MicCHEK

In this episode we sit down with North Saanich mayor Geoff Orr to chat about his decision not to run in this fall's municipal election. We also discuss some of the challenges he encountered as mayor and the big issues that North Saanich residents are currently grappling with. Plus, Geoff opens up about what it's like being a politician in the CRD and offers up advice for anyone thinking about running in the October 15th municipal election.

In this episode Joe lays out ten specific dishes on the south island that he believes deserves some love. Not only will you learn about the food, but we've also put together some audio from customers and restaurant owners to give you a real taste of each location.

Who is Krista Loughton? What's her vision for the City of Victoria? Why is she running for council in this fall's municipal election? The Victoria filmmaker joined us in studio to discuss these questions and more in a wide-ranging interview on some of the big issues in the City of Victoria.

The classic roundtable is back with our panel picking the top lunch spots in Greater Victoria. 5 guest, 5 picks each, and the picks must be places where you can get a meal in under 30 minutes. In this episode we'll lay out 25 lunch spots as well as a long list of honourable mentions. Enjoy!

What better way to promote Vancouver Island’s forest sector then to build a massive, Greek-inspired monument out of wood and stick it on top of Victoria’s crown jewel park? Island businessmen back in the early 1900’s thought it was a great idea but it wasn’t to be. In this episode we discuss the Beacon Hill Trust established in 1884 that lays out the rules for development in the park and explain why this wooden mammoth of a facility was never built.

In this episode, we discuss a 1960’s plan from a Vancouver company to build a Medieval Amusement Park in Saanich Gorge Park essentially turning it into Sherwood Forest. The proposal included a castle, a torture chamber, a dungeon, and Robin Hood figurines scattered throughout the facility. It also wanted to create two Viking longboats that would transport people from the inner harbor, up the Gorge, to the park. We sat down with local Author Dorothy Mindenhall to discuss the plan and learn why it never happened (We discuss the plan beginning at the 7:54 mark).

It's the definition of a local success story. In a small Victoria basement in 2016, Rob Fraser came up with the idea to create some fashionable, athletic socks. He made 200 pairs, put them in a large box, and then sold them (they went fast). Since then his company has sold millions of socks under the brand name "Endur" but yesterday that all changed. In this Episode, Rob joins us to share the story about how he created his global sock empire and why the company is now rebranding.

In this episode, we hear the story behind how a couple of CHEK anchors and the CHEK studio made it into Bruce Willis and Michael Rooker's new movie "Corrective Measures". We also chat with the film's writer, director and producer, Sean Patrick O'Reilly (who happens to be in Isreal) to learn about how a BC company landed one of the biggest actors on the planet. Joe and Kyle chat about some other films that were shot on Vancouver Island and round out the discussion with this week's Order Up Spotlight, the Songhees Food Truck.

The very first Roundtable we ever did was on Pizza (Episode 10). But that was a long time ago, and we've learned a lot since then including letting our expert guests make the picks. That's why we've asked Jason Venkaya, the man behind Oregano's Pizza on Shelbourne Avenue, to come on and give us ten great spots to enjoy pizza in Greater Victoria. We also discuss one of Joe's new favourite coffee shops in Victoria, Imagine Studio Cafe.

We're heading into Easter weekend and there's no better time to be on the hunt for chocolate. In this episode, we're getting a list of the Top 10 places to go for chocolate in Greater Victoria.