The BreakFest Blog
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
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
Hats off to the Ottawa Art Gallery
Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Art Gallery might want to throw an appreciation party for its appreciation party, held Thursday at the Arts Court.
It got a big helping hand for the Hats off to You reception it hosted for 125 hatwearing guests. There were Christmas cocktails from Mercury Lounge, beer from Steam Whistle and wines from the Grange of Prince Edward. The OAG’s collection manager, Jennifer Gilliland, prepared the platters of food while U of O music prof Louis Trépanier played guitar.
If guests came bare-headed, no problemo; there were loaner hats from Ottawa Little Theatre.
Artist Jerry Grey’s lid, conveniently fashioned at the crafts table, was embellished by Judith Haney with “found art” in the form of a sprig of greenery plucked from a holiday arrangement donated by Monique Lachapelle.
Gallery director Alexandra Badzak wore a faux fur hat while artist Leslie Reid donned the real thing (a long-ago gift from her mom). Artist Mimi Cabri created her own whimsical chapeau while Stéphane Lauzon from the Council for the Arts in Ottawa talked about regifting his canine-styled cap – a last-second purchase at Paper Papier on Clarence Street.
Read more on the Ottawa Citizen website: Hats off to the Ottawa Art Gallery
Wi-Fi for downtown Ottawa, Gatineau delayed
CBC News
Plans to equip downtown Ottawa and areas of Gatineau with wireless internet are delayed for a few more months as the National Capital Commission scales back the idea.
The NCC has planned to launch free Wi-Fi Friday to help tourists browse the web on their mobile devices.
The original plan had large zones of free internet access but the costs were far beyond the budget, according to the NCC’s director of digital communications.
Instead, the WiFi will only be in small pockets on Parliament Hill, the National War Memorial and other major tourist sites in the nation’s capital. The new launch date is sometime in June.
“When we opened the financial envelope, it was not necessarily in line with our budget,” said Daniel Feeny.
Read more on the CBC News website: Wi-Fi for downtown Ottawa, Gatineau delayed
Theatre column: Why can’t local theatre get its act together?
Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen
An unusual thing happened at Ottawa Little Theatre last week: Members of Ottawa’s professional and non-professional theatre communities gathered with a common purpose.
In this case, it was the annual Capital Critics Circle awards at which Ottawa reviewers, myself included, honour the previous season’s best in professional and community theatre. This year, winners included NAC English Theatre, Orpheus Musical Theatre Society and others (you can find a list of nominees and winners at capitalcriticscircle.com).
Ottawa theatre companies, like most other arts organizations, are eternally eager to generate more buzz, bigger audiences, increased funding. In fact, one of this year’s professional winners, Third Wall Theatre, had to cancel its current season because of financial problems.
So here’s the question: If these skilled and ambitious folks can pull together to applaud each others’ achievements, whether professional or non-professional, why don’t they do the same to heighten the overall profile of theatre in Ottawa, attract more residents who don’t normally go to live theatre, and scoop up a healthier chunk of Ottawans’ entertainment dollars?
Hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights to brighten Canada’s Capital Region
[Source: NCC press release]
Magical evening will officially kick off the holiday season
Canada’s Capital Region ─ The National Capital Commission (NCC), in collaboration with Manulife Financial, is pleased to invite members of the public and of the media to the launch of the 27th edition of the Christmas Lights Across Canada program. The official illumination ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 6 pm on Parliament Hill.
Russell Mills, Chair of the NCC, Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, and Donald Guloien, President and Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Financial, will be joined by special guests as they officially switch on the thousands of light bulbs that will illuminate Parliament Hill as well as many institutions, monuments, and other prominent landmarks located along Confederation Boulevard, in the heart of Canada’s Capital Region.
An important national component of the Christmas Lights Across Canada program: many provincial and territorial capitals are also holding their own lighting ceremonies.
“The NCC is proud to work in collaboration with all the provinces and territories to bring their holiday messages to Canadians,” said Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer of the NCC. “This link of lights is a symbol of peace, respect, and hope.”
Fair trade festival aids developing countries
Diane Sawchuk, EMC News
For more than 35 years, savvy shoppers have been snapping up unusual items shipped from around the world at Ten Thousand Villages stores and lining up to select special items at their festival sales.
This weekend offers the last opportunity to see what the world has to offer. The festival sale runs Friday, Nov. 25 from 3 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ottawa Mennonite Church, 1830 Kilborn Ave.
But the items and food products found on sale are so much more than eye-catching wall hangings or colorful pillows, unique jewelry and unusual décor items: by purchasing items that are fairly traded through organizations like Ten Thousands Villages, purchasers help develop sustainable economy for artisans around the world, particularly in third world countries.
Fair trade is based on the principle that trade should have a conscience and highlights the need for change in conventional trade, based on a belief that a successful business can put people before profit.
Read more on the EMC News website: Fair trade festival aids developing countries
When We Were Young
[Source: Saw Video press release]
OTTAWA – November 24, 2011 – On Thursday, December 8th, SAW Video will celebrate its 30th anniversary with the screening, When We Were Young: Videos and Stories from the SAW Video Youth Program
Launched in 1997 and consisting of 6 editions until 2006, SAW Video’s full-time video training program for youth aged 18-30 was highly successful and stands as a model for such programs across the country. During its time at SAW Video, the youth program fostered a whole new generation of videomakers who transformed the face of the centre. Former youth program participants include Bear Thomas, a rising star in Canada’s art scene, Ryan Stec, new media artist and Artistic Director of Artengine, as well as past and present SAW Video staff and board members Ariel Smith, Linda Norstrom, Ashleigh Horricks, Kerry Campbell, and Maria Belisario who are just 7 of the more than 85 participants who took part in the program.
