'The buzz around here is amazing': Anticipation builds for Royal visit in B.C.'s Capital region
At the Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association in Central Saanich, it was all hands on deck Friday.
“Everybody is excited, the buzz around here is amazing,” said Liz Gagel, executive director of the VTRA.
Fencing is getting a fresh coat of paint, horses are being brushed to look their best and the shovels are out to clean up those horses’ mess.
The reason? They will be receiving a very important visitor this weekend.
“We are hosting her Royal Highness,” said Gagel.
Princess Anne and her husband Vice-Admiral Tim Laurence will spend their weekend touring organizations on Royal duties that are near and dear to their hearts.
“I know that Princess Anne is the patron of therapeutic riding throughout Canada,” said Gagel.
The Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association is a non-profit providing people with disabilities therapeutic horseback riding, including four-year-old Otis Lawson.
“Otis has Mosaic Down syndrome,” said Brett Lawson, the child’s father.
Friday marked Otis’s fourth session. His father says his confidence is soaring and the benefits were seen right away.
“He’s getting a lot of muscle engagement while on the horse that he doesn’t get otherwise,” said Lawson.
Princess Anne will be busy with a number of military-related engagements, including laying a wreath at The God’s Acre Veteran’s Cemetery and attending a Battle Of The Atlantic Commemorative Service at the B.C. legislature. The Royal couple will also be making a stop at the Military Family Resource Centre at CFB Esquimalt.
“(Princess Anne) is very interested in families, especially military family support,” said Jackie Carle, executive director of the centre.
The Military Family Resource Centre helps military families moving into the community after a posting. It also supports military families during a deployment.
“At the end of the day, she’s part of a serving family so she really understands what that means,” said Carle.
Another interest of Princess Anne is food security and community building.
“This is a farm site on top of reclaimed land,” said Alistair Howes, manager of special projects and engagement at FED Urban Agriculture Society.
That urban farm is located in Vic West next to Dockside Green.
Princess Anne will be touring the grounds on Saturday, seeing how the operation grows its food to be sold locally with a portion being donated to other non-profits within the community.
“Princess Anne has a particular interest in trying to figure out how you engage and build community resilience through Urban Projects,” said Howes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada to see warm summer, wildfire risks loom for some regions: forecast
Get ready to feel the heat, Canada. Weather experts are predicting more sunshine and warmer temperatures for the summer.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.
3 Israeli soldiers killed in Rafah booby trap explosion, media say, as offensive widens
The Gaza health ministry called on Wednesday for ensuring safe pathways for the immediate entry of fuel and medical aid to Rafah and northern Gaza, according to a statement carried by Hamas media quoting spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
Introducing peanut butter during infancy can help protect against a peanut allergy later on, new study finds
New evidence suggests that feeding children smooth peanut butter during infancy and early childhood can help reduce their risk of developing a peanut allergy even years later.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there's a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.