Victoria Day and May Events 2024
Posted by Niels Madsen on
May is an exciting month in Victoria, with plenty of events and activities to enjoy, from art to music to markets. One of the main highlights is Victoria Day on 20 May, a statutory holiday commemorating Queen Victoria’s birthday, who of course the city is named after. Take a look at our list of top things to do in May and experience the best of what the city has to offer!
The Lehman Trilogy
Where: The Belfry Theatre
When: April 23 – May 19
Cost: Various
Website: www.belfry.bc.ca/the-lehman-trilogy
On a cold September morning in 1844, Heyam, a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is soon joined by Mendel and Mayer, and the Lehman brothers’ journey begins. The growth of global capitalism exposes the fault lines of the American dream. The Lehman brothers rise from shopkeepers to bankers, from obscurity to prominence, navigating the Civil War, the Great Depression, and generations of ethical dilemmas. It is an epic journey, an epic play, and a theatrical tour de force.
James Bay Market
Where: Corner of Menzies and Superior
When: Saturdays from May 4
Website: www.jamesbaymarket.com
Saturday mornings now see a gathering of 50 plus tents bustling with excited vendors with their colourful displays of fresh local fruits, vegetables and farm produce along with baked goods, locally brewed beverages, prepared foods and preserves. Our crafters offer you a large selection of art, woodworking, clothing, body care products, jewellery and more! Along with your shopping bags make sure to bring along your dancing shoes and appetite as we’ll have three sets of free live music for your listening enjoyment and food trucks to tempt your tastebuds.
Moss Street Farmers Market
Where: Moss Street
When: Saturdays from May 4
Website: www.mossstreetmarket.com
Victoria’s premier farmers market, Moss Street Market operates year-round, with over 30 local, organic farmers and another 120+ crafters, artisans, food and drink vendors, cideries, distillers, brewers, vintners, and more. Stroll the market to peruse all our local artisans’ wares while listening to live local musicians. Enjoy an amazing hot lunch, or feast on snacks, baked goods, ice cream, freezies, coffee, tea, or kombucha. All locally made, there’s something for everyone.
2024 Hike for Hospice
Where: Clover Point Park
When: May 5, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Cost: Donation
Website: victoriahospice.org/event/hike-for-hospice-2024
Gather a team of friends and family, challenge your co-workers or join as an individual to help support end-of-life care in your community. Everyone is welcome! Bring along your four-legged friend for your chance to win the "Best Dressed Dog" award. You can also encourage your workplace to enter the Workplace Challenge! Funds raised through Victoria Hike for Hospice help provide care and comfort for patients, as well as support for their families through bereavement counselling out of the Community Support Centre.
Book Signing: Hand Drawn Victoria with Emma Fitzgerald
Where: Munro's Books
When: May 10, 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Cost: Free
Website: munrobooks.com/events/20240510
For locals and visitors alike, these sketches and stories highlight both the historic monuments and everyday moments that make Victoria shine. You never know quite what you’ll come across in British Columbia’s capital city. With its unmissable landmarks that attract people from around the world, Victoria is also rich in forested beauty, charming houses, and curious people, and is steeped in local history. Following the charm of her previous book, Hand Drawn Vancouver, in this memorable book, Emma FitzGerald captures the coastal city of Victoria and its surrounding communities in over 100 sketches.
ReLove Market
Where: Market Square
When: Weekends from May 11
Website: relovegeneration.com
An empowering fashion community dedicated to the pursuit of personal expression balanced with environmental sustainability. Our Secondhand & Vintage Pop Up Markets bring local curators and fashion enthusiasts together in a welcoming, inspiring and creative in-person forum to share ideas and textiles! Offering community, connection, creativity & small business love, the ReLove Market features local artisans, resellers of secondhand & vintage clothing, makers of sustainable fashion, beauty, home and lifestyle.
Hills to Shore Artists Tour
Where: Various
When: May 11 – 12, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Cost: Free
Website: www.hillstoshoreartists.ca
The annual Hills to Shore Artists Tour is a free, self-guided tour on Mother’s Day weekend features 18 artists and 9 studios in Gordon Head, Mt. Tolmie and Cadboro Bay.
161st Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival
Where: Topaz Park
When: May 11 - 12
Cost: Various
Website: victoriahighlandgames.com
Once again, the Highland Games will be hosting the International Heavy Events Challenge and Canadian Invitational Drum Major Championship, with a full line-up of current and past world and national champions. Simon Fraser University Pipe Band will attend, so you can witness the best pipe band in North America compete both days! Massed pipe band performances and Highland dancing on both Saturday and Sunday are must-see events.
Mother’s Day Musical Garden Tour
Where: Various
When: May 11 – 12, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Cost: $45
Website: vcm.bc.ca/support/garden-tour
This beloved self-guided garden tour celebrates mothers, music, and our rich garden culture right here in the City of Gardens. Now in its 42nd year, this year’s tour features ten springtime garden gems from all over Greater Victoria – each one unique and sure to inspire. Your ticket includes two days of exclusive access to ten private gardens, musical performances by our talented students and faculty, and master gardeners at select locations. All proceeds raised through the Mother’s Day Musical Garden Tour keep music education, performance, and wellness accessible in our community.
Luxton Spring Fair
Where: Luxton Grounds
When: May 16 - 19
Cost: Free Grounds Admission, Rides Ticketed
Website: luxtonspringfair.ca
Come see the antique farm equipment, heritage museum, VI blacksmith, vendors booths, and of course the rides!
Mother’s Day Flowers Event
Where: Victoria Butterfly Gardens
When: May 12, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Cost: Various, moms free!
Website: butterflygardens.com
Join for a fun Mother’s Day Flowers Event while supplies last).Come plant a sunflower with your Mom and the Macaws! Bonus, there will be free admission for Mom all day long.