Funded by the Government of Canada, the program offered full-time training to underemployed youth and youth-at-risk for nearly a decade. According to SAW Video Director, Penny McCann: “As part of our 30th anniversary, we wanted to celebrate a program that truly transformed lives. The purpose of the program was to build skills in digital media, what it really did was open up a whole new world for the youth who participated.” Many of the participants still work in the field in Canada and internationally. Some have gone to the Canadian Film Centre and the Berlin International Film Festival Talent Lab, while others are now working for film festivals, galleries and broadcasters, including CBC, TVO, the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and CPAC.
Join us for a reunion of these talented individuals and a special screening of some of the fantastic work made through the program, curated by SAW Video Youth Program alumni Jason St-Laurent & Anne Clarke.
Screening details:
When We Were Young: Videos and Stories from the SAW Video Youth program
Thursday, December 8th
Arts Court Theatre & Studio, 2 Daly Avenue
Screening 8pm
Free admission
Event sponsors: Sparrow Floral Design, Kichisippi Beer
Seventh Annual Research Forum In Gatineau Park
[NCC press release]
The Friends of Gatineau Park, in collaboration with the National Capital Commission (NCC), will be hosting the seventh annual research forum on Saturday, November 19, 2011, from 9:30 am to 3 pm at the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre, located at 33 Scott Road in Chelsea. This is a great opportunity to attend a variety of free presentations in French and English on research conducted in Gatineau Park.
The Friends of Gatineau Park support research, through the granting of bursaries to young researchers. This year’s recipients will present the results of their work.
- Isabelle Lavoie, a post-doctoral researcher from the Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre of the INRS (Institut national de la recherche scientifique), will present an assessment of water quality in the Park, including her methods of assessment.
- Jean Faubert of FloraQuebeca will be giving a talk on the bryophytes of the Eardley Escarpment.
- Researchers from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, as well as Park biologists, will talk about the Park’s watersheds, forest growth and disturbances, the importance of ecological corridors, and the results of a study on visitor use.
Admission is free, but participants are encouraged to make a donation in support of research. Lunch will be provided. Advance registration is required, as space is limit.
Research grants are funded through the sale of raffle tickets. Prizes this year — a kayak, a tent with accessories and a bicycle — were donated by Paddle Shack, Camp de base and Vélo des Ronds-Points. Tickets are available at the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre or through the Friends of Gatineau Park. The draw will be held on the day of the forum (November 19, 2011).
Research results provide a tool to support decision making in the management of Gatineau Park, as well as a source of valuable information for the interpretation and educational programs hosted by the Friends of Gatineau Park.
For more information or to register, contact the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre at 819-827-2020 or visit the Friends of Gatineau Park website friendsofgatineaupark.ca.
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SeptiÈme FORUM annuel de la recherche au parc de la Gatineau
Les Amis du parc de la Gatineau, en collaboration avec la Commission de la capitale nationale (CCN), tiendront leur septième forum annuel de la recherche le samedi 19 novembre 2011, de 9 h 30 à 15 h, au Centre des visiteurs du parc de la Gatineau, situé au 33, chemin Scott, à Chelsea. C’est l’occasion d’assister gratuitement à des présentations en français ou en anglais sur des recherches faites au parc de la Gatineau.
Les Amis du parc de la Gatineau offrent des bourses à de jeunes chercheurs dans le but d’appuyer la recherche au Parc. Les récipiendaires de cette année présenteront les résultats de leurs travaux.
- Madame Isabelle Lavoie, chercheuse postdoctorale au Centre Eau Terre Environnement de l’Institut national de la recherche scientifique, présentera une évaluation de la qualité des eaux du Parc et la méthode employée pour obtenir ces résultats.
- Monsieur Jean Faubert de Flora Quebeca nous fera découvrir des mousses et des hépatiques de l’escarpement d’Eardley.
- Des chercheurs de l’Université Carleton et de l’Université d’Ottawa ainsi que des biologistes du parc de la Gatineau parleront des bassins hydrographiques du Parc, de la croissance et des perturbations des forêts, de l’importance des corridors écologiques et des résultats d’une étude sur les visiteurs du Parc.
L’entrée est gratuite. Les participants seront toutefois invités à faire un don qui servira à appuyer la recherche. Un dîner sera servi. Les places sont limitées; il faut donc s’inscrire à l’avance.
Les bourses de recherche sont financées par la vente de billets de tirage. Les prix de cette année — un kayak, une tente et ses accessoires et un vélo — sont offerts par Paddle Shack, Camp de base et Vélo des Ronds-Points. On peut acheter des billets au Centre des visiteurs, à Chelsea, ou auprès des Amis du parc de la Gatineau. Le tirage aura lieu le jour du forum, le 19 novembre 2011.
Les résultats de recherche sont à la fois un outil d’aide à la prise de décisions de gestion du parc de la Gatineau et une source inestimable d’information servant à alimenter les programmes d’interprétation et d’éducation qu’offrent les Amis du parc de la Gatineau.
Pour plus de renseignements ou pour s’inscrire, on communique avec le Centre des visiteurs du parc de la Gatineau, au 819-827-2020, ou avec les Amis du parc de la Gatineau, au amisduparcdelagatineau.ca.
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