Illusionist Vitaly to bring art to life in magic show

What makes a moment magical? Canadian illusionist Vitaly Beckman is back in Victoria on December 7 to perform his interactive, art-based magic show, inspiring audiences to answer this question for themselves and explore the power of their senses. As a visual person, Vitaly thinks in visual terms and incorporates artistic elements such as paintings, photographs, […]

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Holly Timpener performance less than sweet

Holly Timpener’s art performance A Spoon Full of Sugar was an interesting departure from what I would normally find myself doing on a Saturday morning. I arrived at The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s Spencer Mansion on Saturday, November 23 just as the performance was getting underway and had absolutely no idea what to expect, […]

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Murders on Paper St. a sublimely unscripted escapade

A chill wind blows across the darkened grounds of Craigdarroch Castle. On this momentous eve, a young entrepreneur is celebrating his success in the commercial fishing industry. Surrounded by oaken walls, tapestried ceilings and lavish portraits, the fresh-faced fish fat-cat has the perfect life. Or does he?  In attendance is his sister, who resents the […]

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Mozart’s Requiem a breathtaking musical force

Beneath the exquisite stone arches and stained glass windows of the Christ Church Cathedral more than 130 performers gathered for the Victoria Choral Society’s 90th anniversary production, a rendition of three of Mozart’s compositions, Requiem, Laudate Dominum, and Ave Verum Corpus. Requiem was an unfinished piece by Mozart at the time of his death and […]

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New Music Revue: Morpho delivers cozy rainy-day rock on debut EP

Morpho Morpho Season (Hit the North Records) 3/5 Chicago-based guitarist Kristyn Chapman, also known as Morpho, releases her debut EP Morpho Season—a blend of alt-rock and soft lyrics—on November 15.  The EP is great to listen to when walking through nature or when sitting on a beach. Songs feature beautiful poetic lyrics and soft instrumentals, […]

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New Music Revue: Joy Buzzer fail to deliver anything new with debut album

Joy Buzzer Pleased to Meet You (Wicked Cool Records) 1.5/5 Joy Buzzer is a New York City power pop band formed in 2021. Since then, they’ve received high appraisals for some of their singles, with “You Don’t Even Know My Name” being given the weekly “the coolest song in the world” title on Little Steven’s […]

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The end of the Victoria Event Centre a reminder to stay loud and united

The Victoria Event Center (VEC) has given Victoria a space for its locals in the music and art communities for 21 years. But, facing a 40-percent rent increase, the venue is now closing its doors, leaving a massive hole in the city’s art scene, with people struggling to find a new home to host and […]

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New Music Revue: Enforced lay down solid thrash and nothing more on new EP

Enforced A Leap Into the Dark (Century Media) 3/5 I was promised thrash metal and Enforced delivered with their new six-song EP A Leap Into the Dark. Sadly, I’m not very moved by the songs here. Although well mixed and the pacing is great for headbanging, the songs themselves are fairly standard-issue thrash; other than […]

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Victoria Choral Society to celebrate 90th anniversary with Mozart

Considering a requiem is meant to honour the dead, it’s intriguing to speculate on Mozart’s state of mind as he was allegedly dying of kidney disease while he wrote Requiem. Victoria Choral Society will be performing Requiem alongside Mozart’s Laudate Dominum and Ave Verum Corpus at the first concert of their 90th anniversary season. Requiem […]

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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee gets collaborative

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a comedy that centres around six teens who must battle each other in a spelling competition while struggling to find their place in the world, and it brings the audience into the performance in a very unique way. Jaques Lamay is directing and choreographing the play at […]

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