Festival Information
CLICK HERE for info on past Wonderment events
CLICK HERE for info on accommodations and travel for those coming from out-of-town.
Wonderment basics
Wonderment park events are free in part because we focus our resources on the sound and music, and our audience takes care of their own needs. We take cues from the Burning Man festival with respect to commerce and environmental care. We eschew traditional festival infrastructure so we can all share in an immersive music experience in a natural park enviornment.
We encourage an individual and collective DIY ethos, and we appreciate your help in this. It’s great to see people supporting the local businesses around our events, or getting creative with picnic ideas, and then packing out what gets brought in. For a festival of our size, we have a remarkably light environmental footprint thanks to our audience.
Maps and details about each of our event locations may be found below.
CLICK HERE for food/drink options near each of the venues.
We can’t stress this enough, especially the water part!
Less work for our volunteers and less trash all around.
Thems the rules – Maximum fine is $2000!
Our Sunday and Monday ambient park events are held at venues with playgrounds and public washroom facilities either on site or immediately adjacent to the event area. The Saturday evening at Songhees Park Plaza / Johnson Street Bridge is more dance-oriented and will have more of a concert crowd sort of atmosphere which may not suit all kids. The night-time events at the Victoria Event Centre (1915 Broad Street) are all 19+ licensed events.
Dogs can sometimes act erratically amidst crowds and sound systems, please leave them at home! (Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals are of course ok!)
Wonderment is presented by the Garden City Electronic Music Society. The Society does not permit or condone inappropriate behaviours of any kind, which includes without limitation, any form of verbal, sexual, physical or emotional abuse and/or harm; the use of derogatory or discriminatory language, gestures or actions, and any form of harassment, racism, sexism, homophobia/transphobia or other targeted comments that intended to cause personal offence or harm to any other person. Please also be mindful of unintended harms – make sure you have consent when interacting with others. All events have professional security with first-aid training. Additionally, Wonderment night events will have Good Night Out presence, to support with harm reduction and bystander intervention as needed. Be nice and be respectful so we can all enjoy the festival.
Read on for details about each of our venues.
Songhees Park Plaza is located at the southwest corner of the iconic Johnson Street Bridge. There is some street parking on Songhees Road and across the bridge on Wharf Street. The closest parkade is the Bastion Square Parkade at 575 Yates Street at Langley Street. Bus routes #10, #14, #15, #24, and #25 stop on Esquimalt Road at Harbour Road, one block from the bridge. You can also take a Victoria Harbour Ferry (“Pickle Boat”) to the “Delta Dock” which is adjacent to the plaza area. There will be limited portapotties on site, and public washrooms available at Market Square and Langley Street across the bridge. Food and drink may be found at Lure Restaurant in the Delta Hotel complex adjacent to the site, or across the bridge downtown.
SOUND SYSTEM: Turbosound Aspect by DL Sound
The Victoria Event Centre (VEC) is a 19+ cabaret venue located a couple blocks from the Johnson Street Bridge in downtown Victoria. VEC is a 25-30 minute walk from the Cameron Bandshell. There is street parking around the venue as well as a parkade at Centennial Square one block away (enter at 645 Fisgard Street). Several buses service the surrounding streets on Douglas, Pandora and Johnson streets. VEC is located in the upper floor of a heritage building and accessed from Broad Street via a long flight of stairs. If you have mobility issues, VEC also has an elevator from a back entrance. Please speak to venue staff for assistance.
SOUND SYSTEM: Deepwest Sound System
Buses #2, #3, #5 and #10 stop on Douglas right next to Beacon Hill Park. There are many more buses that stop at the BC Legislature, which is a 10 minute walk from the Cameron Bandshell. Presently, many areas of Beacon Hill Park are closed to car traffic, so plan accordingly. In addition to mobility parking near the petting zoo in the park, we have asked the City of Victoria to create more spots in the small traffic loop on the east side of Douglas Street across from the apartment building at 280 Douglas Street. Beacon Hill Park is a 20-30 minute walk from downtown. The Cameron Bandshell has mosquitos present at dusk, so make sure to bring mosquito repellent. There are public washrooms and a children’s playground immediately adjacent to the Cameron Bandshell area. Food and drink may be found at the Beacon Drive In (126 Douglas Street) or the many options in the Cook Street village (roughly 10 minutes walking from the bandshell).
SOUND SYSTEM: Turbosound Aspect by DL Sound
The #14 Bus stops on Craigflower Road and the Galloping Goose Trail also goes there. Banfield Park is approximately a 30 minute walk from the Johnson Street Bridge. You can also catch a Victoria Harbour Ferry (“Pickle Boat”) to the “Railyards” dock and walk to Banfield Park from there in 5-10 minutes. There are public washrooms at the Victoria West Community Centre adjacent to the park, and at Regatta Landing (approx. 5-10 minute walk). Food and drink may be found across Craigflower Road from the park (Spiral Cafe, Fry’s Bakery), and approximately 10 minutes walking to Glo Restaurant across the Selkirk Trestle (2940 Jutland Road). There is a fenced children’s playground on site at Banfield Park.
SOUND SYSTEM: Turbosound Aspect by DL Sound
For more information on food and drink near Wonderment 2023 venues, take a look at our dedicated food and drink page.
Wonderment is presented and produced by the Garden City Electronic Music Society, and supported by the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the Capital Regional District, and the City of Victoria. We are also supported by industry partners DL Sound, Deepwest Sound System, Long & McQuade and Constellate Talent. Our partners in accommodation are the Inn at Laurel Point and Swan’s Hotel. We also would like to thank our media sponsors at Monday Magazine, the Georgia Straight, Capital Daily, and Exclaim!
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