The BreakFest Blog
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
Big Beat: EBA studio tour shows off everything from a wall of waxed bricks to plastic-bag dresses
Peter Simpson, The Ottawa Citizen
Enriched Bread Artists open house
When: Oct. 21-23, Oct. 28-30 (6 to 9 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays). Vernissage: 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 20
Where: EBA studios, 951 Gladstone Ave.
More: See more photos and a video tour of the EBA open house at www.ottawacitizen.com/bigbeat
OTTAWA — Was the terrible wind of July 17 — the same one that ravaged Bluesfest — being creative when it got over to Gladstone Avenue?
Was it making an artistic statement when it blew the roof off the building that houses the studios of Enriched Bread Artists? Something about deconstruction, perhaps, or was it just an attempt at irony? The wind did blow bricks off the roof of the one-time bakery and onto a woodworking shop trailer below, so it was brick-crushes-wood, like a cosmic game of rock-paper-scissors.
Sometimes you just don’t know why the bricks start to fly, but that’s not the case inside the re-roofed EBA studios, where at least one artist is making bricks of another sort: wax.
And a Nuit Blanche for Ottawa is born . . .
Peter Simpson, The Ottawa Citizen
The truest thing said at La Nouvelle Scene on Tuesday night was this: “Ottawa deserves a Nuit Blanche.”
And it does. Ottawa is all grown up now when it comes to visual arts, not as grown up as New York City or Paris or Florence, admittedly, but grown up nonetheless. It has a base of national institutions – the National Gallery, the Museum of Civilization, the War Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery (ha! Just kidding, Stephen Harper, go back to your cutting).
Ottawa has a determined if ill-housed city art gallery, and – this perhaps most significant – it now has at least three clearly defined art districts, those cluster of smaller, private galleries that have popped up organically wherever the growing conditions are best; the Byward Market, Wellington-Westboro, and Bank Street in Centretown.
Ottawa also has established, annual events that draw attention to visual arts of various types, most notably Festival X, the photography biennial. There are smaller events, such as Chinatown Remixed, the weekend of art installations in that neighbourhood, or the monthly “First Thursdays” gallery hop in Wellington West, or the formerly named Art in the Park in the Glebe (a neighbourhood that, despite all its affluence and education, has seen all of its art galleries/shops close in the past two years).
Read more on the Ottawa Citizen website: And a Nuit Blanche for Ottawa is born…
Dining from Noir to Blanc
After huge success of Harvest Noir, Diner en Blanc organizers announce they’re bringing phenomenon here
The announcement from Diner en Blanc came close on the heels of a similar successful Harvest Noir Oct. 15 where 750 participants converged with only four hours’ notice outside the Canadian Museum of Civilization for an elegant picnic and dance that continued well into the evening. The turnout and the enthusiasm of participants far exceeded expectations, and the event is likely to reverberate through staid Ottawa’s social scene.
Diner en Blanc publicist Geneviève Blouin said there is no intention by the Quebec based group to undermine the locally organized Harvest Noir.
“The official Diner en Blanc is going to be announced in the new year,” Blouin said in a telephone interview from Montreal.
“Harvest Noir is sort of a counter-event. There’s no harm in them doing it. There’s no issue and it’s not like rivalry or anything like that. Diner en Blanc is Diner en Blanc.”
Five Ottawa-area activities added to Signature Experiences Collection
OttawaStart
The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) has named five Ottawa Tourism member organizations to the prestigious Signature Experiences Collection:
- Stimulating the Senses! – National Gallery of Canada
- Aboriginal Voyageur – Aboriginal Experiences
- Exploring Canada’s flavours in a unique culinary destination – Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa
- Lost Ships of the 1000 Islands Cruise – Gananoque Boat Line Ltd.
- The Grand Hall Tour – Canadian Museum of Civilization
The Signature Experiences Collection currently lists 115 activities that are authentic, that represent Canada’s nature, people and/or culture and that are immersive and engage a variety of senses. The Collection is used by the CTC to promote travel to Canada from its key foreign markets, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, the United States, Mexico, Brazil and India. The next round of applications will begin November 15 and end December 15, 2011.
Read more on the OttawaStart website: Five Ottawa-area activities added to Signature Experience Collection
Zombie Epidemic Hits Ottawa
OttawaStart
One of Ottawa’s most anticipated events of the season is upon us. On October 22nd, 2011 dress up in your most ghoulish garb and come join the hordes of undead as they take to the streets for the 6th Annual Ottawa Zombiewalk.
An epidemic of undead will rise in MacDonald Gardens Park, home of four former cemeteries starting at 1:30pm. Zombies will gather to collect non-perishable goods for the Ottawa Food Bank (if they’re going to come after your brains they want them to be well nourished!). Zombies will be able to take Coffin Rides courtesy of RUNAMOK Party Rentals and get their pictures taken with Flynnphoto. At 3:00pm the undead will hit the streets in search of brains and will ultimately end their search by swarming Parliament Hill before returning to their graves (or local pub).
Read more on the OttawaStart website: Zombie Epidemic Hits Ottawa
Harvest Noir brings out ‘700 daring people in Ottawa’
Ron Eade, The Ottawa Citizen
Buoyed by their success Saturday, organizers of the capital region’s first Harvest Noir flash picnic say they’ll be back again next year with a bigger and more ambitious bash than ever – and a little earlier in the season, when the weather will likely be more hospitable.
