City of Victoria : Spirit of 150 Victoria is June 21 - July 1 at Victoria's Inner Harbour

M e d i a R e l e a s e

Spirit of 150 Victoria is June 21 - July 1 at Victoria's Inner Harbour

Date: Wednesday, June 14, 2017 For Immediate Release

VICTORIA, BC - Downtown Victoria will be the place to be when 11 days of 100+ live music performances kick off next Wednesday at Victoria's Inner Harbour to commemorate Canada's 150th. Spirit of 150 Victoria events will run from June 21 - July 1, 2017 featuring family-friendly activities, multicultural performances and local food vendors. Canada's 150th will culminate in spectacular fireworks over Victoria's Inner Harbour at 10:15 p.m.

Spirit of 150 Victoria will feature two stages - the Coast Capital Savings Harbour Stage at Ship Point will open daily from June 21 - July 1 between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m., with extended hours until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays (not including July 1). The Main Stage on the Legislature Lawn will offer programming on Friday, June 30 from 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. and Saturday, July 1 from 3 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

June 30 and Canada Day will also feature the ever-popular Family Zone and sponsor activity tents from noon - 5 p.m. on the Legislature Lawn with Belleville Street's A Flavour of Canada international food village open from noon - dusk.

With 2017 being a 'Year of Reconciliation' for the City of Victoria, its commitment to reconciliation is guiding its ongoing work to restore a balanced relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Spirit of

150 Victoria will begin with National Aboriginal Day on Wednesday, June 21 on Harbour Stage. A First Nations blessing and performances by the Esquimalt Singers and Dancers, and the Lekwungen Traditional Dancers will take place on the Main Stage on Saturday, July 1.

Multicultural performances will continue on Harbour Stage with La Celebration de la Francophonie on Saturday, June 24 and Canadian Multiculturalism Day on Tuesday, June 27, with a range of cultural and musical-themed days leading up to July 1. Over 100 performances and close to 600 performers will take the stage, including Band of Rascals, Bad Hoo, Caleb Hart and The Royal Youths, Aboriginal Youth Internship Program, Shan-e Punjab, and many more. The all-ages venue will include local food vendors throughout the 11 days, with craft beer and cider service up to June 30, which will switch to a craft soda service on

Canada Day.

The popular Coast Capital Savings Living Flag takes place on the Legislature Lawn on Canada Day at

2 p.m. with 4,000 free red and white T-shirts available for pick-up starting at noon. Assembly of the Living Flag will begin at 1:30 p.m. This year, Coast Capital Savings is presenting a challenge to local organizations and groups of 12 or more to register as a team. Registration benefits will include expedited T-shirt pick-up and a chance to win a S'well water bottle for each team member. Groups can register online at bit.ly./LivingFlagGroupENG or bit.ly./LivingFlagGroupFR. The goal is to attract a record-setting number of 5,000 Living Flag participants, making this year's photo one for the history books.

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"At Coast Capital, we've promised to build a richer future for youth in our community through our Youth Get It community investment program," said Wendy Lachance, Director, Community Leadership. "Each year, seven per cent of our pre-tax earnings are reinvested into the community, over five million dollars last year. By sponsoring free family events like Victoria's Canada Day celebrations, we're doing our part to help celebrate Canada's diversity and build connections. It's especially exciting to be involved this year for Canada's 150th birthday and I hope more people than ever come out to enjoy the day."

Headlining this year's Main Stage on the Legislature Lawn will be Tegan and Sara on Friday, June 30 and the Arkells on Saturday, July 1. Additional Main Stage performers will include The Funk Hunters, Delhi 2 Dublin, En Karma, Carmanah, De Temps Antan, Rococode, Dirty Mountain, Stella Swanson & The Rosie Joyfuls, Valdy & the Children's Choir, and more.

