Ask anything on Vancouver Island
Fri, Oct 2 – Sun, Oct 4 · 116 events, each with a page of its own:
MET OPERA: Mozart’s Così fan tutte
Sat, Oct 3, 10:00 AMArtSpring, Salt Spring Island$15-$25
The weekend window
Everything on the island this weekend
· 11:00 AM
One Wave Gathering: Celebrating Culture, Community and Climate Resilience
Royal BC Museum
Free
· 5:30 PM
BC SPCA Offleashed Victoria Gala - A Special Celebration
Fairmont Spa at Fairmont Empress$275
Tickets available
· 3:45 PM
Try-It: Sauna/Cold Plunge w/ Island Sauna
Island Sauna Nanaimo$17.31
Tickets available
· 10:00 AM
Tofino Market
Tofino Market
Dates: Every Saturday May 9 - Thanksgiving | 10:00am - 2:00pm
· 3:00 PM
YBN Mid Island | Networking to the North
Campbell River$34.94
Velocity Lounge & Driving Range. YBN Mid Island's 2nd annual social event with our friends and colleagues in the Campbell River and Courtenay/Comox…
Tickets available
· 5:30 PM
South Fire X Errázuriz Winemaker Dinner at Brentwood Bay Resort
Brentwood Bay Resort$125
The Arbutus Room at Brentwood Bay Resort.
Tickets available
· 7:30 PM
Nanaimo Comedy Night - Ben McKay LIVE
The Old City Station Pub$17.31-$33.28
The Green Olive by Old City.
Tickets available
· 9:00 AM
Come Together: A Creative Workshop on Belonging
theDock$187.95-$208.95
theDock - Centre for Social Impact.
Tickets available
· 10:00 AM
Let’s Talk Live: Saturday Morning Conversation and Connection
Murchie's Tea & Coffee
murchies tea and coffee.
Free
· 7:00 PM
Ballet Victoria’s “Ballet Rocks”
Royal Theatre$35.25
Experience the complex fusion of classical ballet and rock music in an emotionally charged program.
Tickets available
116 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
· 11:00 AM
Blood Donor Clinic
Mary Winspear Centre
Blood Donor Clinic Clinic Hours: 11:00am-6:00pm For more information and appointment bookings visit www.blood.ca Monday, October 5, 2026 at the Mary…
· 7:00 PM
Victoria All Candidate Forum on Food Systems
Fernwood Community Centre
Free
· 9:00 AM
Leading from the Messy Middle
Victoria$185.91
KWENCH Coworking & Culture Club. Every organization relies on strong middle leaders. Few prepare them for the realities of the role.
Tickets available
· 6:00 PM
The Ultimate Cat Quiz
The Fernwood Inn$65.23-$129.13
Victoria's famous quiz master Benji Duke creates a special cat-inspired show in support of the Fernwood Cat Walk!
Tickets available
· 7:00 PM
Pub Quiz Tuesday at Bartholomew's
Victoria
Free
· 7:00 PM
Swan Lake Symphony of Lights
Royal Theatre$53.50
Tickets available
· 7:30 PM
Celtfest 2026 Vancouver Island Presents: SKERRYVORE
McPherson Playhouse$67+
Tickets available
Thursday, every week
The shortlist, before the weekend starts
One email on Thursday with what’s actually worth going to on the 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 reviewsTours & 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 reviewsTours & 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 reviewsOne 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
Things to do
Whale watching
Three species, three seasons and a boat ride that is colder than you are expecting. Here is when to come, how to pick a trip, and where you can stand on land and still see a blow.
Whale watching on Vancouver IslandHiking
Boardwalks through rainforest, headlands above open water, and alpine that holds snow into July. The distance on the sign tells you almost nothing — the surface and the season tell you everything.
Hiking on Vancouver IslandWinter
Rain at sea level, snow a thousand metres up, and the single most underrated season here. Storm watching is a legitimate reason to travel, and everything is half price.
Winter on Vancouver IslandSurfing
A cold, consistent, thoroughly unglamorous coast that happens to produce some of the best beginner surf in the country — and some of the heaviest winter swell. The wetsuit is not optional.
Surfing on Vancouver IslandRoad trips
Two-lane roads, one main highway, and distances that take half again as long as the map claims. Plan fewer stops than you want and you will enjoy all of them.
Road trips on Vancouver IslandIndigenous culture
The island is the territory of many First Nations, each with its own language, protocols and history. The best way to learn any of it is from the people whose story it is — so this page points at Nation-run and Nation-led places first.
Indigenous culture on Vancouver Island