Something magical happened this past spring and summer every Friday in Victoria, as the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority hosted a series of exceptional live music performances on the Breakwater Barge.
I can’t say enough of how exciting it was for me to rush down to the ‘Barge’ after work Fridays, riding down and dancing to the best live local bands Victoria has to offer. I cannot thank the Harbour Authority enough for providing all of us with this incredibly generous gift of live music, community and friendship building opportunities. You added so much value to our fair city and the beautiful harbour front. I can hardly wait for your next year’s line up.
But some James Bay homeowners have complained about the noise from the Friday barge events. The Harbour Authority has executed this series of public concerts without a single negative incident, running this event seamlessly and safely. Children and adults were dancing side-by-side with everyone expressing themselves through dancing and there was joy everywhere you looked.
While invariably attendees wanted the event going later into the night, the concerts ended respectfully at 9:30 p.m. – way too early on a Friday evening to have any legitimate noise complaints.
I ask the Harbour Authority to stand firm behind hosting the Breakwater Barge music events series moving forward. I believe the goodwill and benefit to the people of Greater Victoria far exceeds the few naysayers in James Bay.
A good compromise might be to offer two Saturdays on the barge to the James Bay Community Association to be used for a artisan market day. This way everybody has the opportunity to enjoy this emerging public event space.
John Kovac
Saanich