From The Fairmont Empress Best Nearby Events (Events) (10 Overall Closest) Metro: Victoria, BC Victoria Film Festival (Events - Best of the City) 1215 Blanshard St, Victoria  BC  V8W 3J4 • 250-384-6811 Distance: ~0 m         Description: Tired of the usual multi-million dollar Hollywood dreck? Then the Victoria Film Festival is your opportunity to take in some of the best small-budget shorts and features from around the globe. It's a ten-day festival featuring over 160 films – see a couple or see a bunch. People have been known to skip work just to watch these movies! Note that in BC, the only way to see an unclassified film is to be a member of the society that's showing the film, so you'll have to purchase a $2 Festival Society membership. (Credit cards may be used for online purchases, but be prepared to pay cash at the box office.) Dine Around & Stay in Town Victoria (Events - Best of the City) various restaurants, Victoria Distance: ~0 m         Description: If you have champagne taste but a beer budget, you may want to plan a trip to Victoria during the last couple weeks of February. That's when over 50 of the area's restaurants offer special three-course menus at bargain rates: $15, $25 or $35 per person. Participating restaurants frequently include The Empress Room, Arbutus Grill, John's Place, Nautical Nellies, Pacific, Spinnakers, Dock 503, Darcy's Wharfside Pub, India Curry House, Café Brio, Le Petit Saigon, Swan's Brewpub and Vista 18. Reservations are an absolute must! During the same period, many hotels offer special "Stay in Town" rates ($79-129). Chocolate Fest (Events - Best of the City) 3220 Cedar Hill Rd Victoria Conference Center, Victoria  BC • 250-385-1157 • FAX: 250-385-1757 Distance: ~0 m         Description: Chocoholics rejoice! If you're lucky enough to be in the Victoria area in early March, you definitely won't want to miss this. The festivities include demonstrations, chocolate sculpting, music and entertainment, and of course tasting as the area's best bakeries, restaurants and chocolate makers convene to celebrate what is possibly the world's favorite food. Plus, since the event is a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters, you can feel good about any money you spend. Tickets are available at the door or inside special chocolate bars which are available at Purdy's and Roger's. Victoria Highland Games (Events - Best of the City) Blanshard St and Finlayson St Topaz Park, Victoria  BC  V9A • 250-598-0120 Distance: ~0 m         Description: A celebration of all things Scottish! Check out the piping and drumming competitions or highland dancing. Admire the muscle and skill required for the heavy events: the caber toss, sheaf toss, stone throw and keg toss. Search for your family ancestry or learn about the various clans and their histories. Buy some plaid. Eat some haggis. And aye, bring the wee bairns – they'll have a bonnie good time as well! Victoria Dragon Boat Festival (Events - Best of the City) 950 Wharf St, Victoria  BC Distance: ~0 m         Description: In China during the Warring States Period (475 – 221 BC), there lived a much-admired poet and statesman named Qu Yuan. He was exiled, and when he heard that his mother country had been overthrown, he drowned himself in the river. Local fishermen raced to the spot to try to save him, tossing zongzi (little rice dumplings) and other foods into the water to keep the fish away from his body. Sadly, their efforts were to no avail, but ever since, people have honored Qu Yuan with exciting dragon boat races on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese calendar. Victoria's celebration also includes martial arts demonstrations, tea-sampling, music and dance, magic, and plenty of food. Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival (Events - Best of the City) Pandora & Broad Fringe Ticket Kiosk, Victoria  BC • 250-383-2663 • FAX: 250-380-1999 Distance: ~0 m         Description: Theatre buffs celebrate at the end of August with the Victoria Fringe Festival. With some 250 performances of more than 30 shows at 6 venues, you're bound to find something that intrigues you. This is not the time to catch a blockbuster production of Chicago or the Lion King, but you can see a plethora of cutting-edge comedies, dramas and performance art by groups from around the world. All shows are $9 or less, and tickets go on sale a couple weeks before the festival begins. Half of the tickets are available in advance, the remainder are sold at the door. A Fringe Visa Button is required as well (a one-time purchase), but it makes a great souvenir! As many of the offerings are not child-appropriate, the free Fringekids Fest in Market Square is a great option for families and Fringers under 12 years. Symphony Splash (Events - Best of the City) 950 Wharf St Inner Harbour, Victoria  BC Distance: ~0 m         Description: This popular music and fireworks event attracts some 40,000 folks to the Inner Harbour area for one fun night in August. From a barge moored in the harbour, the symphony performs a lively concert of classical favorites culminating in the 1812 Overture, complete with cannons and fireworks. The festivities are going on all day, with the "pre-concert concert" starting about 4:30 and the symphony starts up at 7:30pm. Plenty of food and beverage vendors ensure that no one goes hungry. The best way to experience the concert is from a boat anchored in the harbour, but the Legislature lawn is also a good vantage point. One of the largest annual symphony events in North America! Great Canadian Beer Festival (Events - Best of the City) 1014 Caledonia Ave Royal Athletic Park, Victoria  BC  V8T IE8 Distance: ~0 m         Description: Every September, Victoria's chapter of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) puts on the largest micro-brewery festival in Canada. More than 40 breweries from across Canada and the Pacific Northwest attend, including Canoe Brewpub, Hugo's Brewhouse, Lighthouse Brewing, Spinnakers, Buckerfield's, Vancouver Island Brewery, Elysian Brewing of Seattle, and Steamworks Brewing of Vancouver. Tickets must be purchased in advance (there are none at the door!) and sell out fast, so plan ahead. Beer tokens are sold inside the festival stadium: $1.25 each (beer samples require 1-2 tokens). Copyright ©2001 10Best Inc. All rights reserved.