BELVEDERE
Where: Centennial Square
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Admission: Free
Why: Calgary punk faves Belvedere were booked to perform at the White Eagle Hall on Saturday, but due to a booking mishap, the band is now set to perform free of charge in Centennial Square. Loss of revenue aside, this is great news: Centennial Square has been under-used in recent years, and a free all-ages show (courtesy of the Victoria BC Ska and Reggae Society, with help from the City of Victoria’s arts and culture department) is a welcome good-news story. The show gets underway at 6 p.m., with opening sets by Shallow End and Safe Decisions. By showing your support, more shows may find their way into the space.
THEATRESPORTS
Where: KWENCH Culture Club, 2031 Store St.
When: Sept. 8 through Dec. 1, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $25 at www.gardencitycomedy.com
Why: Theatresports, the bastion of improvisational comedy, is being mounted in Victoria for the first time in a decade this week, thanks to the tireless efforts of actor Kevin Matviw. A veteran of The Second City Toronto, where he studied and taught before returning home to Victoria in 2021, Matviw has now turned his attention to Garden City Improv, his improvisational school out of which Theatresports has emerged. If you’ve never seen competitive improvisation live, right that wrong immediately. Watching participants do battle with one another, via suggestions from the audience, can produce side-splitting results. Theatresports runs weekly on Friday nights through Dec. 1.
GREAT CANADIAN BEER FESTIVAL
Where: Royal Athletic Park, 1014 Caledonia Ave.
When: Friday (4-9 p.m.) and Saturday (12-5 p.m.)
Tickets: victoriabeersociety.com/gcbf
Why: Where does the time go? The Great Canadian Beer Festival, the oldest one of its kind in the country, turns 29 this weekend — and will celebrate in grand style, no doubt. Featuring a lineup of more than 75 Canadian craft breweries, including ones from Québec, the Maritimes, Manitoba, and Ontario, this is paradise for beer lovers. There’s plenty on tap this weekend (from Rifflandia and Esquimalt Ribfest to a concert by Bryan Adams), but attendees should expect to see a throng of beer supporters turn out and drink up at this enduring community event.
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