Oak Bay "Travel Bites" Spring

• Oak Bay Celebrates 100 Years
• Palm Tree Capital of Canada for the Fourth Consecutive Year
• Spring Colour in Oak Bay
• Tastes of the Season

Oak Bay Celebrates 100 Years!
Officially beginning on July 2, 2006 Oak Bay is already celebrating a milestone birthday of one hundred years! Special events are ongoing including historical walks, outdoor barbecues, a Centennial-themed tea party and the Symphony in Windsor Park for Oak Bay’s birthday party on July 2. Have dinner with the Victoria Golf Club’s resident ghost and find out why she continues to haunt Canada’s oldest golf course still on its original site. Enjoy a street dance under the stars or take in a gentleman’s sport such as croquet or lawn bowls. For a complete list of events see www.oakbaycentennial.ca.

Oak Bay is Canada’s Palm Tree Capital
The results are officially in. The Victoria Palm Tree Count, held in conjunction with the annual Flower Count, has named Oak Bay the Palm Tree Capital of Canada for the fourth consecutive year. Oak Bay boasted a total of 2,669 palms counted (85% of Greater Victoria’s total), an increase of 771 palms over 2005. Oak Bay’s sub Mediterranean climate is ideal for growing hardy palms, which originally hail from the lower mountains of China. Oak Bay also won the coveted Banana Belt award for the municipality with the most reported blooms.

Spring Colour
Spring is a mantle of colour in Oak Bay as gardens begin to put on their best dressed for the season. Abkhazi Gardens, a heritage garden on Oak Bay’s border, has opened a new section of what was an integral part of the original garden. Ahkhazi garden was created by Peggy Pemberton-Carter and her husband Prince Nicholas Abkhazi. They spent 40 years developing and refining the garden, devoting themselves to its growth. The recently opened section has undergone a significant restoration to restore it to its original beauty. Ahkhazi Garden is open from 11AM to 5PM seven days a week and admission is $10.50 for adults and $7.50 for students and seniors. See www.conservancy.bc.ca for further details.

Oak Bay’s Native Plant Garden at the corner of Margate and Beach Drive is the only garden of its kind in Victoria. Volunteers work in the garden Friday mornings and are happy to answer questions about the history of the garden, what native plants are represented, suitability of plants for the home garden and sources for native plants. Volunteers are currently re-creating a Garry Oak meadow and spring bulbs are starting to make an appearance including fawn lilies, camas and nodding onions. Shrubs are blooming including Oregon Grape, Red Flowering Currant and Indian Plum.

Or, for colourful canvases, take the self-guided Artists Studio Tour April 22 and 23 from noon to 4PM and visit the studios of 14 Oak Bay artists. Studio tour maps are available online at www.oakbaytourism.com or at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre, Oak Bay Library and various Oak Bay merchants.

Taste of Oak Bay!
The Big Cheese Cut - Saturday April 8th
Learn more about cheese and cheesemaking at Ottavio Bakery & Delicatessen’s third annual Big Cheese Cut. Ottavio cuts open the five biggest production wheels of cheese including the 20kg Pecorino Romano, the 30kg Provolone Piccante, the 35 kg Italian Parmigiano Reggiano,the 38kg French Cantal the 40kg Cave Aged Swiss Gruyere & the 100kg Organic Swiss Emmenthal. While tasting cheese straight from the wheel learn about their history and the work and care that that is integral to farmhouse cheesemaking. These enormous cheese wheels are rolled into the piazza in front of Ottavio and cut between 11AM and 1PM. See www.ottaviovictoria.com.

Cross the street to Oak Bay Village Wines to enjoy a taste of some of British Columbia’s newly released wines. Wines are tasted every day. Or sample a taste of the Centennial with Oak Bay’s special Centennial Wines. Created by Mission Hill Estate Vineyards to celebrate Oak Bay’s 100th birthday, these special blends can be found only at the Penny Farthing Spirit Merchants. Centennial Cabernet Merlot is $15.60 per bottle and Centennial Chardonnay is $10.99.

Oak Bay is home to Vancouver Island’s 2005 Chef of the Year. Jeff Keenliside of the Marina Restaurant was named Vancouver Island Chef of the Year by the Canadian Culinary Federation. Keenliside is recognized for using fresh, local, and organic products in his menu, bringing the best quality local ingredients to the table. See www.marinarestaurant.com.

Or enjoy Dinner Theatre at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Running every Friday and Saturday night until May 27, String of Pearls takes a trip down memory lane with high-energy swing and dance music from the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Dinner theatre includes a three course dinner and hot chocolate and cookies after the performance. See www.oakbaybeachhotel.bc.ca.

For more information on Oak Bay experiences contact:
Heather Leary, Director of Communications
Oak Bay Tourism
P: 250-385-2285
E: hleary@shaw.ca