Craft Fair Season

It is November, actually almost the end of November this being the 28th. November means colder weather and with a month before Christmas it is time to go to craft fairs.  I'm rather selective with my choice of fairs.  I've always saved my money to attend the University of Victoria one and have made that one the only one I've attended. Last year I ventured out to two other ones and did so again this year.  Last weekend I went to the first craft fair of the season at North Douglas Church.  Craft fairs are a wonderful venue to meet local artists and shop local.  At this craft fair I picked up some lemongrass soap from Carriage 44, a gift for my partner from Jody's Naturals and a wooden carved birthday card for a friend.

Today, November 28th, I went to the Craft Cartel which is the craft fair I've been waiting for.
I stood in line from 9:30 until opening at 10:00 to obtain a swag bag.  Thinking I was going early to be at least close to the front of the line, I was lucky I choose to be there when I did as the line up had already formed and I was about the 26th person.  I had two 50% off tickets and I gave one to a lady in line.  She was very happy to pay only $2.00 instead of $4.00, and I was happy to share one of the 4 tickets I received.  The other two went to co-workers. 

I bought another beautiful infinity scarf from ToyandMing made by the lovely Joanne.  Joanne chooses cotton plaids or beautiful Japanese fabrics.  I have been wearing the blue plaid infinity scarf  I purchased so much that I choose a navy flowered/brown diamond double sided Japanese fabric infinity scarf  for today's purchase.  Joanne also makes clothes that are functional with comfort in mind.

Decor by Nature was where I made my first purchase.  I saw this vintage map which is perfect for our home. 

This will be hung in our hallway complimenting John's framed photographs of Fort Rodd lighthouse, a sailboat in Cadboro Bay and our kayaking group off Willows Beach.

My final purchase was two teas from Infuse Herbals . Infuse Herbals are handcrafted local teas made with non-GMO organic, locally farmed and wild foraged flowers and herbs.  All tea blends have been created by a master herbalist, tested and screened for any impurities to provide the highest quality cup of tea possible. I had a wonderful chat with Sarah about her teas, smelling each one on display.  It was hard to choose between the rooibos chai, the gingerbread and the candy cane.  All of them smelt so good!  I bought the rooibos chai tea which is my favourite tea for the winter months and Fire Cracker a black tea with ginger, pink peppercorns, chicory and cayenne to make my next batch of kombucha.  Each bag will make 20 cups.


 

I made another purchase but I can't mention it here due to it being a Christmas gift.

Some of the items in the swag bag will be shared with friends, a ring, some earrings, a birthday card for John's sister Brenda and a card for Valentine's Day.

There were 50 vendors and some of them were:

In the swag bag there was some delicious Beckett's House of Fudge (they are on Facebook)  which John enjoyed since it wasn't dairy free. The two flavours in the swag bag were Brown Sugar and Mint.  I purchased a Memories of Mexico vegan fudge that I am savoring in little bits. This is hard not to eat all in one sitting!!!  It stores well in the fridge or it can be frozen.

I gave John the caramel sponge toffee popcorn from the swag bag made locally by tout de Sweet. All the sweets are gluten-free, nut-free, corn-syrup-free and organic.  The caramels and popcorn are not dairy free.  The lollipops and marshmallows are dairy free.   I tried some of the marshmallows at the craft fair.  Hard to choose a favourite flavour, the chai tea had me wanting to try this in a chai tea latte, I love toasted coconut so I'd probably choose that as a favourite, the vanilla for roasting and making s'mores and the chocolate or chocolate mint for hot chocolate or also making s'mores.  Taking the marshmallows with me next time I am going to be around a camp fire. 

A few of the items from the swag bag shown here:  vanilla & almond lip balm from Wild Hill, two magnets from Floating Gold Iceberg and the owl magnet which is an acrylic or oil painting from Janet McDonald.  Other items, not shown, were 2 pairs of the same earrings from Wind Coast Artisan Jewlery, a ring from Wise Lion, a pottery fortune cookie on a string from Blackbird Studio, a card from Miekelily, a hairclip in the shape of a leaf from Rock and Roots Apparel and a card made by Gwen Spinks. The bag of sponge toffee caramel popcorn from tout de Sweet and the two pieces of fudge from Beckett's House of Fudge rounded out the swag bag. 

