TOGETHER WITH | | COMMUNITY EVENTS | 🎡 The Oak Bay Tea Party returns to Willows Park, June 6-8. Check out the details of the annual summer fair, including the parade schedule, food, kids' craft centre, and the floating teacup challenge. [OB Tea Party] | 🧘 Yoga at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel: Begin your morning with wellness in mind by joining Sunrise Yoga on the Seaside Gardens Terrace. All summer, every Saturday for an hour, beginning tomorrow at 8am. [Oak Bay Beach Hotel] | 🥕 Oak Bay Night Market is back on June 11: Oak Bay Village transforms into a European-style street market with fresh and local produce, food, and artisanal goods. The market also hosts live music and magic shows. Once a month throughout the summer.
🍩 Vic Donut Mile: Raising funds for KidSport Greater Victoria. We will also have donuts available for purchase on event day by donation. Every entry gets a donut. Friday, June 13. 5:30-8:30pm. [Info] | 🥖 Oak Bay Village Spring Nosh: A celebration of Oak Bay's food makers and producers who will present a variety of small bites and larger portions, including barbecued and baked goods, desserts, and more. Saturday, June 14, from 11am to 3pm. [Info] | 🌊 Ocean Week 2025: Sea kayaking & intertidal exploration. Paddle on a guided tour and enjoy a seaweed-focused intertidal exploration, starting at the Oak Bay Marina. Tomorrow. 2-4pm. [Info] | 🚣 Immersive Marine Ecology Paddle & FUNdraiser: Discover the hidden connections between the underwater world and life on land, from insects to orca whales, as you paddle through coastal waters. Willows Beach. Tomorrow. 10-11:30am. [Info] | 🥾 🦦 Summit and Sea Celebration: From hilltops to kelp forests: A full-spectrum nature experience brings together land-based hiking and coastal exploration through stand-up paddleboarding. Various locations. Sunday. 10:30am-1:30pm. [Info] | 🦭 Kelp Float by Paddleboard: Celebrate World Ocean Day with a relaxing experience floating on a stand-up paddleboard in a kelp forest. Sunday. 10-10:45am. [Info] | 😂 TGIF Comedy Show: Get your giggles on at this Thank God it’s Funny show at the Oak Bay Rec Centre. Funny and talented amateur comics take the stage in this Masterclass Showcase. Sports View Bar. Tonight at 7pm. [Info] | 🎶 Enjoy a special music experience of bandura performances by accomplished Ukrainian musician Mariia Smolinska, who will take you on a musical journey from meditative melodies to energetic tunes from video games. Ukrainian Cultural Centre. Sunday at 5pm. [Info] |
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| | IN THE NEWS | 🎪 From pancakes to teacup races: this weekend is fit to a Tea
It’s a ton of fun, it raises money for the Kiwanis and Lions clubs, and it’s a chance to see a race in which the mayor and an opponent row huge teacups in the ocean. The Oak Bay Tea Party turns 63 this weekend, which means tons of rides, a police torch run, and pancake breakfasts from 7am to 11am both tomorrow and Sunday. [OB Tea Party] | ☕ Oak Bay Starbucks workers brew up a possible union
About a dozen workers voted in favour of unionizing, and their result reached the threshold for certification. That means they could join workers in 15 other Canadian stores (out of 900+) now represented by the United Steelworkers, including those at the Douglas location, which unionized in 2020. The Oak Bay workers will now wait for approval from the BC Labour Relations Board. [Times Colonist] | 🚸 Windsor Park's new playground draws crowds, and safety concerns
With a new playground just opened, tennis courts, a daycare, and an ice cream shop across the street, Windsor Park can be a busy place, and one concerned citizen says traffic in the area poses a challenge for pedestrians. They say people on foot have to dodge cars, buses, and other vehicular movement to get to the park—but there’s crosswalk access. They’ve started a petition to change that, saying, “Active transportation to green spaces should be encouraged and safe.” | 🖼️ Oak Bay Gallery has new ownership, promises not to change
Kathleen Prince has worked at the gallery—nestled between Ivy’s Bookshop and Starbucks in Oak Bay Village—for 11 out of its 23 years. The shop’s founder, Heather Wheeler, died unexpectedly in 2022, leaving the business with her husband, Larry, who promoted Wheeler to manager. Now, Larry is stepping down, but Prince is determined to keep the gallery unchanged as she takes over. [Oak Bay News] | 👮 Police blotter: break-in at Carnarvon Park, e-scooter swiped
Police responded to an alarm at a building near the Lawn Bowling Club at Carnarvon Park on May 27, a Tuesday night, and found pry marks on the door. The building, which is used for storage, had soccer equipment scattered about, and it wasn’t immediately clear if anything was taken. Police are also investigating the report of an electric scooter stolen from a residence on Cadboro Bay near Epworth. The vehicle, a Punk Ride Pro 3-speed, is valued at $1,900 and believed to have been taken on May 29. They’re also looking into some mischief on Haultain near Henderson, where a parked car’s rear window was smashed sometime between last Friday and Saturday. Nothing was reported stolen. [OB Police] | 🌿❄️ Only at Pure Day Spa. The exclusive Phyto-Cool Facial calms inflammation with a cooling wand massage and phyto corrective botanical mask. Soothe redness, hydrate deeply—feel the summer refresh.* | 🚔Young driver loses privileges after speeding, failing alcohol breath test
A 21-year-old driver can take a three-month break from the roads after getting caught for speeding and failing a sobriety test. Police said they clocked the vehicle at 97 km/h on Foul Bay near Kings, which is a 50 km/h zone, at 12:30am on May 31, a Saturday. The vehicle was impounded for 30 days. [OB Police] *Sponsored Listing | | P.S. Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here. |
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| | PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT | To join the conversation, become a member of the Oak Bay Local Facebook Group | Is this a jumping spider? | Araneology alert: A local just back from a trip to Europe noticed a black spider with a reddish-brown backside plop down from the ceiling. They want to ID it and ensure the little guy didn’t hitch a ride back in their suitcase. | |
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| | | Zipper investigation prompts interest in ride safety | A local posted a story from the TC that describes an incident at a fair in Port Hardy. The Zipper has a long frame in which people ride. It rotates like a Ferris wheel, with cars that flip end-over-end. Recently, a rider was injured. Few details were available. The carnival ride was provided by Shooting Star Amusements, which is providing rides to the midway at this weekend’s Oak Bay Tea Party. | |
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| | IN OTHER NEWS | Scary, uncomfortable drive as young women say they were followed from ferry terminal | A local writes that her 19-year-old daughter and her friend were followed as they drove back from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal. While waiting for her ride, the daughter’s friend said she noticed two young men staring at her, which made her uneasy. | Once the teen arrived, two young men joined the other two, and the four of them stood and watched the girls. | The teens said the four young men got into a car and followed the girls for 40 minutes. A harrowing experience for the women, and thankfully, the police are now involved. | |
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| | PHOTO OF THE WEEK | | The Eagle has landed: Claudia Ferrs posted this from Gonzales Beach on Thursday. |
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