Jan 28 - Stonehenge in Victoria

Good morning !

Plenty of arts and culture coverage today for your Sunday read, from award shows to restaurants to the newly announced big museum attractions for 2024.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧️ 12 / 10

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 13 / 10

Tuesday: 🌧️ 12 / 10

7-day forecast

NEWS

Exhibits on Stonehenge and modern design coming to RBCM this year 

The Royal BC Museum’s headlining international exhibit for 2024 will be Stonehenge, which launches May 10, per Friday’s RBCM lineup announcement. Like last year's Angkor, the exhibit will delve into a world-renowned ancient ruin, the related sites close to it, the culture that created it, and the modern-day research into its mysteries.

The stone circle in England, most of it erected around 4,500 years ago, has been well-known for centuries. But what exactly it was for and how exactly it was built are still being studied and debated.

The new exhibit is presumably this one [info and photos] from MuseumsPartner, which previously did the Angkor, Egypt, Maya, and orcas major travelling exhibits at RBCM. It features life-sized dioramas and 400+ artifacts ranging from stone tools and antler picks to gold burial objects and cremated remains.

Other main RBCM exhibits this year

March 1 will bring a new round of the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year series, along with a companion IMAX movie on blue whales. June 28 brings Canadian Modern, showcasing 100 Canadian contributions to modern design.

New low-income accessibility program 

RBCM also announced this month that its new MyMuseum pilot would give free museum tickets to people entering the City of Victoria’s Leisure Involvement for Everyone (LIFE) program. LIFE has been running for 25+ years and helps low-income people and families access local recreation.. 

How exhibits work, behind the scenes

Read the feature photo story by James MacDonald to glimpse behind the curtain at how the museum operates.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Storm warnings continue for today through to Monday for West, North, Inland, and East Island regions.

Get rid of bear attractants on your property, Colwood asks locals. [Tip sheet]

NEWS

Victoria ranked Canada’s most vegan-friendly city

It can be tricky to eat vegan while out at restaurants. But in Victoria, it’s at least easier than anywhere else in the country. 

That’s according to a new analysis by BonusFinder Canada, which looked at restaurant activity and reviews on Tripadvisor. Based on those, Victoria topped the “vegan friendly” scale with an 8/10 score along with a roster of 140+ vegan dining options and meal services available (49 vegan restaurants per 100,000 people).

It was the only BC city in the top five—Hamilton ranked #2, followed by London, Windsor, and Ottawa.  

Read more at Tasting Victoria on the rankings and where to eat vegan in the city.

Have your own opinions on the region’s best vegan food—or any other style, from Italian to brunch?
Today is the last day to nominate your favourite spots for the 2024 Tasting Victoria Awards.

NEWS

Island Indigenous actors and youth inspired by Lily Gladstone’s awards success

The Academy Award nominations were released this past week, with their usual share of debates over snubs. But one nomination that brought little surprise or dispute was Lily Gladstone in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. 

She has been a mainstay throughout the ongoing awards season, and this month became the first Indigenous woman to win a Golden Globe as Best Female Actor in a Drama. 

Writer and producer Chad Charlie, of the Ahousaht Nation in the west Island region, said he and his family cried watching the historic moment. Charlie and Gladstone both worked on acclaimed TV series Reservation Dogs, and he says that her success helps boost Indigenous actors and stories in the industry. 

That boost is still much needed; he says that although there are now more opportunities, executives are still often only willing to fund one “native project” at a time, or have a reductive visions for those projects. 

Read the full story at Capital Daily on the state of the movie industry for Indigenous actors and writers, on and off the Island.

⭐️ Capital Picks

📷 Wildlife Photographer of the Year will soon return to town. Here’s a gallery of past winners. 

❤️ We all need kindness in our lives. So, let's spread a little love this Random Acts of Kindness Week, from February 12-17! Get involved here.*

📕 Beacon Books is closing Jan. 31—step through its iconic red door while you can.

🎙️ B4Play, hosted by Gregor Craigie, explores each upcoming Belfry production. The B4Play for As Above is February 3 at 11 am. Tickets on sale.*

 🤝 Now hiring: Operations coordinator at Sprout Family Health.

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

Sidney senior says he’s facing homelessness due to pension delays
He argues the federal government is delaying his payments while asking him for information he’s already given. MP Elizabeth May is now looking into his case. [CTV]

UVic player named week's top Canadian university hooper
Renoldo Robinson scored 46—more than any other player in the conference this season—to beat Manitoba in overtime last weekend. This weekend, the Vikes men (#2 in Canada) beat Saskatchewan twice, outscoring the Huskies 166-100 in total.

Catalyst Crofton mill halts operations indefinitely 
Owner Paper Excellence cited inflation and supply of materials. The closure was abrupt but not surprising, the union says, due to multiple curtailments being extended last year. It affects 75 employees. [CBC]

Fallen tree on East Sooke Rd. knocked out power to 787 locals 
The road blockage and outages were both resolved by Sat. evening.

🗓️ Things to do

 🎹 Piano Heist: Nico Rhode and Patrick Courtin will perform piano tunes from the last 300 years at Mary Winspear Centre. Today, 3pm. 

🎺 The Don Leppard Big Band: The 17-piece band will perform jazz classics and contemporary arrangements at Hermann’s Jazz Club. Today. Doors 5:30pm, show 7pm. 

🎥 The Three Musketeers: Part 1: D’Artagnan at Cinecenta: The French cinema adaptation of the classic novel will be shown at the UVic theatre. Today. 2:45pm, 5:10pm, and 7:30pm.

🎶 The Gettin’ Higher Choir fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters: “The Spirit of Yes” features special guest Barbara McAfee. 2:30pm today at Alix Goolden. [Info]

🥌 BC Curling Championship finals in Esquimalt today (9am & 2pm). Tickets are cheap.

👀 In Case You Missed It

The last time the Big One hit the West Coast: A story pieced together by recent research and centuries of Indigenous stories. [Capital Daily]

The Blizzard of 1996: Watch footage of Victoria’s notorious snowstorm.

Gas leak at UVic on Sat morning proved to be “extremely minor.” [CHEK]

Fossil found on Denman Island: it will be brought to the museum in Courtenay, but you can see it here. 

“Can’t resist” the new music video from Diamond Cafe, the Victoria singer gaining national attention this new year. 

That’s it!

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