I think next year I have to plan to save up my money.  I wanted a pair of leg warmers and  I saw an adorable mug with partners in crime on it.  I missed finding the sand blasted mason jars.  Possibly that was a good thing as I could have spent far more than I did. 

Next craft fair is the University of Victoria's UVIC Holiday Artisans Market on December 1st.

Remember, going to craft fairs are a wonderful way to shop local and support local artisans.  It is good for our local economy and a great place to meet new people who are passionate about what  they are doing. 

A weekend on Quadra Island

Taking Monday as a vacation day for me and an earned day off for John, we planned a trip back to Quadra Island and the Tsa-Kwa-Luten Lodge for a long weekend on the second to last September weekend. Our first trip can be found at our kayaking blog Kayak Yak: Quadra Island and our adventures kayaking on the island.

We spent Saturday driving the 3.5 hours from Victoria to Campbell River, stopping for gas and a stretch of the legs in Parksville.  One day we will take the time to explore Parksville with a longer stay than just a pit stop.  

This trip we arrived in time for a quick lunch at the White Spot before heading to the ferry.  Yes, sometimes I do eat at a local fast food place and White Spot is a British Columbia legend.  Back to  the ferry to Quadra Island which takes a mere 7 to 8 minutes to ride. Loading the ferry takes longer than travelling to the island.  

We arrived, unpacked and went down to the beach.  After scrabbling around on the rocks and taking some photographs, we headed back inside for dinner. 

 Tsa-Kwa-Luten Lodge does have gluten free offerings but is sparse on the dairy free.  Most of the meals are in cream sauces or butter.  I had the soup and salad, a nice green salad with lots of vegetables and a vegetable minestrone while John had a chicken Caesar salad.  Then we headed back to our room to read.  There are no TVs in the rooms. WiFi is available for a fee.  In the grand lobby there are tables for playing the available board games and using the free WiFi.  Other activities include archery, horseshoes and bocce.  

We woke to the morning rain. Had breakfast in our room as we'd packed the Nutribullet, some fruit and protein powder.  Then we decided that we'd drive to Kamelon to see if it would be open for lunch.  Once that was established as our lunch spot, we stopped at Aroma Coffee for a tea and snack. I had a licorice spice tea from Stonehouse Teas  a tea house and supplier located in Campbell River. As we sat in the coffee shop the sky opened up and sheet rain came pouring down.  When it finally stopped we dashed to the car and took a drive around the island.  We ended up on a logging road to Granite Cove where we saw a cascading waterfall on both sides of the road and a few houses, one with a private lake.  We arrived at Granite Cove in a space between rain showers and did a quick leg stretch before the next downpour.  We also drove around Rebecca Spit and would have gone for a walk except it was pouring again.  We did take a few photographs at Rebecca Spit before the rain started.  

Heading back to Quathiaski Cove we had lunch at Kameleon Restaurant

John had the Thai chicken wrap with the Kameleon salad.  The wrap was panini grilled to make it crunchy which he said was a nice touch.  I had the Budda Burger served with the Kameleon salad.  The mango chutney with the curried chickpea patty was a delicious combination. I forgot to ask if the bun was dairy free but ate it anyway and drank lots of water.  I didn't feel any ill effects.  After lunch, with not much open, we drove to the end of Cape Mudge Road.  After passing the winery twice, we decided it actually was open and turned around to investigate.  

SouthEnd Farm & Vineyards is located at 319 Sutil Road with varying hours all year round for wine tasting.  The farm is a small pastured meat chicken farm selling directly from the farm or at the Quadra Island Farmer's Market (10:00 am to 2:00 pm Saturdays). 

 As we were there in September the winery was open Thur/Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. We parked at the main entrance, and were met by a sweet black and white dog who shook her paw with me, but would only sniff John.  Inside the winery we met Jennifer, the main tasting hostess, who would introduced us to three of the wines, the Ortega, the Bara and the Virga. 

 My preference is for white or a rose. Luckily there were two whites and one rose on offer. I did like the Bara which was a lovely rose with a beautiful pink blush, except I really wanted a wine that was completely local.  I choose the Virga, a lovely petit milo with lemon-lime and pepper tastes on the tongue and using 100% Quadra Island grown grapes. 

