SUMMER IN THE CITY: Music, food and family fun in Victoria
- Cinda Chavich
- Jul 11
- 6 min read
Summertime is the best time to get out and enjoy all of the outdoor music and food events in Victoria and environs
By CINDA CHAVICH
(photos courtesy Victoria Symphony)
Summer is definitely tourist season in Victoria, but it’s also time for locals to get outside and celebrate our city by the sea.
There are so many different music and food events to enjoy every week, it’s almost impossible to choose.
The City of Victoria lists more than 200 free concerts, performances and festivals in its online City Vibe guide, and event finder, a site that lets you search for events by date and activity, or scan their monthly calendar. Whether it’s roots rock, metal or indie pop, jazz, R&B, reggae or barbershop, there is literally a concert for every taste.
This summer, I’m going to make it my mission to join the fun, and you can, too.
Here’s a look at just some of the free concerts and bigger music events, food festivals and markets, you’ll find all around Victoria and environs.
BIG SPLASH
The great big summer music event of the season, Symphony Splash!, is back this year to light up the Inner Harbour’s iconic barge stage with four live orchestral performances.
Returning after a five-year hiatus, it celebrates the Victoria Symphony’s 85th anniversary and the BC Day long weekend, August 2 and 3.
Whether you stretch out on the legislative lawn, sail into a slip or bob in a kayak or canoe, it’s a unique and watery way to enjoy orchestral masterworks and contemporary compositions on a summer evening or afternoon.
This year the Saturday afternoon event kicks off with the powerful voices of Indigenous artists Celeigh Cardinal and Shawnee Kish, alongside 91 of the country’s most gifted young orchestral musicians from The National Youth Orchestra of Canada..
Later that evening, percussionist Sal Ferreras and his Latin Jazz Sextet, with Cuban vocalist Adonis Puentes, join the Victoria Symphony for joyful rhythms and the eclectic musical styles from across South America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Sunday’s lineup features Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, the searing Allegro of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 and contemporary pieces, from JUNO-nominated Cree composer Andrew Balfour, performed by Canada’s National Youth Orchestra. With the traditional Splash! finale, a Victoria Symphony led by Principal Pops Conductor Sean O’Loughlin with featured solo pianist Patrick Cao performing highlights from past events including Shostakovich’s Festival Overture and Holst’s Jupiter, music from Star Wars and the grand finale with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Amazing Grace – complete with splashy fireworks!
There are a few ticketed grandstand seats for the main events, but concerts are free to the public, with a Family Zone and an interactive “instrument petting zoo” where you can try out real musical instruments, and afternoon performances on the Community Stages featuring local talent.
Local food and drink vendors round out the festive scene, and you can pre-purchase picnic boxes from L’Apero Wine and Cheese Bistro for $25 at victoriasymphony.ca, with $5 from each box donated to the Victoria Symphony.
The two-day event, with its mission “to inspire, educate, and captivate our community through the transformative power of music,” showcases and supports the 44 professional musicians that make up the Victoria Symphony, many who also teach at the University of Victoria and the Victoria Conservatory of Music.
It’s one of British Columbia’s largest performing arts organizations, and a pillar of the city’s opera, ballet, chorale and orchestra community.
FREE AND FUNKY
Strolling down to the beach or gathering at a bandshell in the park to listen to free concerts is a local summer tradition in Victoria, too.
The Music in the Park series, at the Cameron Bandshell in Beacon Hill Park, showcases a wide variety of musical talent with free performances and drop-in events most days of the week.
There are kids concerts from 11 a.m. to noon every Wednesday in July and August, musicians on stage most weekends (and weekdays) from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m, and a special Folk Music Series on select Tuesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Downtown in Centennial Square, on Wednesday evenings, there’s the Eventide music series, free outdoor shows, featuring everything from hip hop and punk, to metal and experimental artists, complete with food and beer trucks, showcasing the city’s local music scene. https://eventidevictoria.com
Summer at Ship Point includes an array of activities, from live music and games to food trucks and beer gardens, all free and open to all, Tuesday to Thursday evenings until October.
