Youth Songwriting and Performance Workshops this Spring

The City of Victoria is inviting artists to submit their artwork to be considered for Commercial Alley and the City’s Mural Roster. 

Submissions to the Mural Roster will be assessed on an artist’s experience in creating and collaborating with the community on mural projects and the artist’s visual storytelling style.

The Commercial Alley is located between the 500 Block of Yates Street and Bastion Square and enhances the vitality of the area while retaining the alley’s use by local businesses.

Artists must live in the Capital Region, including the Gulf Islands. The deadline for submissions for the two Call to Artists is Monday, March 1, 2021 at 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Interested artists are invited to attend an information session for both Call to Artists on February 16, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. To register, email culture@victoria.ca.

Completed application forms must be submitted via email to culture@victoria.ca. Hard copies will not be accepted. 

For submission guidelines and more information, visit: victoria.ca/artopportunities.

The City of Victoria is inviting artists to submit their artwork to be considered for Commercial Alley and the City’s Mural Roster. 

Submissions to the Mural Roster will be assessed on an artist’s experience in creating and collaborating with the community on mural projects and the artist’s visual storytelling style.

The Commercial Alley is located between the 500 Block of Yates Street and Bastion Square and enhances the vitality of the area while retaining the alley’s use by local businesses.

Artists must live in the Capital Region, including the Gulf Islands. The deadline for submissions for the two Call to Artists is Monday, March 1, 2021 at 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Interested artists are invited to attend an information session for both Call to Artists on February 16, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. To register, email culture@victoria.ca.

Completed application forms must be submitted via email to culture@victoria.ca. Hard copies will not be accepted. 

For submission guidelines and more information, visit: victoria.ca/artopportunities.

The City of Victoria is seeking your input on the proposed changes to 2700 Avebury Avenue. This application will be considered at a public hearing by City Council on Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 6:30 pm. The meeting can be viewed on the City's live stream webcast at www.victoria.ca.

Ways to participate:

• Submit written comments to Council via email at publichearing@victoria.ca or by mail to Legislative Services, #1 Centennial Square, Victoria, BC V8W 1P6. The deadline to submit your comments is 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 11.

• Submit a video of up to five minutes. Email publichearing@victoria.ca for further instructions. The deadline to submit your video is 2 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9. 

• Pre-register to speak live via phone for up to five minutes. To pre-register, email publichearing@victoria.ca or phone 250-361-0571. The deadline to pre-register is 2pm on Wednesday, February 10. 

•  You can watch the live event for an opportunity to call in. Please only call if you wish to speak regarding this application by calling 778-698-2440, participation code 1551794# 

For more information click on the link: Zoning Application.

The City of Victoria is inviting Victoria residents to submit an application to be part of this year’s Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee with a theme of Neighbourhood Spaces.

The aim is to have up to 20 people be part of a diverse team to design and roll out a process to empower the community to decide how to invest $50,000 of the City’s budget in neighbourhood spaces.

Steering Committee applications are available online and can be submitted until Sunday, February 28. A Virtual Information Session will be hosted on Wednesday, February 17 from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. for people interested in learning more about being involved on the Steering Committee. Participatory Budgeting thrives on the representation of Victoria residents with diverse lived experiences and skill sets.

Participatory budgeting is an innovative, democratic process that was first developed in Brazil in 1989. It is now practiced in more than 3,000 cities around the world. The initiative began in Victoria in 2017 with a successful pilot project. In 2019, the City committed to three more years of funding, starting with a focus on youth, then newcomers in 2020, and now neighbourhood spaces. Since the initiative began, 18 community-led projects have received more than $150,000 in City of Victoria Participatory Budgeting funding.

To learn more and apply: victoria.ca/participatory-budgeting

Welcome Back on Feb. 1. 

The City of Victoria's fitness and aquatics centre is located at 2775 Quadra Street. Enjoy the 50-metre pool, two warm pools, 160-foot water slide, hot tub, weight room, cardio area, fitness and aquafit classes and more.

Registration opens on January 28 at 9 a.m.

Due to public health requirements and capacity limits, registration is required. You’ll be able to book a pool visit, a fitness visit, or register for one of our upcoming recreation programs, such as swim lessons, fitness classes and more. 