TEDxVictoria: It’s up to us
Where: McPherson Playhouse
When: May 15, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Cost: Various
Website: tedxvictoria.ca
TEDxVictoria’s theme, “It’s up to us”, will bring Victoria together for inspiring conversations that challenge inaction and encourage change personally, globally, and local to Victoria. Speakers don’t have to colour within the lines when it comes to this theme, so expect wide-ranging conversations, out-of-the-box topics, and fresh perspectives.
New Orford String Quartet presents Pizzicato
Where: Alix Goolden Performance Hall
When: May 16, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
Cost: $28.25
Website: vcm.bc.ca/event/new-orford-string-quartet-2024
The New Orford String Quartet returns to the Alix Goolden Performance Hall with a captivating program showcasing the diverse ways in which pizzicato, a technique where the strings are plucked instead of bowed, is used to shape the expressive landscapes of string quartet music. Throughout this program, pizzicato serves as a powerful tool, showcasing the expressive possibilities and adding a unique sonic dimension to the string quartet repertoire.
CelloFest: Paul Marleyn and Friends in Recital
Where: Alix Goolden Performance Hall
When: May 17, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
Cost: $28.25
Website: vcm.bc.ca/event/cellofest-paul-marleyn-and-friends-in-recital
Internationally acclaimed cellist Paul Marleyn is joined by pianist Monica Pfau, and cellists Brian Yoon and Amy Laing, to perform a program of inspiring and eclectic works by composers Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Sollima, Barriere, Garner, Popper, and Menotti.
Swan Lake
Where: Royal Theatre
When: May 17 at 7:30 pm, May 18 at 2:00 pm
Cost: From $34
Website: balletvictoria.ca/swan-lake-2024
The epitome of classical ballet. A great love story. Tchaikovsky’s scintillating music. Destrooper brings new complexity and choreography to this spellbinding ballet. Prince Siegfried’s love with maiden-turned-white-swan Odette is tested by evil sorcerer Rothbart and his black-swan enchantress, Odile.
Victoria Day Explore Victoria Book Signing
Where: Munro's Books
When: May 20, 12:00 – 3:00 pm
Cost: Free
Website: munrobooks.com/events/20240520
Meet the authors of four local books: Collin Varner's 50 Keystone Flora Species of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest and 50 Keystone Fauna Species of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest; Taryn Eyton's Backpacking on Vancouver Island; and Dave Doroghy and Graeme Menzies' 111 Places in Victoria That You Must Not Miss!
Thrifty Foods 124th Victoria Day Parade presented by Chek TV
Where: Douglas Street
When: May 20, 9:00 am
Cost: Free
Website: gvfs.ca/event/thrifty-foods-124th-victoria-day-parade-presented-by-chek-tv
The Greater Victoria Festival Society will host a world class event showcasing our diverse cultures and celebrating with various community partners and out of town guests!
Awakening Chinatown
Where: Chinatown
When: May 26
Cost: Free
Website: victoriachinatownmuseum.com/awakening-chinatown-2024
As we celebrate the 22nd Anniversary of Asian Heritage Month, the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society together with Lead Sponsor RBC, are thrilled to announce the return of Awakening Chinatown. We invite you to join us once again in the heart of Victoria’s Historic Chinatown to immerse yourself in cultural festivities with a day of captivating performances, arts, and crafts, presented by the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society and in collaboration with local Chinatown businesses.
2024 Victoria MS Walk
Where: Cadboro-Gyro Park
When: May 26, 9:00 am
Cost: Donation
Website: tourismvictoria.com/events/2024-victoria-ms-walk
The MS community is built by the support and connections made by participating in MS Walk. However, you choose to walk, know that your participation and fundraising moves us closer to meeting today’s challenges and finding tomorrow’s answers for all Canadians living with MS.
Afroquatics: A Call and Response Below the Surface
Where: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
When: Until May 26
Cost: Admission rate: $15
Website: aggv.ca/exhibits/current/afroquatics
An immersive and interactive installation that will spark conversations, challenge perceptions, and transport viewers into an experiential underwater landscape. This installation pulls inspiration from African spiritual practices of Orisha, the little-known history of expert freedivers that existed throughout coastal communities in West Africa, and underwater worlds imagined by many artists and storytellers of the African diaspora such as electronic music duo, Drexciya. Through curiosity and contemplation participants will be introduced to the intersection of ancient wisdom, modern technology, and speculative narratives. By reimagining the stories of the past, we can craft empowering understandings that heal our present and move into our futures.
IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s
Where: Fishermans Wharf
When: May 26, 9:00 am
Cost: Donation
Website: support.alzheimer.ca/site
The Walk is the largest annual fundraising event for the Alzheimer Society of B.C. and provides an opportunity for communities to take action to change the future for the over 85,000 British Columbians living with dementia and the people who care for them. The event is also an opportunity for us to honour and remember the people in our lives who have been affected by Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Funds raised at the Walk will help provide local programs and services for families on the dementia journey and enable research into the causes of and cure for the disease.
Crossing: Art, Heritage, and Personal Journeys
Where: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
When: Until May 26
Cost: Admission rate: $15
Website: aggv.ca/exhibits/current/crossing
This compelling showcase unearths the essence of migration, heritage, and identity, painting a vivid picture of the diverse and enriching experiences that lie at the heart of our multicultural nation. In this exhibition, we invite you to explore the profound artistic expressions of these three artists, each of whom has chosen a unique path to convey their stories. You will encounter artworks that resonate with the echoes of ancestral struggles, capturing the enduring impact of intergenerational trauma. You will witness the juxtaposition of tradition and renovation, where thousands-years old customs meet the innovative spirit of adaptation.