Behind its utterly quaint and charming Old World exterior, Victoria, British Columbia really does have a secret. This compact city on the southern tip of Vancouver Island moves to the beat of a youthful population and, despite its wealth of late 19th century architecture, is on the cutting edge of some very 21st century trends.
Chief among these is an emphasis on sustainability that is evident in everything from an abundance of local organic foods and all-hybrid bus and taxi service to the seaplane carrier Harbour Air, which recently became the first carbon neutral airline in North America.
Making it easy to tap into Victoria’s sustainable side, Tourism Victoria is developing the Green Trail, a resource for those who want to plan a green meeting in the city.
“We’re adding a new section to our website, starting from the RFP process all the way through,” says Tiffany Giles, manager of meeting and incentive travel for Tourism Victoria. “Our suppliers are very supportive. We have florists who will do living flower arrangements and a lot of our hotels are green. Even our golf courses are using recycled water and doing other things to be environmentally friendly.”
Culinary events centered on local wine and food products are popular additions to many meeting agendas, according to Eve Millington, co-owner of Sea Mill Productions, a Victoria-based DMC. Along with enjoying an abundance of local wineries and restaurants headed by innovative chefs, attendees can partake of such offbeat experiences as sampling cider brandy at Merridale Ciderworks or tasting mead produced at the Tugwell Creek Honey Farm.
“We’re blessed with a mild climate that allows for fresh fruits and vegetables nearly all year-round,” Millington says. “And, after San Francisco, we have the largest number of restaurants per capita of any city.”
One of Millington’s long-time favorite venues for dinners and receptions is The Butchart Gardens, a place where her husband and business partner, Chris Millington, performs with his swing band on summer evenings.
“Both the restaurants at Butchart Gardens are great for events and provide great views of the gardens,” she says. “The Blue Poppy, which is the less formal of the two, is like being on a garden terrace, yet covered.”
Soon a new place to enjoy a culinary event in Victoria will be the landmark Crystal Garden, a vintage greenhouse-like structure built in 1925 to house a public pool, which was recently acquired by the Victoria Conference Centre.
“When renovations are done in September, we’ll have beautiful new banquet space in an atrium setting for up to 800 people,” Giles says.