“We actually planned this in only two months, so the turnout is pretty amazing,” said Samantha Biron, who organized the event at the Canadian Museum of Civilization with her partner, Greg Searle, after they stumbled across a similar Dîner en Blanc popup picnic at Place du Canada in Montreal in August, which attracted 3,200 revellers.
“We’re definitely pleasant-ly surprised,” she said, noting they originally hoped for 400 eager participants when, in fact, more than 700 turned out despite weather forecasts threatening cold, wind and rain.
Mercifully, all but a few occasional rain spits and gusts of wind held off for the twohour picnic.
“It’s really magic,” Searle said.
“I didn’t know there were 700 daring people in Ottawa. Hopefully we’ll have double that number next year, but we’ll do it a bit earlier. Next year I’d push it to maybe Sept. 30 when it’s a little warmer, yet still harvest season. But it’s amazing to see in five weeks how much of this came together.”
Nuit Blanche meeting set for Tuesday
The Ottawa Citizen
The campaign to launch a Nuit Blanche in Ottawa is gathering steam again. There’s a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, at La Nouvelle Scène, 333 King Edward Ave., to discuss the launch of the onenight, city-wide festivals of contemporary art that are held in Toronto, Paris and many other cities. The meeting is organized by BRAVO-est, an arts group in Eastern Ontario. Material sent to people invited to the meeting says that Nuit Blanche will debut in Ottawa on Sept. 22, 2012. Organizers say Club SAW in Arts Court and the Gordon Harrison Gallery on Sussex Drive have already signed on.
Ottawa Tourism and partners win again at provincial marketing summit
OttawaStart
Ottawa Tourism and the National Capital Commission were victorious in two categories at the Ontario Tourism Awards gala held at the Hamilton Convention Centre on October 4. Ottawa Tourism accepted the award for Best Tourism Advertising and the National Capital Commission accepted the Tourism Innovator of the Year Award for their popular Mosaika Sound and Light Show.
“It is extremely gratifying to have the work of our Ottawa Tourism team and that of our agency of record, Mediaplus Advertising, recognized by the province in front of our peers,” says Noel Buckley, President and CEO of Ottawa Tourism. “Similarly, the accolades for Mosaika—a spectacular summer attraction in Canada’s capital that we heavily promote—are well-deserved.”
This is not the first success for Ottawa Tourism with these awards. In 2008 and 2010, they took home the gold award in the Best Tourism Advertising category, and silver in the same category in both 2006 and 2007. In 2009, they were a finalist for Best Interactive Marketing. In 2010, Savour Ottawa won the Culinary Tourism Leadership Award, and was a finalist in 2009, the category’s inaugural year.
Read more on the OttawaStart website: Ottawa Tourism and partners win again at provincial marketing summit
Ottawa Children’s Festival Calling All Artists
OttawaStart
CALLING ALL ARTISTS – Request for submissions and expressions of interest
Artists of every discipline – visual, media, multi-media, theatre, music, dance, and literary: you are all invited……..
The Children’s Climate Change Project (Year 2)
After a very successful launch year, the Children’s Climate Change Project will tackle a new and ambitious project in 2012 – focusing on Year 2 of “Forests of the Future” project as well as exploring a new theme: water. The Festival is inviting all artists in the region to think about getting involved in this innovative arts and education undertaking.
Produced by the Ottawa International Children’s Festival, the Children’s Climate Change Project is a mixed media art installation created by professional artists and students in schools across Ottawa. The exhibition will be installed at the Festival which runs from May 30 to June 3, 2012 at Lebreton Flats Park. In 2011 the exhibition was also erected in Ottawa City Hall for two weeks following the festival.
Read more on the OttawaStart website: Ottawa Children’s Festival Calling All Artists
Designers prove nation’s capital does have style
Julie Breun, The Ottawa Citizen
It took 80 bottles of champagne, five glittering parties, 85 models, 21 designers and countless pairs of skyscraper stilettos to get the job done. But in the end, Ottawa’s dented pride at being labelled the eighth worst-dressed city in the world and the least sexiest in Canada was knocked back into shape by Ottawa Fashion Week’s dazzling spring-summer 2012 show.
From the booty-shaking rhythms of soca music that set the tone for Kania’s flirty bamboo jersey frocks (complete with outrageous Carnivale-style headdresses) to the stunning two-part bridal-and-gala dress show by McCaffrey Haute Couture, style — real, chest-out, shoulders-back style — was in evidence.
Starting Thursday evening with sedate, fitted dresses from Birds of North America and fresh new swimwear designer Amber Watkins, the Ottawa Convention Centre show was the best-run and most diverse that Rashid Hussein and his team have put together in five years.
“It’s now gone to the next level, and that’s a big part of why I’m involved,” said Ottawa’s David McCaffrey, who notes that, until now, his internationally recognized bridal couture has shown only in fashion centres like New York.
- All Blog Posts /
Tous les Postes - The Festival Industry /
L’industrie des Festivals - Ottawa Festivals and Events /
Les festivals et événements - Ottawa News and Views /
Actualités et Nouvelles d’Ottawa - Community Issues /
Communauté - Travel and Tourism /
Tourisme et Voyage - Interesting Stuff /
Quelques faits intéressants
- 3 February:
- 17 February:
- 8 March:
- 28 March:
