Ask anything on Vancouver Island
Fri, Oct 23 – Sun, Oct 25 · 144 events, each with a page of its own:
The weekend window
Everything on the island this weekend
· 7:00 PM
Lennon & McCartney-- All You Need is Love Fundraising Concert
St. George's United Church$43.88
St. George's United Church. More than a concert, the live performance of music from these legendary musicians is complemented by video, interviews…
Tickets available
· 7:30 PM
Cheng² Duo and James Campbell Concert
Alix Goolden Hall$29.27-$50.86
The Victoria Conservatory is excited to welcome the incomparable Canadian sibling duo Cheng² Duo (pronounced Cheng Squared) featuring cellist Bryan…
Tickets available
· 7:00 PM
The Remarkable Beach Boys Tribute: Let’s Go Surfin’
Cowichan Performing Arts Centre$55
BackBeat Entertainment presents Hailed as the best Beach Boys tribute on the planet, BACKBEAT’s Let’s Go Surfin’!
Tickets available
· 7:30 PM
Barracuda & All Fired Up
Mary Winspear Centre$49
Barracuda & All Fired Up “Tributes to Heart & Pat Benatar” Heart & Pat Benatar have sold over 70 million albums combined and have been performing for…
· 2:30 PM
Parameswaran & Liu – Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1
Royal Theatre
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 evokes the frost-bright landscapes of winter, with its sweeping melodies and crisp orchestral colours revealing a…
Art of the Cocktail
Crystal Garden
Don’t miss one of the most fun nights of the year! The 2026 ART OF THE COCKTAIL will once again deliver an evening of cocktails, food, vintage glamour…
METCHOSIN BEWITCHED MARKET
Metchosin Community Hall
Embrace your inner witch at our enchanted market featuring talented witches, makers & mystics! Free Admission!
Free
· 6:00 PM
Sights and Sounds
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria$20
Tickets available
Chocolate – A Tasting Event
Crystal Garden
Over 40 of Canada’s top chocolatiers serving up irresistible chocolate creations that’ll have you melting with pleasure.
12th Annual Thrifty Foods Wicked Victoria
Bastion Square
Join us for the 12th Thrifty Foods Wicked Victoria on Sunday, October 25, 2026, as Government Street transforms into a spooktacular Halloween…
· 10:00 AM
Harrington's Private Fine Art Buying & Consignment Event in Victoria
Hotel Grand Pacific
We provide honest evaluations and the best possible offers for the art you wish to sell. We supply immediate payment on accepted offers.
Tickets available
144 things to do from Friday through Sunday night. See them all on this weekend.
Before you pick a weekend
What the island actually is
Rainforest on one coast, a rain shadow on the other, and a mountain range deciding which you get.
Two coasts, and they are not the same trip
The ranges running the length of the island take the weather out of the Pacific before it reaches the far side. The outside coast gets the rainforest, the open beach and the winter swell people now travel here in January to stand and watch; the inside coast gets the rain shadow, the sheltered bays and the only water warm enough to want to be in. Pick the coast before you pick the town.
You do not need a boat to see a whale
Orca can turn up in any month, grey whales move up the outer coast on the spring migration, and humpbacks are most reliable from midsummer into autumn. A boat gets you closer and no honest operator will promise you an animal. A headland, binoculars and an hour of patience costs nothing at all.
It is First Nations territory, and not as a footnote
The island is the territory of many First Nations, each with its own language, protocols and history — and the best way to learn any of it is from the people whose story it is. The cultural centres, galleries and Nation-led tours in this directory are listed ahead of anyone else telling it for them.
Everything takes longer than the map says
Two-lane roads, one main highway, and a ferry or a float plane at either end of the journey — there is no bridge. Distances here run about half again as long as they look. Plan fewer stops than you want to and you will enjoy all of them.
Worth planning for
Further out
· 6:00 PM
Craft Rave at Beehive Fibre Arts Centre
Beehive Fibre Arts Centre$20
This October Craft Rave returns, brought to you by Beehive Wool Shop! Expect a night of community, crafting, and music with high energy and excellent…
Tickets available
· 7:00 PM
Reel Alternatives: Tuner
Cowichan Performing Arts Centre$17
The Cowichan Hospice Society presents Subscribe to all 5 shows for $70! Subscriptions can be purchased by phone or in-person only.
EXPER¡MENTAL: A Group show dedicated to pushing artistic limits.
Gage Gallery
Join 10 Gage artists as they push through their boundaries and explore the space(s) beyond their usual artistic practices.