Speakers: Mayor Fred Haynes,

Rebecca Newlove, Manager of Sustainability for the District of Saanich

Cora Hallsworth, Sustainability consultant and One Planet Saanich lead

The District of Saanich is one of five municipalities around the world that were invited in 2018 to be part of Bioregional’s One Planet Cities project – see https://www.oneplanetsaanich.org/
The project brings together municipalities, organisations, businesses, schools and community groups. Participating organisations use the One Planet Living Framework to create their own One Planet Action Plan.

If you want to be a part of the discussion on how to take this initiative further both within and beyond Saanich?

Join the upcoming Zoom meeting

Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4812235984

Date: Jan 21, 2021

Time: 5:00 PM
Meeting ID: 481 223 5984

Are you and your family prepared for an emergency such as a power outage, winter storm, earthquake, or tsunami?

Your family needs to have enough food, water, and supplies to cope for at least seven days without outside assistance, depending on the emergency. Check out City's virtual Emergency Preparedness Workshop and sign up for Vic-Alert to receive emergency notifications. 

Head to VictoriaReady.ca to learn about hazards that can affect Victoria, what to include in your emergency kits, how to reunite with your loved ones following a disaster, and to sign up for Victoria.ca/VicAlert. As of February 1, 2021, the City will be exclusively using Alertable to send emergency notifications.

If you need calm and joy in your day call the new 1-877-2BE-CALM toll-free hotline to hear soothing sounds, songs and meditations. 

Callers can choose to listen to featured audio selections from local artists and storytellers including a story of the Salish wool dog by Dylan Thomas, the Indigenous Artist in Residence, and Kathryn Calder’s song, “Song in Cm” from her self-titled album. 

Sounds of children’s laughter are also a featured audio selection and parents are invited to their child’s laughter to be included in future phone line audio. You can send recordings along with the release form to her by February 7, 2021.

Auditory content will change periodically, and people are encouraged to check back to hear a variety of new sounds from local artists until the project ends in July 2021.

Victoria City Council seeks your input on the City’s 2021 Draft Budget and invites you to share your priorities for investment by participating in next week’s Virtual Budget Town Hall on Wednesday, January 13 at 6:30 p.m. 

Ways to participate:

• Submit your question or comment in the online form now or in real-time during the Virtual Budget Town Hall at engage.victoria.ca.

• Tweet your question with the hashtag #victownhall

• Submit a video of up to three minutes. Email engage@victoria.ca for instructions on how to upload your video. The deadline to submit your video is 2 p.m. on Monday, January 11. 

• Pre-register to speak live via phone for up to three minutes during the Virtual Budget Town Hall. To pre-register, email engage@victoria.caand put Budget 2021 Town Hall in the subject line. Include your first and last name and the phone number you will use to call in. You will receive confirmation and instructions on how to dial-in. The deadline to pre-register is 2 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12.

• You can watch the live event for an opportunity to call in. A phone number and access code will be provided during the Virtual Budget Town Hall. 

Youth between the ages of 14 and 24 who live, work or attend school in the City of Victoria are invited to pre-register to participate in Youth Speak: Budget 2021 on January 13 from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m

The proposed budget allocates $255.9 million to operate the City’s more than 200 programs and services and invests $52.9 million in capital infrastructure projects. The 2021 Draft Budget proposes to maintain current service levels and keep the tax increase to one per cent plus inflation. This investment will enable Council to continue to enhance the well-being of the community, invest in infrastructure upgrades and achieve the City’s Strategic Plan. 

Learn more about what’s proposed Budget Summary. 

Youth living in the municipality of Victoria can now apply for a free BC Transit Youth U-PASS valid from February 1 to December 31, 2021. 

The Youth U-PASS program allows youth 6 to 18 years of age to explore the city by transit and travel for free to school, work, shopping and recreation. Children under 6 already ride for free on the Victoria Regional Transit System. Youth can apply online for their U-PASS and the annual pass card with picture identification will be mailed to their home. The pass is valid for all the Victoria Regional Transit System.  

Victoria youth, their parents and/or guardians will be required to provide documentation and confirm their eligibility to participate in the City of Victoria’s free Youth U-PASS program. Youth that cannot apply online, can apply in-person at the City’s Public Service Centre. Questions about the program can be directed to the City’s Public Service Team by emailing upass@victoria.ca or by calling 250.385.5711. 

To apply for the youth U-PASS online, visit: upass.victoria.ca 

A list of approved documents and more information can be found at: victoria.ca/transit