Parkside Victoria Travel Blog

September has definitely been Parkside's month! 

After winning five awards at the Canadian Home Builders' Association CARE Awards Gala on September 24 (including the top honour CARE Development Project of the Year), Parkside was awarded a 5 Green Key rating with the Green Key Global Eco-Rating Program!

Parkside Victoria Resort & Spa played belle of the ball at the Canadian Home Builders' Association CARE Awards Gala on Friday (Sept. 24), sweeping the ceremony with five awards including the top honour CARE Development Project of the Year!

Parkside (Ocean Place Holdings Ltd.), along with partner Interior Design Group, also took home awards for Best Commercial Project, Best Commercial Interior, Best Project Website and the Award for Outdoor Environmental Achievement.

Chief Development Officer Andy Pearson made five trips to the stage with Interior Design Group President Lana MacRae, surrounded by loud applause from the packed Crystal Ballroom at the Fairmont Empress Hotel.

Interested in urban gardening and sustainable city living?

LifeCycles is hosting a great two part series with local urban agriculture guru Geoff Johnson. 

Proceeds from the series support LifeCycles, a "nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating awareness and initiating action around food, health, and urban sustainability in the Greater Victoria community."

Here are the descriptions of the workshops from the LifeCycles Project organizers:

Urban Homesteading Workshop

Introduction to Urban Homesteading with Geoff Johnson 

You've already chosen to stay in Canada's first LEED® Platinum-targeting resort hotel, so why not make your stay even more environmentally friendly? 

Consider leaving your car at home (unless it's an alternate fuel vehicle, of course, because we've got electrical charging stations for you)!

Reduce your travel emissions and feel good about your vacation with Parkside's Green Transportation Guide to Victoria!

Victoria's popular Luminara Festival hit the road this September and turned into an enchanting travelling light show around several communities near the downtown core.

Check out local artist Jennifer Witvliet's lantern installation in Parkside's outdoor pond at the corner of Humboldt and Blanshard Streets on September 18, 2010!

As we pack our bathing suits away for another year and pull on our sweaters, don't despair: there are plenty of fun things to do around Victoria, BC in the fall.

Outdoor Activites

Just because the weather gets drizzly and the temperature drops a few degrees, it doesn't mean you have to stay inside! Head to one of Victoria's many outdoor clothing stores, grab some Gortex and get outside.

- Goldstream Park Salmon Run - Goldstream Park is worth visiting year-round, but it's particularly stunning in the fall when the leaves in the old-growth temperate rainforest turn from lush green to crimson and gold. 

Looking for an authentic Italian cafe with delicious food and a front row seat to all the action in Victoria's Inner Harbour? 

Then head down to Bastion Square and try Paradiso Di Stelle Cafe. Sip on authentic Italian espresso in the popular cafe or enjoy some gelato as you soak up the sun and people watch on their outdoor patio. 

Paradiso is just a short walk from Parkside on Wharf Street.

Victoria's popular Luminara Festival is hitting the road this September and turning into an enchanting travelling light show around several communities near the downtown core.

From September 18 to 25, 2010, a constellation of lantern installations will illuminate the night around North Park, Fernwood, Fairfield and James Bay neighbourhoods. 

Parkside Victoria Resort & Spa is excited to be a sponsor of Victoria’s first Social Media Camp, happening on October 3, 2010 at the Victoria Conference Centre. 

Social Media Camp is a one-day event featuring speakers knowable in all things social media, from community engagement and political communications to self-publishing and social media for tourism. 

Tickets for this event are already half-sold, so register soon if you want to attend!

We are proud to be a part of this fantastic event. For more information and to buy tickets, please visit the event website.

Support local businesses and reduce your carbon footprint on your next shopping trip in Victoria, BC! 

Check out The Victoria Green Shopping Guide from The Green Collective, where you'll find a list of sustainable and environmentally friendly shops and businesses around town.

From hair salons and designer clothing stores to body care stores and an epicurean pantry, you'll find it's easy to be green in Victoria.

Here are just a few of the fabulous sustainable businesses listed in the guide: