The BreakFest Blog
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
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.
Roll out the sidewalks: Horizon 2067 aims to give Ottawa more pizzazz
Kathryn Blaze Carlson, The National Post
When The New York Times profiled Ottawa in its Travel section four years ago, the newspaper went in with a dig: “Ottawa has always had image problems.”
More than 150 years have passed since Ottawa was chosen over Montreal, Quebec City, Kingston and Toronto as Canada’s capital — at the time the Queen’s representative said it marked an “exile to wilderness.” Today, the city is still challenging its reputation as a sleepy, overly civilized government town. Just this summer, the city’s own tourism office launched an online advertising campaign to assure Canadians and tourists that “we don’t roll up our sidewalks at 5 o’clock.”
Ottawa Tourism’s target audience probably included the creators of Facebook groups such as “Ottawa = Boring,” “Ottawa Sucks” and “Ottawa is the most boringest city on earth,” or the writer who defined Ottawa in the online Urban Dictionary as: “Home of the federal government and a great place if you want a job that doesn’t require you to do any work. Sadly lacking in variety in entertainment, although it is home to a quality NHL team, the Ottawa Senators, as well as the Ottawa 67’s OHL team.”
Read more on the National Post website: Roll out the sidewalks
Great foodie gift idea: tickets to Bon Appetit Ottawa!
Buy your tickets by December 20 and have a chance at a $500 jewellery gift certificate
[Source: Bon Appetit press release]
OTTAWA, December 14, 2010—Tickets to Bon Appetit Ottawa, the best cocktail party of the year, make an excellent holiday gift, and if you buy before December 20, 2011, you’ll have a chance to win a $500 gift certificate from Davidson’s Jewellers.
Tickets are just $75 each (including a $45 tax receipt for the giver) and can be purchased online at www.bonappetitottawa.ca. A ticket entitles the attendee to all food and beverages during the annual Bon Appetit Ottawa event on May 1, 2011. New this year, the event will be held at the soon-to-open CE Centre near the Ottawa International Airport.
The new location for the event comes with several improvements in service, including an indoor waiting area, coat check facilities, modern washroom facilities, fully functioning air conditioning/heating, and improved loading and unloading access for participating businesses.
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.
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