Things to Do in Victoria

Nestled within a 150-foot floating vessel 5 metres below Victoria’s Inner Harbour, Pacific Undersea Gardens sprawls with an interactive aquarium and dive-show theatre. More than 5,000 animals such as rock cod, red snapper, Pacific salmon, and wolf eels slink and swim through the facility’s natural, protected environment, which guests can peek into from the dry side of numerous viewing windows. As critters flit about in a tidal pond, visitors of all ages gently interact with the sea creatures. In the vessel's spacious theatre area, divers shielded in masks equipped with communications gear chat with onlookers while swimming among sea stars, anemones, and a giant Pacific octopus affectionately named Armstrong. After the show, divers clear their schedules to meet with birthday partygoers, and friendly guides educate school groups and oversee activities such as knighting favourite teachers with a swordfish.

The Braefoot Community Association was created to enrich its community with sports and recreational activities. Each of their programs is designed to help kids develop social and physical skills while encouraging healthy lifestyle habits and instilling in them an eagerness to remain active instead of imitating plastic-molded mannequins. Kids aged 16 months to 12 years can undergo non-competitive instruction in roller hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball, and tennis, and owners of fancy feet can take pre-professional and children's level dance instruction with the Westcoast Academy of Performing Arts. During the summer, a slew of camps keep children occupied and involved, teaching kids kayaking or biking basics, or helping them hone their soccer or hockey skills. The organization’s multi-use facility also has grounds for the Lakehill Soccer Association and the Saanich Lacrosse Association to play on and is working toward expanding their activities to include adult programs.

Ken Mayes is no stranger to the hot-yoga world. In the last decade, he's operated three yoga studios, and in that time, he’s been called “the king of hot yoga in Victoria” by the Times Colonist. Newly opened in the LEED-certified historic Hudson's Bay building on Douglas Street, his latest studio, Hudson Yoga, was built for one-purpose: to make yogis sweat. Twenty-four high-efficiency radiant-heating panels send the ambient temperature up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, and diffuser units regulate the amount of oxygen, CO2, poltergeist activity, and humidity in the room. Undergirding the 1,600-square-foot studio, the cork floor comfortably supports up to 55 students.