VDDS: Victoria and District Dental Society

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Symposium Special Events

Symposium no-fee (or nominal fee) special events included:

Fairmont Empress Tour

  • Thursday, April 23, 2009, 11:00 AM.
  • One tour only and this one is no-fee!
  • Meet at 11:00 at the Palm Court Empress on Thursday, April 23, 2009
  • The tour is no-fee, and we have a special rate of $40 (tax & tip inc.) for your Empress Tea at 12:00 noon.
  • To ensure a spot on the tour and a seat at the Empress Tea, you need to sign up ahead of time at the Symposium Guest Services at the Victoria Conference Centre.
  • Open to those associated with Symposium Thu-Sat delegates.

Symposium Wine Social

  • Thursday, April 23, 2009, 5:00 - 6:00 PM.
  • Symposium Delegates receive one pass no-fee!
  • Accompanying persons are $15.
  • 5:00 – 6:00 PM in the Lower Pavilion at the Victoria Conference Centre
  • Open to those associated with the Symposium
  • Non-Thu-Sat delegates pay $15.

Harbour Ferry Tour and Fish & Chips at Barb’s Place

  • Thursday, April 23, 2009, 5:50 PM - dusk.
  • The Harbour Ferry Tour is no-fee!
  • The F&C are very economical!
  • Sailings from the Empress Dock at 5:50, 6:00, 6:50, & 7:00 PM.
  • To ensure a seat, and not be disappointed, you need to sign up ahead of time at the Symposium Guest Services at the Victoria Conference Centre
  • Plan your meal in advance from Barb’s Place on-line menu.
  • You will give your order, and pay cash as you board the Harbour Ferry at the Empress Dock, and your meal will be ready for you as you arrive ½ hour later at Fisherman’s Wharf.
  • After your F&C, you will board the Harbour Ferry at Fisherman’s Wharf and be taken back to the Empress Dock, unless you are having too much fun and would rather walk back, which is about a 20 minute walk.
  • The last sailing back from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Empress Dock is at dusk.
  • It is also a pleasant 20 minute walk around the Victoria Inner Harbour back to the Empress Dock.
  • Others may show up at sailing time, but not be guaranteed a seat.
  • Open to those associated with Symposium Thu-Sat delegates.

Behind the scenes at the Royal BC Museum with Martha Black, Curator of Ethnology

  • Friday, April 24, 2009, 10:45 AM.
  • Meet at the Victoria Conference Centre at 10:45 AM and walk to the Museum together to meet up with Martha Black, Curator of Ethnology
  • There is a lovely little place to buy lunch at the Museum after your tour!

Symposium Gala

  • Friday, April 24, 2009, 7:00 - 11:00ish PM
  • Symposium Delegates receive two passes no-fee!
  • Accompanying persons are no-fee!
  • Additional persons are $30
  • 5:00 – 6:00 PM in the Lower Pavilion at the Victoria Conference Centre
  • Open to those associated with the Symposium

Symposium Golf Tournament

The VDDS invited Symposium participants & guests to add enjoyment to their time in Victoria by finding out more about Victoria’s unique & wonderful offerings:

Whale Watching! – Five Star Whale Watching has offered the VDDS a $10 off rate for those associated with the Symposium.

  • The VDDS Symposium rate is $89 for adults and $55 for children.
  • Please call 1-800-634-9617 and say that you are with The Dental Implant Symposium.

See the always glorious Butchart Gardens

  • No third party bus tours run at this time
  • The VDDS will be hosting a mini-van trip out on Sat, Apr 25 AFT, leaving the Fairmont Empress at 1:30 PM and returning at about 6:00 PM (the number of seats will be increased if more people confirm their attendance by Friday, April 25 at noon)
  • A Taxi Cab is $45 one-way
  • The City Bus is $2.25 one-way.  Take the #30 or #31, behind the Fairmont Empress on Douglas Street, on the West side, in front of the Crystal Gardens; transfer at Royal Oak Exchange to #75 (this brings you right into the Gardens!)
  • Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; you may wander the Gardens until 6:00 PM
  • Admission Rates: $26 (tax inc.); $13 (age 13-17); $2 (age 5-12)
  • There is no charge for parking in April

Join the locals in an annual tradition, the TC 10 K Run

  • On-line Registration closes April 20, 2009
  • You may register on-site April 24-25 at the Fitness Expo at Harbour Towers Hotel, 345 Quebec Street (a short jaunt around the Harbour from the Fairmont Empress and Victoria Conference Centre)
  • The cost is $40.

Visit our world class Royal BC Museum

  • The IMAX at the Museum has given the VDDS coupons to distribute for a special rate!  You can pick these up at the VDDS Guest Services counter at the Victoria Conference Centre.
  • Lots of tours are included with your entrance fee, and we encourage you to take in the VDDS tour on Friday, April 24 with Martha Black, Curator of Ethnology on a “behind the scenes” look at an aspect of First Nations artefacts at the Museum.
  • Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; IMAX open 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
  • Admission Rates: $10 - $23, depending on if you include the IMAX

Take in some local talent

  • Pacific Opera Victoria is presenting The Magic Flute
    $30 - $110, depending on your seat choice
  • The Belfry Theatre has a comedy on entitled The Ends of the Earth
    $23 - $38, depending on your show time

And, some did checking out on their own:

  • Walk and shop Antique Row on Fort Street.
  • See our Castle (Craigdarroch) and learn about some human history of the area.
  • Take a tour at the Museum and learn about our seafaring and First Nations past.
  • Walk from the Fairmont Empress around the Victoria Inner Harbour to the Dallas Point breakwater – then walk the length of the breakwater and back!
  • Visit the Victoria Bug Zoo.
  • Find your favourite Victoria walk from the BC Tourism website
  • Stroll through Beacon Hill Park - take in the Petting Zoo, Goodacre Lake, the free putting green, the summit lookout, behind the zoo and in the spring, the heron nests on the west edge of Goodacre lake.
  • Make the Beacon Drive-in a destination and enjoy a Dairyland ice cream cone, a Victoria tradition for 51 years!
  • Explore one, or more of Victoria’s neighbourhoods.
  • Rent a bike and take a ride on the incredible Galloping Goose trail that runs from Sooke to Sidney.
  • Visit Sidney’s many book stores.
  • Visit Matticks Farm in Cordova Bay on your way to Sidney.
  • Visit Tourism Mall, where some of these ideas came from http://tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/101ideas.htm

Some checked out the Tourism Victoria website for more links to events and attractions!
Some activities to think of next time you are here, as they did not happen during Symposium 2009:

  • Victoria’s Hanging Baskets Workshop
  • Victoria Architecture Tour
  • Chef for the day - Kids
  • Chef for the day - Adults