Click on the month to get more information and pictures of the month.

January (2-7 C or 35-43 F)* 9.2cm / 3.6in

Victoria Symphony concerts
Local pro/am theatre

February (3-9 C or 37-46 F) 6.7cm / 2.6 in Cherry Blossoms

Victoria Annual Flower Count - While most of Canada suffers unto deep snow and bitter cold, Victoria enjoys the beginning of Spring. Each year, proud Victorians take a "blossom count" in February to tease and taunt the rest of the nation. In 2003, 3,442,622,305 buds were counted. Come and count your share!

March (4-10 C or 40-50 F) 4.2cm / 1.6 in

St Patrick's Day

April (6-14 C 43-55 F) 3.2cm / 1.3 in
 Easter Sunday

Victoria Harbour Floating Boat Show
The British Columbia Yacht Brokers Association (BCYBA) have this year moved this annual event from the Port of Sidney to the much larger docks in Victoria's Inner Harbour. Visitors to Victoria's main core will be treated to a large display of boats featuring everything from inflatables, fishing boats, dinghies to large power and sail cruisers.

May (8-15 C 47-62 F) 2.4 cm / .9 in

Annual Victoria Highland Games
Piping, drumming, massed bands, highland dancing, Irish dancing, Gaelic choirs, Celtic performers, Celtic kiosks, clan merchandise, and memorabilia. It just doesn't get anymore highland than this.

Victoria Harbour Festival
A celebration bridging Canada's Victoria Day and the USA's Memorial Day long weekends. Many family events, such as the Victoria Day Parade and the Bastion Square Cycling Festival are featured along with many other arts and cultural events.There really is something for everyone

Literary Arts Festival

Victoria Day, originally known as Empire's Day in the early 1890's, and in 1947 as Commonwealth Day, commemorates Queen Victoria's birth date of May 24, 1819. Victoria Day Parade includes bands, clowns, floats etc. Bands from around the north-west play in Victoria for the weekend.

Swiftsure International Yacht RaceCycling Festival
The last weekend of May, this race - the premiere long distance sailing race in the B.C. and US Pacific Northwest -takes place along with a festival of fun and frivolity on shore.

Bastion Square Cycling Festival
Professional riders speed through the streets around Bastion Square in the historic downtown of Victoria. Great action and wonderful surroundings highlight this top-notch spectator sporting event held in June.

June (10-19 C 50-65 F) 1.98 cm / .75in

From mid June 15 to mid September, Night Illuminations every evening at the Butchart Gardens
Enjoy an evening stroll as thousands of lights in dozens of hues dramatically light The Gardens.

JazzFest International - 10 days and nights of the coolest music in town - The biggest summertime music festival on Vancouver Island, Jazzfest promises jazz, blues, gospel and world beat music of the highest calibre. More than 250 musicians in more than 60 performances entertain at venues around the city.

Butchart Gardens Fireworks Set to music and with a whole new show, this year's fireworks are sure to take your breath away.

July (11-20 C 52-70 F) 1.4 cm / .55 in

1st - Canada Day - Celebrate Canada Day with various activities happening in Victoria. Fireworks usually finish the evening. Folkfest offers all arts, crafts, food & entertainment.

Moss Street Paint In
Sponsored by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, over 100 artists gather to exhibit their works up and down Moss Street (1:00 to 4:00 p.m.)

Luminara Festival
Imagine if you will, a stroll in Beacon Hill Park on a warm summer night, the darkness gently pushed back by the glow of thousands of colourful handmade lanterns. While many are carried by those who attend the event, many more are part of the numerous and imaginative installations scattered throughout the park. Acoustic music gently drifts through the park while performance artists and dancers set light in motion, adding pageantry and spectacle. Sponsored by the Inter-Cultural Assoc. of Greater Victoria.

August (12-22 C 52-74 F) 2 cm / .79

The first Sunday of August - Symphony Splash - The biggest audience the Victoria Symphony plays to every year, is at Symphony Splash in the Inner Harbour. With conductor at the helm, musicians play a selection of classics and pops for a summertime audience of up to 40,000. The big finish - Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture is always a crowd pleaser.

The dragons return to Victoria’s Inner Harbour mid August for the annual Victoria Dragon Boat Festival. Teams from all over North America race across the 500-metre course, paddling from Laurel Point to the Royal London Wax Museum.

Victoria Fringe Festival
Anything goes at this annual alternative theatre festival. The festival is a summer's-end 12-day celebration of some of the most innovative theatre offered anywhere in the country at eight locations throughout downtown Victoria.

September (10-19 C 50-68 F) 3.2 cm / 1.3in

Classic Boat Festival Victoria’s Inner Harbour is the place to be this Labour Day weekend when up to 100 classic sail and power boats from throughout the Pacific Coast and beyond arrive for the Classic Boat Festival

Vancouver Island Blues Bash Celebrate the end of summer by rockin' and groovin' to "live" blues music in the open air at the 9th annual Vancouver Island Blues Bash

October (8-15 C 46-60 F) 5.9 cm / 2.3 in

Canadian Thanksgiving - A long weeknd to celebrate the coming of fall.

Royal Victoria Marathon Listed as one of the top ten destination maratons in North America by Runner's World Magazine

November (5-10 C 41-50 F) 9.2 cm / 3.6 in

Oct - Dec Salmon Run at Goldstream Park Every autumn, million of Pacific salmon forge their way up the myriad streams of the Pacific northwest to spawn and die. Goldstream has a world-class salmon spawning stream with thousands of Chum Salmon returning each year. Look also for the speckled flanks of the sea-going Cutthroat trout that are here for a feast of roe. At night come the shy mink, raccoon, otter, and, perhaps, a bear. THE END OF THE GOLDSTREAM Salmon Run is a signal to the Bald Eagles that it is time to return to Goldstream for their annual salmon feast.

11th - Remembrance Day with a veterans' parade and service of memorial at the cenotaph on the Parliament grounds in the Inner Harbour.

December (3-7 C 38-45 F) 9.9cm / 3.9 in

Ships lighting contest at the Esquimalt naval base

Dec 1 - 31 A Victorian Christmas A Season of New Traditions. - All the signs of Christmas abound in this heart-warming time. Admire the colourful lights and the splendid decorations. Or take a horse-drawn carriage ride. Enjoy wreath making or caroling. The theatre or a craft fair. The Festival of the Trees or, of course, shopping. This is the time when the city gets together and says: "Happy Holidays." While some admissions to events are free, prices vary.

Christmas at the Butchart Gardens Carollers and festive entertainment complement the atmosphere for a perfect family visit to Gardens at Christmas Time.

*The temperatures are the average daily minimum and maximum temperatures for Victoria followed by average rainfall