A new festival is giving pickleball players and curious spectators a reason to head to Victoria’s Topaz Park this weekend. The Victoria Pickleball Festival is turning the park into a three-day celebration of sport, food, music and local businesses, with tournament play at the centre of it all. Founded by Victoria’s Brittany Buna, the event is being billed as Canada’s first pickleball festival of its kind, with ambitions to eventually take the concept across the country. But Buna says the goal is about more than the game itself. “What I really wanted to do is bring in other aspects that touch on pickleball,” she said. That means visitors do not need to pick up a paddle to take part. The festival features live music, food trucks, a local vendor market and family activities alongside the 11 courts. Open play is also available each evening, giving visitors a chance to try the increasingly popular sport for themselves. The festival gets underway Friday with food trucks, ice cream and music, along with a friendly first responders pickleball showdown involving firefighters and police officers from Saanich, Langford and Victoria. Saturday shifts the focus to the tournament, with more than 175 players registered from around B.C. and other provinces. Buna says the response has exceeded expectations, making it one of the largest outdoor pickleball tournaments the organizers have put on. Saturday evening will also feature a youth tournament, with more than 30 young players. “It’s exciting to see,” Buna said. “I know pickleball has been kind of an old person’s sport, but we have a lot of young people.” Sunday is designed as a family day, with face painters, balloons, bubbles and an obstacle course, giving younger visitors plenty to do while tournament action continues on the courts. The festival is also intended to showcase the businesses and people surrounding Victoria’s growing pickleball community. The vendor market features local artisans and small businesses, while food vendors will serve visitors throughout the weekend. For Buna, bringing all those pieces together is what makes the event different from a traditional pickleball tournament. “I wanted people just to enjoy the community of pickleball,” she said. And that community effort has been key to getting the festival off the ground. Buna credits the City of Victoria, sponsors, local businesses and a large group of volunteers for helping turn the idea into a three-day event. “I’m just one person and there’s so many people behind me on this,” she said. With the courts full, families expected throughout the weekend and music and food surrounding the competition, the festival is also an experiment in what a pickleball event can become. For Buna, the hope is that Victoria is only the beginning. The Victoria Pickleball Festival runs Friday through Sunday at Topaz Park, 841 Finlayson St.
