4 stage bike ride lead by Jeff Doyle (a friendly bike fanatic), about 15 km, slow paced on bike paths and separated bike lanes. 

Stage 1: Coffee

Stage 2: Ice cream

Stage 3: Beers and beverages

Stage 4: To the afternoon outdoor dance!

Meet at 11 am at the front of the BC Legislature by the Knowledge Totem Pole.

Meet at 11 am at the front of the BC Legislature by the Knowledge Totem Pole.

Downtown Photo Scavenger Hunt Clues

https://tinyurl.com/VicLx2024walk

Find the locations and take a photo in front of the answer to the clue! Post your photos with #viclx2024 #viclx2024photoscavengerhunt

Clue 1: The park is home to many totem poles (mostly Gitxsan, Haida, and Kwakwaka'wakw) and other First Nation monuments. The park takes its name from the mythological Thunderbird of Indigenous North American cultures which is depicted on many totem poles. 1952 the Royal BC Museum began a restoration program with Chief Martin as its head carver. Martin died in 1962 and was succeeded by renowned carver Henry Hunt. Other artists who have worked as part of the program include Henry Hunt's sons Richard Hunt and Tony Hunt, Tim Paul, Lawrence Bell, David Gladstone, David Martin, and Bill Reid. All of the original poles were replaced with new versions by 1992, and some of the originals are now preserved within the museum.

Clue 2: This bronze statue honors the renowned Canadian artist, ensuring that Victoria's famous citizen is commemorated in her hometown. The Parks and Recreation Foundation of Victoria commissioned the statue. The gifted sculptor Barbara Paterson, who created the impressive Famous 5 Monuments in Calgary and Ottawa, developed this significant monument. The monument features a seated artist with her sketchpad. Emily's Javanese monkey 'Woo' perches on her shoulder and her dog 'Billie' stands nearby. The statue was erected along Victoria's Harbourfront on the grounds of the Fairmount Empress Hotel. It is fitting that the 'Our Emily' statue was unveiled during Women's History Month in Canada, on October 13th, 2010.

Clue 3: Victoria’s second scramble crossing. Think Shibuya, but much smaller.

Clue 4: This sculpture looks out to the ocean, referencing the compelling nature of Victoria’s geography and the foundation of its tourism and sightseeing industries.

Clue 5: A series of brick arches leads the way. Easily the most haunted part of Victoria. Each building and alleyway around historic Bastion Square has a ghost or two. The old Supreme Court building is said to be the most haunted, as it was built on the site of the city’s jail and first gallows. Many of the men who were hanged in the tree beside it still lie buried beneath its foundation.

Clue 6: Play your favourite Swing Song on these railings.A five-storey-tall musical instrument installed on the Bastion Square Parkade in Victoria, BC. Sensors embedded into railings create sounds and play music loops, with sound-responsive LED lighting.

Clue 7: Lots to see here. In one direction see a heritage pillar of Victoria Swing Dance history. A pub that used to have live music and dancing every night. In the other direction, a bridge which was initially constructed in the early 1920s before being recently replaced and reopened in 2018, which now has devoted 50% of its deck space to pedestrians and cyclists.

Clue 8: This is the entrance to Chinatown, the oldest in Canada. The gate stands 38 feet high and was erected in 1981 in commemoration of Chinatown's revitalization by the City of Victoria and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. Both Chinese and non-Chinese communities were involved in this accomplishment, hence the two inscriptions: To work together with one heart and To help each other achieve harmony. Two hand-carved stone lions, gifts from Victoria's Twin City, Suzhou of the People's Republic of China, guard either side of this elaborately detailed red and gold gate. Two time capsules, to be opened in 2081 and 2096, are encapsulated in each outer red pillar. The names of 61 Chinese Canadians who fought and died for Canada in World War II are engraved on a plaque. 

Clue 9: This is a very narrow lane, three to six feet wide and 240 feet long, that runs between Fisgard Street and Pandora Avenue (formerly Cormorant Street). It came into being between 1885 and 1920 as Chinese and Western landowners initially constructed buildings fronting on Fisgard and Cormorant, then over time filled in the spaces behind with new buildings. This was a popular location for opium factories, housed in wood-frame buildings behind the street-front brick buildings, and owned by Tai Soong, Kwong Lee and Shon Yuen.

Clue 10: The Tye Chong Building is valued as a significant contributing resource to a grouping of historic structures that faces the southern edge of Victoria's Chinatown, the oldest and most intact Chinatown in Canada. Victoria was the primary point of entry for Chinese people into Canada until the early twentieth century. This block of Pandora Avenue originally faced the Johnson Street Ravine, a swamp that marked the boundary between the European business area to the south and Chinatown to the north, illustrating a physical and cultural divide in the early city.

Clue 11: Pedestrians step back in time when they enter the short narrow lane connecting the lower ends of Yates and Johnson. The only street in Victoria still paved with wood blocks, an early pavement common in the downtown core. Often called “Victoria’s original shopping mall,” alley businesses included a livery stable, bakery, blacksmith, restaurant, fishmarket, shoemaker, gambling establishment, dancehall and bowling alley. The Pioneer Wholesale and Retail Variety Store advertised “Glassware, guns and pistols, axes, nails, frying pans, lanterns, stoves, buckets and washboards.” Morley’s Soda Water Manufacturing, one of the most successful and enduring alley businesses, sold “Lemonade, Ginger Ale and Bitters, Medical Lake Water, Essences of Peppermint and Ginger, All kinds of syrups.”

Clue 12: Victoria's first scramble crossing. Small and not as obvious, but it has actually been an unmarked pedestrian scramble for a long time. This function works at this location because its three-way leading into Bastion Square. This means that even though most people adhere to the marked lines when crossing the street, it’s also perfectly legal to cross diagonally.

Clue 13: This incredible musician has been a staple of the Victoria music scene since the 1970s. Perhaps you saw him with the Flying Saucers at Swan’s, as a one-man band busking in the Inner Harbour, or playing with a rotating cast of friends at the James Bay School park through COVID times. He’s been a guest lecturer at UVic for their History of Blues and History of Rock and Roll classes, and he’s published an extensively-researched book about the history of one man bands. Now enjoy an afternoon of outdoor dancing on Government Street to the outrageously talented final clue and friends. *Free, but please tip the band and buy treats from Murchies.*