 Virga is a streak or shaft of precipitation that falls from a cloud but evaporates before reaching the ground and is common in temperate climates like Vancouver Island. It was appropriate to buy a wine named after rain since our time on the island was full of drizzle to sheet rain.  By the time we finished tasting the wine, and chatting with Jennifer, it had cleared up and the promised sunshine had finally arrived.   

We also met Griswald, tasting room watch dog.  He loved having John take his photograph.

After another dinner of the exact same meal we'd had the night before we returned to our room to pack up and sit in front of the gas fireplace reading our books.  

Up early, breakfast in the lodge, packing up the car and heading to the ferry.  We got on the 9:00 ferry as one of the last cars.  It being Monday there is a guarantee loading for vehicles coming from Cortes Island which meant we had to wait for all of them to be loaded. Back on the mainland we drove around Campbell River for a bit.  We were planning on going to see the suspension bridge until we decided we could make it home earlier than we planned.  Back to Parksville for gas and leg stretching then onward home with a plan to stop for lunch in Nanaimo, Chemainus or Duncan depending on when we arrived and if we were hungry.  Lunch was in Chemainus at Odika Cafe, our favourite Chemainus restaurant, where the food and service is always excellent.  We arrived home at around 2:00 pm, unpacked and got ready for another work week.  

Looking forward to sipping the Virga on our deck in the Fall sunshine.  Thank you to all the people on Quadra Island who help make the west coast such an amazing place to live and travel.  

Tofino - September Vacation

Going on vacation in September, especially the first week of school starting, is perfect.  Hotels and resorts are lacking school age children and off-season is just beginning.  Not that I don't like children, I do like off-season though.  Six of us headed to Tofino this year to celebrate Karl and Stephanie Johanson's 30 years of happily wedded bliss at the Pacific Sands Beach Resort on Cox Bay. While Stephanie, Karl, Stephanie's sister Wendy and niece Emily, along with Isaac the dog, stayed in a beach house, John and I stayed in one of the Lighthouse suites.  All of the suites and houses have full kitchenettes, with varying other amenities.  Having a kitchenette meant we ate out less at the amazing dining options available in Tofino and spent more time on the beach.  As a foodie this was at first a bit disappointing.  My disappointmdnt soon changed to delight at spending hours on the beach boogie boarding in the surf.  Being able to run back to the room and grab a bite was perfect. 

On the drive up to Tofino and on the way back to Victoria we stopped at Trees Diner in Parksville for lunch on a recommendation from two people we know.   The drive up we had burgers as we weren't sure what time we'd be eating dinner and boogie boarding was on the schedule when we arrived in Tofino. On the way back, John had a burger and I had the BLT.  The dairy and gluten free bun wasn't dry as some are, it was soft inside with a nice crust.  Our burgers were delicious.  There is a bakery attached to the diner and if we weren't full we would have purchased some of the homemade baked goods.

John and I arrived on the Tuesday after the Labour Day Monday, finding everyone else in the surf boogie boarding.  Dinner that night was individual pizzas made with Stephanie's homemade pizza crusts.  John and I had brought up local meat and vegetables from The Root Cellar creating the best homemade pizza I've had.  Wednesday we headed into Tofino for lunch at the Schooner Restaurant which has been around since 1949.  I had the Tom Yum soup with chicken which was warming and filling.  Being famous for seafood others ordered fish and chips or fish dishes, while others had a simple salad.  We then roamed around Tofino.  John and I purchased a loaf of dill sourdough from the Common Loaf for Wednesday night's dinner of Wendy's delicious spaghetti.  We also went to Rhino Coffee House to get doughnuts, there is only one Vegan variety - jelly - which has never been my favourite, I was fine with passing on a treat.  Wendy and Emily went for the Boston Cream and Coconut Cream which they enjoyed.  Thursday we went to Long Beach for a long walk along the beach.  The plan was to go to the bog trail and have lunch after the hike, except with six of us some of us ate early and some of us ate late.  John and I were feeling rather hungry and decided to head back to our suite to have lunch catching up with the others later for the Thursday night BBQ.  By 7:00 pm at night we went to find the others, still boogie boarding in the surf, and decided we needed to eat.  We had a lovely BBQ of chicken with vegetables I'd packed in tin foil with some Earth Balance non-soy spread.  We used the community BBQ area at the Pacific Sands Beach Resort, sharing our BBQ with a family from Britain.  Another group had built up the fire pit making for a lovely warm area to sit and enjoy the evening.  Sitting in the dark eating by fire pit was rather romantic. 

