The BreakFest Blog
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
2012 Bell Capital Cup to Welcome 25,000 Visitors to National Capital Region
The board of directors of the Ottawa International Hockey Festival is pleased to announce that the Bell Capital Cup will return to the nation’s capital on Dec. 28. The 2012 edition of this annual atom and peewee tournament will include 19 divisions, 410 teams and more than 7,000 players. This 13th edition of the event, which runs through Sunday, Jan. 1, will officially kick off on Dec. 27 at the Bell Sensplex with the Bell Capital Cup Fanfest and Esso Friendly Games, which are open to the public.
“On behalf of the organizing committee and our board of directors, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the tournament organizers and volunteers who have been working hard to provide the participants and their families with an unforgettable experience in our nation’s capital,” said tournament chair and Ottawa Senators president Cyril Leeder. “This hockey extravaganza will showcase great minor hockey action, Ottawa Senators games, Sens Skills, a Senators open practice, Pro Hockey Zone skills competitions and the Scotiabank/Canadian Tire all-star games. As always, the highlight of the festival will be the 1,000-plus hours of tournament games played at the Bell Capital Cup.”
The National Capital Region will welcome more than 25,000 visitors to the area for the annual tournament, with a community impact that has seen the festival raise more than $2.26 million in direct support of minor hockey and local charities since its inception in 1999. Widely recognized as the world’s premier atom and peewee hockey tournament, the Bell Capital Cup has consistently generated a wide array of economic activity within the region, which will include the use of nearly 12,000 hotel rooms for this year’s event.
Serving as honorary chair of this year’s tournament is former Senators forward and Kanata native Todd White.
Teams at the 2012 Bell Capital Cup will be vying for the Allen J. MacDonald Memorial Trophy. This year’s field will be comprised of teams from five different countries, including Canada (three provinces and one territory), Finland, Germany, South Korea and the United States (with representation from nine individual states).
The Senators will play two games at Scotiabank Place during the tournament, beginning with a visit by the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, Dec. 27, at 7:30 p.m., followed by a matchup with the Calgary Flames on Friday, Dec. 30, at 7:30 p.m. The tournament will also be highlighted by the fan-friendly Sens Skills competition, presented by Metro, which will take place at Scotiabank Place on Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 1 p.m.
The Bell Capital Cup’s 19 divisions, including two girls groups, will play more than 850 games on 33 ice surfaces across Ottawa, from Stittsville to Navan and points in between. Each division’s championship game will be played at Scotiabank Place over the course of three days, from Friday, Dec. 30, to Sunday, Jan. 1. Scotiabank-Canadian Tire all-star games are slated for Dec. 28 in all divisions, with the Pro Hockey Zone skills competitions taking place on Dec. 29 and 30.
The Ottawa International Hockey Festival is a non-profit organization with the mandate, as set forth by its volunteer board of directors, to support local children’s charities and minor hockey. The Bell Capital Cup provides young athletes with an opportunity to compete against their peers at a high level, meet new friends and develop skills both on and off the ice in a fun yet competitive setting. Money raised from this year’s tournament will once again support minor hockey and local charities. Last year, $259,000 was raised through Bell Capital Cup initiatives, bringing the 12-year total for the festival to more than $2.26 million.
Christmas Trees Light Up the Capital Region’s Official Residences
[Source: NCC press release]
Canada’s Capital Region – Once again this year, the National Capital Commission (NCC) received beautiful natural Canadian trees donated by the Canadian Christmas Tree Growers Association (CCTGA) to adorn the official residences in Canada’s Capital Region during the holiday season.
The NCC installed the trees at all six official residences under its responsibility: Rideau Hall, the historic home and workplace of the governor general of Canada; 24 Sussex Drive, official residence of the prime minister of Canada; Stornoway, official residence of the leader of the Opposition; the Farm at Kingsmere, residence of the speaker of the House of Commons; Harrington Lake, summer residence of the prime minister as well as 7 Rideau Gate, Canada’s official “guest house.”
The trees, ranging from 3 to 3.6 metres (10 to 12 feet) in height, are Canadian-grown Fraser firs from eastern Canada. The Christmas trees were installed and decorated earlier in December, and are a wonderful addition to the official residences’ seasonal decorations.
The NCC is proud of its six year tradition of collaboration with the CCTGA who provides beautiful, natural Canadian trees for the state areas of the official residences this holiday season.
The NCC is the federal crown corporation mandated to manage Canada’s six official residences in the Capital Region. The NCC is responsible for long-term planning and capital works implementation, property management, curatorial and interior design services, grounds maintenance and floral services.
For more information, the public can contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 613-239-5090 (TTY), 1-800-465-1867 (toll-free) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY), or visit the NCC’s website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca/places-to-visit/official-residences.
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
Cue the gondolas for summer fun next year
NCC puts out calls for ideas to ‘animate’ Rideau Canal
Chloé Fedio, Ottawa Citizen
Imagine gondola rides on the Rideau Canal and fire-juggling acrobats in the surrounding green space.
These ideas could become a reality, after the National Capital Commission put out an open call for pilot projects to “animate” the canal as early as June 2012.
The request for submissions is intentionally vague, said Marie Lemay, chief executive officer of the NCC.
“We thought it would be interesting to let the creative minds in the capital region really tell us what type of project would be great to animate,” Lemay said. “We’re testing a different approach on this. Why don’t we let the market tell us where the activities should take place and what kind of activities should take place.”
Proposals must include details on the concept, a financial model and can have a timeline of up to three years. The NCC will not fund projects but will offer use of the canal and its shoreline, from Rideau Street all the way to, but not including, Dow’s Lake.
NCC Launches Request for Expression of Interest for Programming along the Rideau Canal
NCC seeks pilot projects that will enhance the “Capital Experience” on these urban spaces
Canada’s Capital Region ─ The National Capital Commission (NCC) is seeking innovative projects that will animate the shorelines of the Rideau Canal and enhance the “Capital Experience”.
These projects would be implemented as of the summer 2012 by the person or organization that proposes, as a pilot project, to develop or animate the Rideau Canal shorelines. Each selected project will be assessed after the duration of the pilot, which is for a maximum of three years, in order to decide on its future.
“We are hoping that the breadth of this request for expression of interest will result in proposals of creative uses of the Capital’s underutilized urban spaces,” said Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer of the NCC. “These spaces represent an enormous opportunity to contribute to the vibrancy of our region.”
Projects will be evaluated by the NCC in light of their overall contribution to the goals of this request for expression of interest and their feasibility.
The request for expression of interest can be found at www.canadascapital.ca . For more information, the public may contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 1-800-465-1867, 613-239-5090 (TTY) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY).
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?
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