Royal Scot Blog

The Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum is pleased to announce the return of its successful Vintage Craft Workshop series beginning on Saturday, January 26^th 2013. Ranging from traditional Victorian crafts, such as embroidered sachets and traditional lace shuttle tatting, to heirloom button making, the series will focus on rare, traditional and dying art forms.

Guest instructors include local artisans, authors and experts who will share their knowledge during these one day workshops. Advance registration and payment is required and signing up early is recommended as space is limited and classes could be cancelled if the enrolment quota is not reached.

For a full list of courses, please visit the Craigdarroch Castle wesite or call the Craigdarroch Castle office directly at 250-592-5323 to have a brochure mailed to you.

British Columbia will celebrate Family Day as a statutory holiday for the first time on Monday, February 11^th, 2013.

In British Columbia, Family Day will fall on the second Monday of February each year. This holiday celebrates the importance of families and family life to people and their communities.

Family Day was first held in Canada in the province of Alberta in 1990. It is supposed to reflect the values of family and home that were important to the pioneers who founded Alberta, and give workers the opportunity to spend more time with their families. Family Day was introduced in Saskatchewan in 2007 and in Ontario in 2008.

On Family Day, many people plan and take part in activities aimed at the whole family. These activities may include visiting art exhibitions, watching movies, ice skating, playing board games and taking part in craft activities.

As the weather is usually cold in February, hot chocolate and freshly baked cookies are popular snacks. Other people use the long weekend as an opportunity for a short winter break or to travel to visit family members or friends.

What are your plans for this upcoming Family Day? Why not bring your family to the Royal Scot Hotel and Suites? Check out our HOT Rates or our Specials and Packages for more information on our best available room rates!

                                                          
Capturing the Inner Essence

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria – Victoria, BC
January 12, 2013
Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Chinese and Japanese portrait artists tried to present an image with an inner poetic reality rather than an outward likeness. Their technical approach to portraiture was simplicity, which was in sharp contrast to the photo-likeness of some Western paintings with their problems of volume, light shadow and texture.

Chinese and Japanese portrait artists did not sit with their canvas in front of their subject, but would study them and then they would return to the stillness of their studios and work from memory attempting to invest their recollection with the profundity of their thoughts. They loved to portrait older people to show the effect of aging and display a strange kind of inner beauty. The exhibition will include paintings and prints mainly from the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

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Emily Carr: On the Edge of Nowhere

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
January 13 & 26, 2013
Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Although Emily Carr described herself as an “isolated little old woman on the edge of nowhere” her work has an appeal that is universal in its expressive messages.

With this exhibition, the AGGV is now the premiere destination on Vancouver Island to visit and learn about Emily Carr through her paintings. On the Edge of Nowhere will include an historical survey of Carr’s artistic career, featuring pieces in all the media and styles she explored and perfected. It will also focus on Carr’s influences and inspirations, such as European modern art, members of the Group of Seven artists, First Nations artists, Carr’s spirituality, and her interest in developing an art that speaks of her personal experience and her connection to the West Coast landscape.

 
Back to the Land

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
January 19, 2013
Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Back to the Land: Ceramics from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands 1970-1985 presents the work of 31 ceramic artists working on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in the 1970s and 1980s. Guest curated by Diane Carr, the exhibition emphasizes the “back to the land” movement of the early 1970s as the impetus for the explosion of ceramic activity in this region.

At this time, Victoria flourished as an important centre for ceramics, several galleries were established throughout the city, including Carr’s own gallery the Potters Wheel, and the artists were increasingly able to support themselves with their work. The exhibited artists were among the principal teachers in the region at this time, and many worked from influence and training in three dominant artistic styles: European modernism and the Bauhaus, the Leach/Hamada tradition, and abstract expressionism. Back to the Land is the first group exhibition at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria to focus on this period in the development of this medium, and an important step in reconstructing the ceramic history of this period.

With key pieces from public and private collections, Back to the Land brings together an impressive selection of works by significant ceramic artists of this time period. The exhibition includes a publication with essays by Diane Carr and Nancy Janovicek.

For admission information, please visit the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria website.

Virtuous Vendetta 

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria – Victoria, BC
January 16, 2013
Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm & 2:00pm – 3:00pm 

This classic saga begins in 1700 when Lord Asano Naganori under the guidance of Lord Kira Yoshinaka, is commissioned to look after the emperor’s envoys during their visit to the shogun’s court.  Lord Kira, who is a bit greedy and unethical, rudely insults Lord Asano for refusing to bribe him for advice on official etiquette. Asano was so humiliated that in a rage, he drew his sword and wounded his tormentor on the forehead.  To draw one’s sword within the shogun’s castle grounds is a very serious offense, and thus the authorities instruct Asano to commit suicide (hara-kiri).  With his death, his feudal retainers in turn lose their status as samurai, becoming ronin, which means masterless samurai.  After patiently waiting and planning for over a year, the ronin execute a daring assault on Lord Kira’s estate, despite knowing that they would themselves be forced to commit suicide to atone for their crime.

The exhibition features more than 50 woodblock prints by various well known artists, enhanced by video footage of the numerous movies and TV films on the subject. Take a tour of the exhibition with curator of Asian Art, and renowned storyteller, Barry Till.

For admission information, please visit the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria website.

The Royal Scot Hotel and Suites welcomes Pacific Cup Players to Victoria!

Adult hockey teams from Western Canada and the United States are gathering in Victoria from January 18 – 20, 2013 for the Canadian Adult Recreational Hockey Association (CARHA) Pacific Cup Tournament. This tournament is one of the largest and oldest recreational hockey tournaments in Canada and this year marks the 35th year in Victoria!

Contact the Royal Scot Hotel and Suites today for our special Pacific Cup Hockey Tournament room rates.

As a gift to thank the community, the Royal BC Museum is continuing its New Year’s tradition of offering Admission by Donation Week. Visitors are asked to pay what they can from January 2 ‐ 9, 2013.

 This will also be an opportunity for visitors to experience Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012, the new Royal BC Museum exhibition featuring the world’s best nature photographs. This visually striking exhibition from the Natural History Museum in London showcases 100 large-scale, backlit photographs in 19 categories (including Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Endangered Wildlife, World in Our Hands and Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year) chosen from more than 48,000 international entries from 98 countries.