VICTORIA — Festivals converge on British Columbia’s capital this weekend, bringing lots of live blues, classic boats and edgy theater.
For those with enhanced driver’s licenses or passports, Victoria is an MV Coho ferry ride away, with boats departing the terminal at 101 E. Railroad Ave., Port Angeles, at 8:15 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 5:20 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. That’s the schedule through Sept. 8; return trips from Victoria to Port Angeles are at 6:10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The Vancouver Island Blues Bash means free afternoon concerts and ticketed evening shows — “blues in every shade for your soul,” the slogan goes — Saturday through Monday. Ship Point on the Inner Harbour is where the outdoor stage awaits, with details at JazzVictoria.ca.
The free shows start at noon, 1:15 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. all three days; here’s the lineup of bands in order by those time slots.
■ Saturday: Cruel Shoes; McKinley Wolf; David Vest; Bill Johnson Blues Band.
■ Sunday: Curl; The Kingmixers; The Roper Show; Jason Buie Band.
■ Monday: Groove Kitchen; The Push Band; The HiFi; The Midnights.
The Blues Bash also presents a pair of evening concerts.
Duke Robillard takes the Ship Point stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with tickets at $30; on Sunday at 7:30 it’s a Quebec blues double-bill with Adam Karch and the Stephen Barry Band for $25.
A pass to both is $45, and information awaits at the Victoria Jazz Society at 250-388-4423 and the Royal & McPherson box office at 250-386-6121.
The Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival, 11 days of comedies, dramas, musicals and physical theater, finishes up today, Saturday and Sunday.
Some offerings are free while others charge admission. Shows run from
11 a.m. till after 9 p.m. in nine venues in and around downtown Victoria.
A few titles: “Fools for Love,” “The Last Show You’ll Ever See,” “Wolf Trek: Alone in the Woods,” “Promise and Promiscuity: a New Musical by Jane Austen and Peggy Ashton.” For a schedule, see www.IntrepidTheatre.com.
The 36th annual Victoria Classic Boat Festival arrives today and sails through Sunday on the Inner Harbour. In this juried celebration, more than 100 sail, power and steam boats from all over the world gather.
Admission is free while the festival is open from noon to 8 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to about 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Among the big attractions: the dory races at 1 p.m. Saturday and the Sailpast and Salute at 11 a.m. Sunday.
For details, see www.classicboatfestival.ca.
Also near the Inner Harbour, the Royal British Columbia Museum beckons with “Race to the End of the Earth,” a major exhibition about the quest to reach the South Pole in 1911 and 1912.
In it are photographs and artifacts — clothing, skis, medical gear — from Norwegian Roald Amundsen and British Royal Navy Capt. Robert Falcon Scott’s expeditions.
The museum, at 675 Belleville St., also has “Tradition in Felicities,” an exhibition of video interviews with Chinese-Canadian elders from Victoria’s Chinatown, as well as historical photos and artifacts.
These exhibitions await alongside the museum’s Natural History, Modern History and First People’s Galleries.
In the adjacent IMAX movie theater, “Titans of the Ice Age” and “Man of Steel,” the Superman feature, open today. These join “Kenya: Animal Kingdom” and “Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure” on the gigantic screen at the Royal British Columbia Museum.
For more, see http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca or phone 250-356-7226 or toll free 888-447-7977.
