Saturday, June 24
Sausage Fest – Featuring foods, family fun and live entertainment, Oak Bay Fire Fighters Charitable Foundation’s second annual Sausage Fest is noon to 9 p.m. at Willows Beach Park.
Uplands Park bird walk – Geoffrey Newell leads teh walk at 8 a.m. Please meet at the end of Cattle Point. Bring a friend. This last month, we had 17 American White Pelicans fly over the park! They stayed the night on the Great Chain Islets. Their arrival has never happened before. We had one come to Esquimalt Lagoon several years ago.
Community Cleanup of St. Luke’s Historic Cemetery – 3821 Cedar Hill X Road from 8:30 to 11 a.m.
Quinn Bachand’s Brishen plus Blue Moon Marquee – Bachand is an acoustic guitarist/vocalist who, at the tender age of 21, has already recorded five CDs, won a number of awards and nominations, and earned an enviable international reputation as a virtuoso blessed with boundless creativity.Tickets are $28. The show, in The Dave Dunnet theatre at Oak Bay High at 8 p.m., is part of the 34th TD Victoria International JazzFest.
Cordova Bay Day – The community celebration features a marketplace of local vendors and non-profit organizations, children’s entertainment, Saanich fire truck and home fire safety display, Saanich police mascot ACE and Block Watch display and live music. Over at Cordova Bay Plaza, there will be a collector car show, more kids activities and a driving simulator. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. David by the Sea Church (5182 Cordova Bay Rd.), Cordova Bay Plaza and Mattick’s Farm.
Sunday, June 25
Seine Net explore – Join the Royal BC Museum and Friends of Uplands Park at Willows Beach for a Seine Net explore. More than 20 species of fish, crabs and shrimp and other invertebrates will be brought into shore by the museum experts, using a large seine net. You will be able to see what lives beneath the waves. Small nets and containers will be available from Friends of Uplands Park to collect creatures. Entry by donation to the Royal BC Museum. Event runs 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Meet at the north end of Willows Beach, near the RBCM van.
Donny McCaslin Group – Even though he already had three Grammy nominations and eleven albums to his credit, tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin kicked it up a good couple of notches when David Bowie recruited McCaslin and his quartet to play on Blackstar, the multiple Grammy winner that became Bowie’s final recording. That collaboration had a profound impact on McCaslin, and was the inspiration for his 2016 recording Beyond Now, which is dedicated to Bowie. Primarily a jazz artist with contemporary flair, McCaslin has recently moved from an acoustic to an electric sound, and in the process displayed a real potential for pop crossover – albeit with great chops and churning energy. From Bowie covers to fluid originals, this quartet knows how to create bandstand buzz. Jason Lindner keyboards, Mark Guiliana drums, and Nate Wood bass. Tickets are $35. The show, in The Dave Dunnet theatre at Oak Bay High at 8 p.m., is part of the 34th TD Victoria International JazzFest.
Tuesday, June 27
Christine &Ingrid Jensen Band w. Ben Monder – Canada’s jazz stars Christine Jensen saxophones and sister Ingrid Jensen trumpet are virtuoso players with international reputations who have performed in many musical contexts over the past 20 years. Their current Infinitude tour – based on the CD of the same name – is particularly satisfying to the Jensens, who are inspired soloists most interested in creating the opportunity for brilliant ensemble work. Joining them on the front line is American guitarist Ben Monder, who brings a wealth of experience to the Jensens’ chamber jazz explorations – Monder was the guitarist on David Bowie’s Grammy-winning Blackstar. All three are excellent composers, whose richly textured ideas come beautifully alive in the intimate setting of a quintet. Anchoring this remarkable band are Fraser Hollins bass and Jon Wikan drums.
Tickets are $28. The show, in The Dave Dunnet theatre at Oak Bay High at 8 p.m., is part of the 34th TD Victoria International JazzFest.
Wednesday, June 28
Tierney Sutton Band – Los Angeles-based Tierney Sutton is an eight time Grammy nominee who’s been recording for two decades. Imbued with immense talent and a genuine love for music and people, Sutton released The Sting Variations in 2016, which featured highly creative meditations on the songs of Sting, and was nominated for “Best Jazz Vocal Album” for the 2017 Grammys. Also in 2016, Sutton and her band co-wrote and performed on the soundtrack for Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-nominated Sully – Sutton’s gorgeous voice features prominently in the film’s end title song “Flying Home (Sully’s Theme).” Having headlined in recent years at The Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Jazz At Lincoln Center, Tierney’s remarkable voice transcends stylistic boundaries. She makes her Victoria debut at TD JazzFest with Christian Jacob piano, Trey Henry bass, and Ray Brinker drums.
Tickets are $42. The show, in The Dave Dunnet Theatre at Oak Bay High at 8 p.m., is part of the 34th TD Victoria International JazzFest.