Friday was our last full day for all of us except Wendy and Emily who were heading back to Victoria.  We decided to go to Ucluelet to hike the Wild Pacific Trail a beautiful scenic trail along the coastline from the lighthouse to parking lot or vis versa.  After the hike we went into Ucluelet for lunch at Ukee Dogs Cafe & Eatery. Ukee Dogs Cafe & Eatery serves ethical beef hot dogs and is run by a lovely couple. John and I have eaten here before when we stayed at the Black Rock Resort.  John had the Mac&Cheese dog, Wendy, Emily and I had hotdogs. Stephanie and Karl had the beef tacos. I had the Imperial hotdog with teriyaki carmelized onions, wasbi mayo and nori on top which I find a taste experience worth every bite!!!

We also stopped into a bakery across the street from Ukee Dogs with yummy goodies that tempted us.  Zoe's Bakery and Cafe. You can find both Ukee Dogs and Zoe's Bakery on Facebook.  

While the rest of the women in our group went shopping at the gift shop, and the men along with Isaac found shade, I went into the tea shop.  Thay Tea is at 250 Main Street in Ucluelet and offers tea for purchasing as well as making hot or cold cups of tea.  I had a tiger tea made with black licorice tea, vanilla syrup and a bit of sweetner over ice.  It was so good that I went back to purchase the tea.  I haven't had black tea for a year since eating clean and cutting out all but herbal tea from my diet. I found this tea really nice, not too strong and didn't cause me any horrible symptoms from caffeine or taste.  

John and I headed back into Tofino since I really wanted to go to the natural food store and he wanted to try a doughnut from Rhino Coffee House.  Of course John had the bacon maple doughnut, one happy man pictured here. 

I tried the tumeric mylk from the health food store. The mylk is homemade nut milk with tumeric, ginger and cinnamon. I've been wanting to try tumeric milk for sometime and have several recipes pinned.  Definately something I'm going to learn to make.  This was so comforting and was perfect after boogie boarding and hiking the last three days.  I was a bit sore and bruised, along with muscles protesting that haven't been used in some time.  This was so good that on Saturday morning before we left I bought myself another one in a larger size.  Recommend this store for health food items as well as smoothies and hot drinks.  

Of course we stopped at Chocolate Tofino where we purchased Hot Chocolate Elixir Orbs for family who watched over our house, plus two chocolates for my friend/co-worker, one wild blackberry cream with blackberries picked in Ucluelet and basil ganache with the basil from a local garden.  Founded in 2003 Chocolate Tofino makes hand-crafted chocolates with the highest quality ingredients.  Some of the local specialties are the Organic Lavender Truffle, the Wild Honey Ganache and the Wild Blackberry Cream.  If you can't make it to Tofino, ordering online is available.  

I wasn't able to partake of Wendy's amazing baking as she didn't make it dairy free. We did have the chocolate wacky cake I made iced with paleo icing with her spaghetti dinner.  I stopped at Swell Juice Bar where I found dairy free cookies loaded with seeds and oats and a hemp seed ball with dark chocolate on top. The hemp seed ball with the dark chocolate made it back to Victoria where I had it with a large cup of herbal tea. Treat quota filled 100% with yummy healthy food.  

We are so fortunate to live on the west coast and I am grateful to those people who participate in making local food amazing.  Thank you to my loving partner for introducing me to Cox Bay and the Pacific Sands Beach Resort.  I want to go back and make more memories with you.  There are still places I want to eat at in Tofino that we missed this trip and I want to boogie board again.  

City of Victoria Food Growing Survey

There's an online survey happening now at the City of Victoria for their "Growing in the City" program. Are you interested in gardening options, boulevard gardening, fruit and nut trees, and more? Check it out at this link!