The Belfry Theatre - Betrayal
Belfry TheatrePay what you can
Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter is renowned for his distinctive dramatic style: economy of language, potent pauses, and an undercurrent of menace.
Tickets available
· 9:00 AM
Fleet Forward on Vancouver Island: Showcasing Zero Emission Fleet Vehicles
Vancouver Island University
Learn about medium and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles and speak with peers and experts about opportunities and challenges
Free
· 2:00 PM
Open House & Symposium: Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks
Best Western Plus Tin Wis Resort
Join Tourism Tofino and ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ Tribal Parks for an open house and first look at the next evolution of the ʔiisaak Pledge.
Tickets available
· 6:30 PM
Parksville Caregiver Mental Health Support Group
Inclusion Parksville Society
Free, non-judgemental in-person support group in Parksville for families navigating a loved one's mental illness. Fragrance-free room.
Tickets available
Thursday, every week
The shortlist, before the weekend starts
One email on Thursday with what’s actually worth going to on Vancouver Island — picked from the same listings as this page. No account, no password.
We send one confirmation email, then one digest a week. Unsubscribe from any of them.
One from each town
Places worth the drive
Tours & Activities
Eagle Wing Whale & Wildlife Tours
Victoria
4.9(3,093)Rated 4.9 out of 5 from 3093 reviewsBrett Soberg and Don Stewart started this whale-watching operation in Victoria in 2005; it bills itself as Canada's first carbon-neutral whale-watching company. Half-day…
Tours & Activities
The Whale Centre
Tofino
4.9(1,591)Rated 4.9 out of 5 from 1591 reviewsMore than forty years of tours out of Campbell Street in Tofino: whales, coastal black bears, sea otters, and the run up Clayoquot Sound to Hot Springs Cove, where the…
Brewery & Winery
Rusted Rake Brewing
Parksville
4.7(1,036)Rated 4.7 out of 5 from 1036 reviewsA farm brewery on Northwest Bay Road in Nanoose Bay that grows its own brewing barley alongside beehives, berries, garlic, rhubarb, herbs and flowers, and runs a…
Brewery & Winery
Merridale Cidery & Distillery
Duncan
4.4(1,033)Rated 4.4 out of 5 from 1033 reviewsA working farm at Cobble Hill that presses cider and distils spirits on the same site — Cowichan Dry and Scrumpy ciders, and gin, vodka and rum under the Cowichan label.
Brewery & Winery
Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse
Sidney
4.6(956)Rated 4.6 out of 5 from 956 reviewsAn organic cider orchard on Mt St Michael Road in Saanichton, with a tasting room and kitchen looking over the trees to the Salish Sea. The sparkling ciders — Kings &…
Tours & Activities
Prince of Whales - Whale & Marine Wildlife Adventures Telegraph Cove
Port McNeill
4.8(782)Rated 4.8 out of 5 from 782 reviewsFamily-owned and operated since day one, Prince of Whales offers whale-watching tours in Vancouver, Victoria and Telegraph Cove. The Telegraph Cove packages are the…
Tours & Activities
Tourism Nanaimo Visitor Centre
Nanaimo
4.3(417)Rated 4.3 out of 5 from 417 reviewsTours & Activities
Coastal Wilderness Adventures Sportfishing
Campbell River
5.0(357)Rated 5 out of 5 from 357 reviewsSalmon charters out of Campbell River on 25- to 28-foot covered and heated boats with marine heads, and freshwater trips that use 13-foot self-bailing rafts on rivers…
Brewery & Winery
Coastal Black Estate Winery
Comox Valley
4.5(185)Rated 4.5 out of 5 from 185 reviewsCoastal Black's family farm produces fruit wines, meads, ciders and raw honey in Black Creek. Visit the tasting room or buy wines and ciders online or at the winery. The…
Tours & Activities
Lady Rose Marine Services
Port Alberni
4.8(182)Rated 4.8 out of 5 from 182 reviewsThe MV Frances Barkley is a 36-metre ship built in Norway in 1958, still working as a packet freighter out of Argyle Street in Port Alberni with room for 144 passengers…
Brewery & Winery
Sea Star Vineyards and Winery
Salt Spring Island
4.7(105)Rated 4.7 out of 5 from 105 reviewsSea Star’s 26-acre terraced vineyard stretches to the summit of Mount Menzies on Pender Island. The tasting room is open 12pm-5pm, Thursday–Sunday, with no appointment…
One from each town, and every one worth setting out for. The whole directory is on all places.
Where to point the car
Towns and communities
Each town page carries its own venues, its own events and the practical detail — where to eat, what is open, and what is on while you are there.
By the kind of day you want