Thursday, June 29
Buster Williams Quartet – Few jazz bassists are more storied than Buster Williams, who is probably most famous for his stint with Herbie Hancock in the early 1970s. His diverse credits also include extensive work with guitar star Larry Coryell, anchoring the Thelonious Monk repertory band Sphere, and being the accompanist of choice for many singers, notably Nancy Wilson and Betty Carter. His extensive recording credits – including 15 as leader and several dozen as sideman – feature such collaborators as McCoy Tyner, Dexter Gordon, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Hutcherson, and Tony Williams. Last seen in Victoria in 2012, the Grammy-nominated Williams is currently touring with his all-star “Something More” quartet featuring George Colligan piano, Steve Wilson alto saxophone, and Lenny White drums. Tickets are $42. The show, in The Dave Dunnet Community Theatre at Oak Bay High at 8 p.m., is part of the 34th TD Victoria International JazzFest.
Volkssport – Garden City Wanderers host 6 p.m. walk. Meet at Henderson Recreation Centre, 2291 Cedar Hill X Rd. Registration 5:45 p.m.. Contact is Susan at 250-727-6826.
Sunday, July 2
Piano Academy Concert – Michelle Mares and Mark Anderson. The featured work is Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with Aaron Mattock and Rob Pearce, percussionists. The second work on their program is the Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances Opus 45. The concert is 7:30 p.m. in the Philip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. Admission is by donation. Programs are subject to change. For more information contact Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311.
Monday, July 3
Piano Academy Concerts – Rising star Felipe Jiang, a young student of Ingrid Henderson who has won many awards in the Greater Victoria Music Festival, and who has been soloist with the Sidney Classical Orchestra and Cowichan Consort in 2017.
There will be concerts from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. given by Summer Academy Students of all ages on July 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10, 11, 12, 13, 14All Piano Academy Concerts take place in Philip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. Admission is by donation. Programs are subject to change. For more information contact Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311.
Tuesday, July 4
Our Town – Blue Bridge Theatre presents the Thornton Wilder Pulitzer Prize-winner that peels back layers of stories of ordinary citizens living in small town America, through July 16 at 2657 Quadra St Info: 250-382-3370 or bluebridgetheatre.ca.
Thursday, July 6
Piano Academy Concert – Stars of the Future (advanced students). The concert is 7:30 p.m. in the Philip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. Admission is by donation. Programs are subject to change. For more information contact Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311.
Friday, July 7
Piano Academy Concert – Anna Cal and Roger Buksa duo and solo piano. Program includes duo works Saint Saens Variations of a Theme of Beethoven and the Carman Fantasy by Anderson, and solo works performed by Anna Cal, Rameau, Couperin and the Moonlight Sonata Opus 27 by Beethoven. The concert is 7:30 p.m. in the Philip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. Admission is by donation. Programs are subject to change. For more information contact Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311.
Sunday, July 9
Piano Academy Concert – Stars of the Future, Advanced Students. The concert is 7:30 p.m. in the Philip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. Admission is by donation. Programs are subject to change. For more information contact Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311.
Monday, July 10
Piano Academy Concert – Noel McRobbie, Vancouver pianist plays Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues Opus 87 #2 a minor and #4 in A Major, Schubert Wanderer Fantasy, Hetu Variations Opus 8, and Beethoven’s last Sonata, Opus 111.
Noel has been an Assistant Professor in Seoul, South Korea since 2009. He has recently returned to Vancouver with his wife, who is also a pianist, and their young family. His many awards include first in the Eckhardt Gramatte competition in Canada and he has been broadcast on CBC, featured in the International Piano Magazine and on KBS TV “A Classic Odyssey”. He obtained his Doctorate from the University of Michigan in piano performance and pedagogy. Apart from faculty positions in Vancouver at the Vancouver Academy of Music and the British Columbia Conservatory of Music, he is on the faculty of the Summer Music Festival at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest.
The concert is 7:30 p.m. in thePhilip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. Admission is by donation. Programs are subject to change. For more information contact Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311.
Tuesday, July 11
Piano Academy Concert – Adult Students recital. The concert is 7:30 p.m. in the Philip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. Admission is by donation. Programs are subject to change. For more information contact Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311 or send an email to Alana Hayes at hayes@vcm.bc.ca
Thursday, July 13
Piano Academy Concert – Chamber Music and piano duets, including the Dvorak Quintet for Piano and Strings. The concert is 7:30 p.m. in the Philip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. Admission is by donation. Programs are subject to change. For more information contact Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311.
Friday, July 14
Piano Academy Concert – First final concert featuring the Piano Academy Choir and many outstanding performances at 6 p.m. A reception will be held in between these two concerts. At 8 p.m. hear the last final concert featuring many outstanding performances in the Philip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. Admission is by donation. Programs are subject to change. For more information contact Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311.
Tuesday, Aug. 1
Red Hot Cole – Red Hot Cole is Blue Bridge Theatre’s latest production. Conceived and directed by Darcy Evans, features Porter’s incredible songs in a joyful new revue celebrating one of Broadway’s musical masters, through Aug. 13 at 2657 Quadra St. Call 250-382-3370 or visit bluebridgetheatre.ca for ticket and showtime information.
Sunday, Aug. 13
Bowker Creek Brush Up – the annual art show and sale runs 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. adjacent to Bowker Creek in Oak Bay.