Healing with Food

Since learning I was allergic to dairy 5 years ago, and probably had been allergic all my life which explains a lot of symptoms, I finally decided in the Fall of 2014 that I was no longer going to "cheat".  By cheating I mean eating baked goods with dairy in them due to having an easier time digesting the dairy, or so I thought.  I've put on weight and haven't been able to take if off no matter what I do.  Heading into menopause I thought it was hormonal weight gain and eventually hopefully I would lose it.  Another reason for wanting to try something completely different.  I started looking into a different workout regime and signed up for a Body Transformation class starting in September.  Yet I knew I needed something more, and I had noticed a co-worker has lost a lot of weight over the summer.  I asked what she'd done, and discovered The Fast Metabolism Diet by Haylie Pomroy.  Since I was going on vacation at the beginning of September I thought I'd start the diet when I returned.  Although during my vacation I did start drinking 1/2 my body weight in water to prepare for a lifestyle change. 

This isn't a diet, it really is Did I Eat Today with lots of clean foods, no dairy, no wheat, no corn, no soy, no alcohol and no sugar.  The no sugar doesn't mean using artificial sweeteners like Splenda or Sugar Twin, it means using stevia or xylitol instead.  The diet is 28 days, the length of time it takes to create new habits.  I did the plan three times to completely heal my gut, and I lost weight.  Mostly I wanted to heal my gut, I didn't want to be bloated or feel uncomfortable in my skin anymore.  I felt swollen or like there was a heavy blanket wrapped around my real shape. 

I borrowed the main book and purchased the cookbook.  I thought having the cookbook would help with meal planning.  This plan is about learning to cook at home again, it is about planning your meals and there is a lot of chopping.  Since we grocery shop on Sunday my Sunday nights were spent chopping vegetables and using our crockpot to make some meals.  Delicious meals!  I even experimented having brown rice or quinoa for breakfast.  There are three (3) phases to the eating plan, Phase 1 is grains, protein and fruits for two (2) days, Phase 2 is meat and vegetables for two (2) days and Phase 3 is protein, vegetables, fruit, grains and healthy fats for three (3) days.  I discovered I lost the most weight on Phase 1 and Phase 2, the first 28 days and gained a pound back on Phase 3.  The next 28 days I didn't lose as much as the first round, discouraging at first until I read that plateaus happen when your body is healing.  After a week I started to drop a pound or two again.  In the third round I really started to lose weight and in all three Phases.  My body was healing and I felt fantastic. 

On December 12 I finished round three and was two pounds below my goal weight.  With the holidays coming up I was worried about the temptation of chocolates and cookies.  One day to treat myself I had a peppermint tea latte with sugar free vanilla syrup and it tasted horrible!!!  I noticed fruit tasted sweeter, actually everything tasted different, better, with more flavour.  I was still eating clean and wasn't tempted at all. 

On the final day of the Body Transformation class on December 5th my final measurements showed an overall loss of 16 inches.  My thighs had more muscle definition and I looked like myself again.  I was heading towards having the body I'd had when I'd started working in the office 15 years ago.  This was proof that dairy caused inflammation in my body and inflammation made losing weight harder.  Something I had problems with regardless of exercising or cutting out snacks and having only three meals a day.  The biggest insight was the sugar I ate in muffins from the coffee shop, the treats at work and my favourite Westcoast bar was the main culprit.  Cutting out the refined sugar in the first week had me losing the most weight in the first round.

I didn't gain any weight with Christmas dinner, or the week afterward and I ate Phase 4 (all three Phases combined) switching it up by having grains with breakfast and lunch but not with dinner, or having lots of vegetables one day for every meal and only fruit at breakfast and lunch.  The only time I gained weight over the holidays, two pounds, was after New Year's Eve when I drank wine and weighed myself the next morning.  Those pounds came off a few days later. 

Almost three months later, I'm still between 2-3 pounds below my goal weight.  I've even gotten within 1 pound of my dream weight three times.  It really depends on what I've eaten.  I find eating two pieces of fruit a day is the best for me and a lot of vegetables, along with protein for my main meals.  I still drink 1/2 my weight in water every day.  If I eat a treat, I use it for my snack, bake it myself or buy it at a raw food café.  I drink lemon water in the morning.  I use spices for not only flavour but for their healing properties.  I rotate my food choices every week and don't get into the habit of having the same meals. 

I've had friends tell me I glow, and not just my skin.  My nails and hair are much healthier.  I don't get bloated anymore.  I have digestive problems rarely, except with the usual things like beans, a problem I'm learning to solve.  I've discovered a few things about my body, for example I can eat a banana occasionally, trying to eat two in a week caused me to bloat and having one the following week caused me digestive distress minutes after eating it. Grapefruits help me to drop a few pounds, along with cucumbers and daikon radish. 

