The BreakFest Blog
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
Ottawa needs a better attitude: If you’re complaining that Ottawa sucks you’re not looking hard enough
Emma Godmere, Ottawa Citizen
Despite being more than 150 years old, I think Ottawa shares more similarities with a young twentysomething than a supercentenarian.
In fact, I think the nation’s capital and I are a lot alike.
We tend to fall victim to our inferiority complexes. We compare ourselves to others who are older, more attractive, and more experienced than us. We’re concerned we too often sit back and refrain from acting out, or acting on our impulses. And sometimes, we just don’t know who or what we want to be.
Read the full piece on the Ottawa Citizen website: Ottawa needs a better attitude
Ottawa Mayor wants big bang on Canada’s 150th birthday
Postmedia News
Canada Day festivities in 2017 should be turned into a weeklong “Canadian Cultural Festival,” says Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.
The city should work with the National Arts Centre, National Capital Commission, provincial and territorial governments and the private sector to create the event between June 25 and July 1 in the year of Canada’s 150th birthday, Watson said in prepared remarks to an Ottawa Kiwanis Club luncheon.
Full story at Canada.com Ottawa Mayor wants big bang on Canada’s 150th birthday
Mayor touts ‘new way of thinking’ about economic development
OBJ Staff
Mayor Watson said the creation of Invest Ottawa is proof that economic development will be a top priority for his administration.
Among other achievements, the mayor pointed to the Major Events Office that will operate in partnership with Ottawa Tourism. The office will try to bring major events, such as the NHL All-Star Game, the 2012 Juno Awards and possibly the 2015 FIFA Women’s Cup, to Canada’s capital.
Along with the new Convention Centre, he said these major events can help grow the city’s tourism sector.
Full story on the OBJ website: Mayor touts ‘new way of thinking’ about economic development
Festival by-law public consult Jan. 17
Joanne Chianello, Ottawa Citizen
If you’re the kind of person interested in the way the dozens of festivals in this city are regulated, or if you simply get a kick from public consultations, you may want to drop by Ben Franklin Centre next Tuesday, January 17 at 7 p.m.
That’s when the city’s Delores MacAdam, the program manager of event central office, will give a PowerPoint presentation on the draft by-law that will be tabled with the community and protective services committee next weekend.
City staff have been working trying to pass a by-laws for years, and it’s not such a bad idea. It would standardize the rules and requirements for holding a special event, and in particular, give city officials authority to penalize those who break the rules.
Full editorial: Festival by-law public consult
Finding their voice – through poetry
Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
For Liam and teens like him all across Ottawa, spoken word poetry is helping them find their voice and express how they feel about difficult things they face in their lives or the world around them. Depression, suicide, addiction, bullies, broken hearts and stereotypes are all fodder for poems, but so, too, are death, dictators and dearly beloved family members, in this art form that bursts with creativity, energy and emotion.
The budding poets meet over the lunch hour in Phelan’s second-floor classroom, where they fine-tune and perform pieces for each other. They also drop rhymes at school assemblies and many attend monthly poetry slams held at the central branch of the Ottawa Public Library.
Spoken word poetry has flourished in the city since the first national festival was held here in 2004. Ottawa teams have twice won the Canadian slam poetry title and the brand new youth team, which Liam is on, won the top prize at this year’s festival in Toronto.
Full story: Finding their voice – through poetry
Ottawa Storytellers Present – A House Divided: Stories and Songs of the American Civil War
[Source: Ottawa StoryTellers press release]
A House Divided: Stories and Songs of the American Civil War
featuring Gail Anglin, Paul Hornbeck, Daniel Kletke, & Tom Lips
NAC’s 4th STAGE, January 19, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20 from NAC Box Office or ticketmaster.ca
The American Civil War is one of the most talked about conflicts in modern history. With slavery, nationalism, and changing economics at its core, this war saw brother fighting brother. Tonight, we hear stories from both perspectives – North and South, framed with the stirring songs that were sung by soldiers and those who waited for them back home.
