Craigdarroch Castle, legacy of the Dunsmuir family, has been perched overlooking Victoria since the turn of the 20th century. Nowadays its red spires are barely visible over the stretching Garry Oaks but it’s definitely a main attraction on many tours and personal trips to the capital city. History The Dunsmuirs are pillars of BC’s industrial [...]

At a press conference at the CBC Vancouver broadcast centre this afternoon it was announced that legendary BC anchor Tony Parsons would be co-hosting the local supper-hour newscast. Tony Parsons, who I grew up watching on BCTV, anchored his final newscast on Global TV’s News Hour in December of 2009. Around that time but published [...]

The following guest post was written & contributed by Jane Victoria King exclusively for Miss604.com A ‘Kiss of Oak’ but no spot of tea! The Fairmont Empress Victoria is bringing sexy back. Photo credit: Fairmont Empress. Left to right: Takashi Ito, Kevin Brauch, Matthew Batey Take the lively and witty celebrity, Kevin Brauch, Host of [...]

The Victoria Film Festival is ramping up for its 2010 events, activities and film screenings. Hosting over 100 films over the course of 21 days the VFF is a year-round celebration of film and movie making on Vancouver Island. Coming from 30 countries around the globe, the films are either animation, narrative, documentary or experimental. [...]

A few months ago I did a tour of the Cowichan Valley and surrounding areas on Vancouver Island. During that tour, one of our stops was the Merridale Estate Cidery, photo of which I just rediscovered in my iPhoto album. The Cidery was a beautiful place and since it’s definitely worthy of coverage, here’s what [...]

We made a quick stop at the General Store on Providence Farm in Duncan while on our tour of the Cowichan Valley. Its history dates back to 1864 when the Sisters of St Ann purchased 400 acres of land on the promise that they would occupy and build upon it. It has gone through several [...]

We pulled up to Venturi-Schulze Vineyards and were greeted by Marilyn Venturi who was about to introduce us to her family’s legacy. For 22 years she and her husband have run the winery at Venturi-Schulze, to which they have an undying commitment. As we walked through her dozens of acres of vines, flanked by evergreen [...]

My only up close and personal experience with a Vancouver Island marmot is toying with a stuffed plush MukMuk at the Olympic store. The endangered species, which is a recently upgraded Olympic mascot for 2010, is now facing another challenge; the Vancouver Island Marmot Foundation‘s funding has been cut by the BC government. Photo credit: [...]