Spirit of 150 Victoria's "green" features will once again include a free bicycle parking valet service located adjacent to the Legislature buildings on June 30 and July 1, paper-mâché fireworks, and recyclable products used by all food vendors participating in the Flavour of Canada international food village. Increased recycling opportunities onsite will help ensure compost and recyclables are separated from garbage.

The City of Victoria is one of 19 municipalities across Canada to receive support from the Canada 150 Fund, designed to create opportunities for Canadians to participate in local, regional and national celebrations that contribute to building a sense of pride and attachment to Canada.

"Spirit of 150 Victoria would not be possible without the generous support of our national and local sponsors," said Charlayne Thornton-Joe, Victoria City Councillor and Canada Day Organizer. "We are proud to be able to offer 11 days of free, multicultural, family-friendly fun to mark Canada's 150th. It is also important to remember that these events will be taking place on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen People."

In 2016, the City partnered with the Greater Victoria Spirit Committee to raise funds for multi-day programming to mark this important milestone in Canada's history, which began with the successful Spirit of 150 Victoria First Night event on New Year's Eve in the Capital City.

"We would like to thank Canadian Heritage, Coast Capital Savings, CIBC, and all of our sponsors for making Spirit of 150 Victoria a reality," said Alan Lowe, Chair of the Greater Victoria Spirit Committee. "We invite the greater community to bring friends and family downtown from June 21 - July 1 to celebrate our diversity and commemorate Canada's 150th."

Transit will run on a regular Saturday schedule on July 1. Additional buses will be added as required on June 30 and Canada Day, which includes buses standing by along the Douglas Street corridor to depart from downtown after the fireworks on July 1. Some bus routes will run later; the last buses will leave downtown Victoria between 1:15 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. For details on service adjustments visit www.bctransit.com.

On Canada Day, customers can ride all day for $5 thanks to the BC Transit DayPASS, which is available on buses. Adults using any prepaid pass may bring up to four children under the age of 12 on the Family Pass program. No alcohol will be permitted on board BC Transit buses in the Capital Region, including alcohol in closed containers. Victoria Police will assist Transit personnel enforce this one-day regulation to ensure public safety.

"BC Transit is proud to be able to play an important role connecting the community to Canada Day festivities," said BC Transit's President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel Achadinha. "We encourage people to choose BC Transit as a safe and efficient way to get around and enjoy all the events."

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VicPD officers and Reserve Constables will be greeting the public and ensuring Spirit of 150 Victoria is a family-friendly event.

"We have been planning for several months for the upcoming festivities to make sure that they are safe for everybody who attends," said A/Chief Del Manak. "We encourage everybody to come down to take in the 11 days of family-friendly fun."

As with previous years, VicPD will be deploying temporarily placed, monitored cameras in open, public spaces in support of operations to enhance public safety. The cameras will be taken down following the event.

VicPD will be utilizing the hashtag #vicpdhelps on the evenings of June 30 and July 1. For more details on how #vicpdhelps will be used this year, follow @vicpdcanada on Twitter for the most up-to-date information.

The public is encouraged to head downtown early on Canada Day as road closures around the Inner Harbour will begin at 6 a.m. to provide a safe space for crews to set up the site. Please see the attached details on road closures for both Friday, June 30 and July 1.

For event updates June 21 - July 1, follow @Spirit150Victoria (Facebook, Instagram) and @Spirit150Vic

(Twitter), as well as @CityofVictoria on Twitter on June 30 and July 1.

For a detailed schedule of events, sponsor list and road closures, visit: www.Spirit150Victoria.ca

ATTACHMENTS: Schedule of Events and Road Closures/Maps

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For More Information:

Charlayne Thornton-Joe

City Councillor and Canada Day Organizer 250.217.0776

Alan Lowe Chair

Greater Victoria Spirit Committee 250.588.1883

Jonathon Dyck Communications Manager BC Transit

250.995.5720

Cst. Matt Rutherford

VicPD Media Spokesperson 250.995.7294

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