, including addiction recovery centres. It screens for conditions such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and substance use, and then uses machine learning to generate reports for providers ahead of a patient’s appointment.

The company says the tool is '“filling a gap in the system" and that it helps to reduce intake time and improves how quickly care teams can move to treatment planning. The Canadian Addiction Treatment Centres say that the locals' platform has helped them to “streamline processes, improve decision-making, and better support our clients.”

The need to speed up intake processes is especially present in the South Island, which in recent years has had some of the country's longest clinic wait times.

Read full story at Victoria Tech Journal. 

WHAT'S OFFSHORE

At Ogden Point: Over weekend: Discovery Princess, Westerdam, Norwegian Encore, Quantum of the Seas. Today: Carnival Spirit

Off Colwood Coast: No ships.

Esquimalt: Coastal Inspiration ferry remains here.

Further out from harbour: Norwalk, a 2005-built container ship sailing from Prince Rupert under a Liberia flag 🇱🇷. Jubilant Treasure, a 2012-built bulk carrier sailing from Busan under a Panama flag 🇵🇦. NACC Poros, a 2012-built cement carrier sailing from Seattle under a Portugal flag 🇵🇹 .

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🏈 BC Lions: What to expect from today's preseason game in Langford. [Video]

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🗞️ In Other News

Nanaimo students create world's largest-ever Nanaimo bar
The bar was completed on Sat., and certified by Canada's culinary and baking associations, after a week of work by students in VIU's Professional Baking and Pastry Arts and Culinary Arts. Nanaimo's mayor praised the 20m+ long and 1m wide bar for having the correct proportions even at its huge size, and the woman who established the city's official recipe 39 years ago also attended. [NanaimoNewsNow]

Island drought rating at 3 (of 5) entering long weekend 
There is some hope that this weekend's ongoing rains will improve the status of South Island rivers that were below average as of the May 15 check-in. [My Coast Now]

Federal budget will arrive in fall, Carney says
A throne speech will come next week, and the House of Commons will rise the following month. But the full budget, usually presented in the spring, will be delayed until fall with the PM and Finance Minister saying they want more clarity on the US situation before finalizing numbers. [Canadian Press]

Tension between governments after 400 BC ostriches ordered culled 
A Dec. 2024 order for an anti-avian-flu cull were upheld by the courts this month. Premier Eby criticized the federal food inspection agency, while the local Kootenay-area government took measures to avoid accepting the carcasses. A community protest group has also formed. [CBC]

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🗓️ Things to do

🦁 BC Lions preseason game in Langford, with Backyard Party starting at 11am. [Info]

🐯 Canvas Family Fest at Veterans Memorial Park today (11am-3pm). Free food & fun—plus cotton candy & facepainting. [Info]

🍺 Fruit Stand Fest at Small Gods Brewing in Sidney concludes today. [Info]

📖 Double Book Launch: Bill Gaston & Clea Young: Celebrate two acclaimed BC authors as they launch Tunnel Island and Welcome to the Neighbourhood with readings, Q&A, and signings. Munro’s Books. Wed. 7pm.  [Info]

🍻 Benji’s Pub Quiz: Pub trivia night hosted by Benji at the Fernwood Inn. Expect good laughs and brain teasers. Today. 7pm. [Info]

🖊️ Vancouver Island Festival of the Word: Join local writers and readers for one day of groundbreaking workshops, author readings, and panel discussions. Support your local authors. Fernwood Neighbourhood House. June 7. 10am-4pm. [Info] 

👀 In Case You Missed It

Ex-US Pres. Biden has ‘aggressive’ prostate cancer and is pursuing treatment. [USA Today]

Accessibility mat returns to Ross Bay Beach off Dallas. [City of Victoria]

6 Vic restaurants in Canada's 100 for outdoor dining. [OpenTable]

Investigation into SD61 teacher: Police say they are following multiple new leads. [CHEK]

BC sends 140+ firefighters to MB & ON, taking advantage of our cool spring. [CTV]