I've also discovered wonderful recipes and new favourites, along with new cooking methods.  I love oranges with cinnamon sprinkled on them.  Berries are my low GI go to fruit and are what I use the most, especially blueberries.  I've discovered tamari. I've sautéed using water and continue to use this method.  I like a lime squeezed into sparkling water.  I like the bitterness of cacao nibs. Chili pepper on mangoes or pineapple is an amazing taste experience.  I've discovered new vegetables such as daikon radish, jicama, cabbage tops and arugula.  I like kombucha and recently found a local brand, Saltspring Kombucha Co. available at Ingredients Health Food or on tap at Freshcoast Health Foodbar

Now on maintenance I use raw local honey, coconut sugar and xylitol depending on what I'm making or baking.  Stevia leaves a back taste in my mouth and the only brand I've found I can handle is New Roots, so I haven't added it to my pantry yet.  I enjoy chopping vegetables and loading up the fridge for the week.  I make my lunch the night before now.  I am maintaining my weight loss. I don't want to eat crap anymore. 

All I can say is Haylie Pomroy has touched the lives of many people who are asking themselves "Did I Eat Today" and answering YES!!  I'm just one more success story.....

Book Review: The Salmon Recipes

This week, I've been reading the best cookbook to come my way in years: The Salmon Recipes. This is a recipe book for anyone wanting to get a West Coast taste into their meals. More than just a list of recipes, this book has short notes from the contributors on their experiences living on the north coast of British Columbia, as well as their memories.

As it says on the back cover: "In this book the people of the north coast reach out in celebration of our rich culture of food in a bountiful region that has supported the gathering and sharing of sea resources since the beginning of time."

The recipes include many ways to prepare salmon as well as other kinds of seafood. But that's only one part of this book's appeal. Taken in series, the paragraphs and stories on pages facing the recipes are a heartfelt invitation to understand more about the lives of people living on the coast. The many colourful and informal photographs alone are worth the cover price!

Many of the stories involve beachcombing or going out in small boats. I particularly liked the story "One of his eight arms" by Luanne Roth:
Once in our prawn trap there was a small octopus holding a prawn. He was a bit scared and disoriented, but the whole time we had him out of the water, tipping the trap to have a better look as he pulled himself around, he kept one of his eight arms outstretched with the end carefully holding his prawn.

The Salmon Recipes: Stories of Our Endangered North Coast Cuisine
by the Prince Rupert Environmental Society
New Society Publishers

www.saveourskeenasalmon.org.
Check here on Facebook for news about their book launch and possibly more news in future.

Victoria Public Market

Finally the Victoria Public Market http://victoriapublicmarket.com/ opened on September 14 and 15.  We attended the first day of opening. On the Friday night as we drove by we could see that the space still didn't look ready to actually open.  Correct, many of the vendors weren't present and although we have returned there are some spaces that still have not opened.

Congratulations are in order to Silk Road Teas who participated in the opening in grand style and had the booth that seemed the most crowded.  It is nice to have a second location of my favourite place for tea and I'm sure they will be very successful.  For those of you who don't venture downtown to the main location on Government or to the new location in the Hudson, Fairways does carry Silk Road Tea as well.

Can tell Victoria Pie Co. is very popular.  Haven't been able to try a pie as they are always sold out.  Must be delicious!  Hoping to have an opportunity to grab a pie one day.

Sutra and Roast both tempt me but I haven't tried them either.  Very busy locations which I'm hoping will settle once the novelty of the market wears off.
Did buy a wonderful croissant for my partner at The French Oven.  I wish my friends from France, Karin and Bruno were still living here because they would finally find a good baguette!!  If I could eat cheese I'd add some Salt Spring Island cheese to the baguette and make a delicious French lunch.  Maybe with some balsamic from Olive the Senses to drizzle over the whole concoction.  Sigh....oh dairy allergy I hate you some days.

Wednesdays is the farmer's market outside the Hudson, at the back of the building.  Unfortunately it only runs from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.  I don't work downtown and miss out on this wonderful market.  Here you will find the Doughboys who make delicious doughnuts.  Maybe not working downtown is a good thing, I'd be craving these far too much.

Looking forward to seeing what events and offerings the Victoria Public Market will dish up in the very near future!