And every Thursday, during the summer, there are noon-hour concerts at Fort Common, the hidden courtyard behind the businesses on Blanchard and Fort, where you can grab a take-out lunch from a nearby restaurant and enjoy an escape from the busy bustle downtown.
Look for Music on the Lawn events at Government House in Rockland.
It’s a similar scene at Willows Beach on Thursday evenings this summer, for free, family-friendly concerts featuring local folk, pop and blues artists on stage at 6 p.m.
Check out all of the drop-in activities at these various venues, too, whether drop in choirs, Latin, swing or ballroom dancing at Beacon Hill, lunchtime fitness and yoga at Ship Point, and Yoga in the Park Tuesdays at Willows Beach in Oak Bay.
BLUE NOTES
The Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival features local, international, and regional blues and R&B artists/groups with both free to the public and ticketed performances on the outdoor stage at the Ship Point picnic site in Victoria’s Inner Harbour (Aug 22-24).
The lineup ranges from Canada’s gritty blues rock duo, The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer, and alt-blues Wet Future, to American blues vocalist Shemekia Copeland and Toronto’s Bywater Call, to free performances by local artists Blackfish, Paul Black and bluesman Big Hank Lionhart, there’s lots for southern blues fans to get their teeth into, including some tasty food and drink.
PERFORMANCE ART
For something completely different, follow Theatre SKAM’s annual SKAMPede July 11-13 – several different pedestrian or cycling tours that start from 15 separate launch points, and feature works by a variety of performance artists, from poets to clowns, actors, musicians and dancers. With a pay-what-you-can ticket model (suggested $10 pp or $20 per family) and tours that include five outdoor performances running throughout the weekend, it’s a unique Victoria event celebrating 17 years of creative, playful performing.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
One of my favourite summer food festivals is the BC CrabFest, for buckets of local Dungeness Crab and seafood, served up at a huge family event in the inner harbour.
Or join the Thirsty Chef event, noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 26 in the Market Square courtyard downtown, for stations serving food from top local chefs paired with rare and surprising beers from indie BC breweries, and live music, all to raise funds for the Victoria Cool Aid Society. Tickets $50 from The Drake Eatery. www.drakeeatery.com/thirstychef
There are ongoing Flavour Trails events across the Saanich peninsula throughout the summer season.
From the annual Strawberry Festival to ongoing weekend festivals, you can celebrate local farmers, food producers, chefs and beverage artisans at the Central Saanich weekend July 12/13, the Savour Saanich Flavour Trails weekend, Aug. 9 and 10, and the North Saanich festival on the Aug. 23/24 weekend.
Or simply pick up (or download) their Trail Guide & Map to plan your own food-focused driving tour around the region, to visit the many farms and tasting rooms where you can discover a variety of local products. Whether popular farm markets (think Michell’s Farm, Galey Farms or Silver Rill), U-pick berry farms, hidden gems like Madrona Farm stand or The Plot Market Garden, the fascinating Horticulture Centre of the Pacific or a Country Bee Honey Farms garden tour, plus unique beverage makers like Macaloney Distillers and SeaCider, there’s plenty to sip and savour along the way. www.flavourtrails.com
Another food and drink event of note this summer is the Cowichan Craft Beer and Food Festival Aug. 16 in Chemainus. Expect 30 different craft breweries, pouring 100+ artisan beers, along with food from local vendors and food trucks, including the great Artisan Empanadas from the Scorpion Chef and Souls toast, that Korean sandwich marvel. It’s a chance to take a road trip up island to this charming community, and enjoy music from four local bands, too. 1-6 p.m. Tickets $48, including tasting glass and five tokens. www.craftbeerandfoodfest.com
MARKET TRENDS
Otherwise just plan to visit a local farmers market to meet all of the interesting growers, makers and bakers we have providing fresh local food to islanders. Spend Saturday mornings at the Moss Street or James Bay farm markets, head to the Sidney Street Market on Thursday nights, or the Oak Bay Night Market (second Wednesday of the month in summer), and the Esquimalt Farmers Market every Thursday from 4:30 to 7, with the Gorge Farmers Market each Monday in Gorge Park.
©CindaChavich2025