Performers:
Gail Anglin has a deep interest in history and relishes turning research into storytelling performance. She loves stories that illuminate the past and songs that still carry the emotions of the men and women who once sang them. She has written her own material for this show, and writes and performs local stories at the Bytown Museum and Billings Estate National Historic Site. Gail has performed in festivals and schools, and on radio and TV, offering a wide range of material from children’s shows to epics. A talented musician, Gail particularly enjoys singing the alto harmony to Tom Lips’ tenor melodies in programs such as the well-received Pete Seeger show that played in Ottawa and Toronto. In addition to being a teller, Gail directs the “Spirits of the Times” murder mysteries and the spring Chautauquas (Victorian tent shows) at the Billings Estate.
Gail’s relatives fought on the Union side in the Civil War.
Blood on the Moon fills hole in GCTC lineup
Pierre Brault’s tour de force replaces play cancelled by actor’s illness
Patrick Langston, Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — It’s a scramble, but Ottawa actor and playwright Pierre Brault says an unexpected remounting of his acclaimed solo show Blood on the Moon will be ready to roll Jan. 17 at the Great Canadian Theatre Company.
Brault’s award-winning show about James Patrick Whelan, the last man to be publicly hanged in Canada after being convicted in 1868 of assassinating the politician Thomas D’Arcy McGee, was pegged for the January spot after You Fancy Yourself, originally scheduled for the slot, was cancelled just days before Christmas. Maya Ardal, the writer and performer of You Fancy Yourself, had been diagnosed with a serious, still-undisclosed illness and was scheduled for immediate surgery.
“My first thoughts were for Maja,” says GCTC artistic director Lise Ann Johnson in an email from Arizona, where she’s been on holiday since before Christmas. “She’s an incredible person and a multi-talented artist – everyone at GCTC is thinking of her and wishing her a full recovery. My second reaction was ‘Holy mother of God – I need a good replacement show, fast!’ ”
Despite the last-minute rush and having no regular phone or Internet service, Johnson found four possible shows. Brault’s got the nod.
CBC Ottawa Share Central | 613-288-6644
CBC News
Ottawa residents can lace up their skates as they help raise money for Ottawa’s homeless youth Friday at CBC Ottawa’s annual holiday fundraiser, Share Central. Ottawa Morning host Robyn Bresnahan hosts Share Central 2011 Friday at Ben Franklin Place on Centrepointe Drive. (CBC)
Ottawa’s only refrigerated outdoor skating rink at Ben Franklin Place will be the site of the festivities of the fundraiser, which will focus on the stories of Operation Come Home, a local charity that provides support to homeless youth in the community.
Though it’s been unusually warm this week, the temperature Friday is expected to plummet to -6 C by the afternoon, according to Environment Canada.
Read more on the CBC News website: CBC Ottawa Share Central
A Company of Fools Theatre Upcoming Events
[Source: A Company of Fools]
Twelfth Night Celebration
January 5th, 2012 7:30 pm
Fourth Stage of the NAC
53 Elgin Street
Ottawa, ON K1P 5W1
Tickets available now at the NAC Box Office
Produced by A Company of Fools Theatre
www.Fools.ca
613.421.2720
Every year A Company of Fools Theatre says good bye to Christmas and celebrates the beginning of a new year of Fool-ish fun with a Twelfth Night Celebration. Mirth and mayhem abound as the Fools play with Shakespeare’s classic comedy, Twelfth Night: or What You Will, scenes from audience favourites and more than a little improv! The result is always the same: hilarity! There is food, feasting and frolic; the new King, or Queen of the Fools is crowned and the New Season is announced.
Come join the Fools for an evening of fun, fundraising and the launch of a new Fool-ish year!
NHL unveils Ottawa All-Star weekend festivities
CBC News
The Rideau Canal skateway will be host to a five-kilometre charity skate, a procession of NHL trophies and a junior skills competition on the week Ottawa hosts the NHL All-Star game.
NHL and the Ottawa Senators announced the events Friday as part of the festivities for the 59th annual National Hockey League All-Star Game at ScotiaBank Place on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 4 p.m.
The events begin Thursday, Jan. 26 with a 2:30 p.m. skate down the canal with all the NHL Trophies, including the Stanley Cup, Hart Memorial Trophy and Vezina Trophy.
Casino du Lac-Leamy will also hold an All-Star Fantasy draft that night from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Read more on the CBC News website: NHL unveils Ottawa All-Star weekend festivities
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