The BreakFest Blog
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
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?
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.”
John Baird advises Ottawa to look beyond public service
Mohammed Ahmed, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — The future of Ottawa as a great capital lies in not just being a government town, but also in diversifying its economy to ensure future prosperity, says Foreign Minister John Baird.
Baird said Ottawa is blessed with a vibrant public sector that has fuelled economic growth, but the biggest challenge facing the city as it looks forward to the future is how to build on the prosperity that has anchored the city’s much-vaunted quality of life.
“The biggest thing for the future of the capital, how we make it a world-class capital, and how we continue to enjoy our pretty quality of life, is how we ensure we are prosperous and attract the jobs of the future,” Baird said in an interview at the grand opening of Algonquin College’s new trades building on Friday.
“The No. 1 issue for me is: how can we diversify our economy, jobs, economic growth. That’s the issue facing every city in the country and I don’t think it is any different here in Ottawa.”
Hub Ottawa joins global trend for meeting of minds
Carolyn Thompson, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — The floor is rough concrete. Fluorescent lights and large metal tubes drape from the ceiling. The walls are painted in bright red and yellow, littered with post-its and hand-written signs. A few tables are scattered through the space, and a mish-mash of chairs surround a computer projecting onto the wall.
Right now, its an open, industrial space on the 6th floor of a building at 71 Bank St. But by next February, this will be the newly designed home of Hub Ottawa.
It’s part of a global chain of Hubs — places where people interested in social innovation can come to work, share ideas, and network. And this weekend was the first time that Hub Ottawa was open to the public.
“We’re in the business of catalyzing ideas for a better community,” says Vinod Rajasekaran, the managing director for Hub Ottawa. Rajasekaran was studying in Bristol, England, when he first discovered the Hub there. He was so impressed with the place that he decided to open one in Ottawa once he returned to Canada
Read more on the Ottawa Citizen website: Hub Ottawa joins global trend for meeting of minds
Funding cut to Canada Day jazz programming
Joe Lofaro, Metro Ottawa
Organizers of the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival are looking for new sponsors for their 2012 Canada Day programming after the National Capital Commission (NCC) said it’s pulling its funding.
Funding from a second sponsor, Galaxie, is also up in the air according to the festival’s executive producer, Catherine O’Grady.
The NCC has partnered with the festival since 2005 to provide funding so that it could offer free jazz programming and a Jazz Youth Summit on Canada Day.
Last year, the NCC gave the festival $45,000 and $60,000 the year before. Next year, all funding will be withdrawn.
Read more on the Metro Ottawa website: Funding cut to Canada Day jazz programming
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
Convention centre top new business of 2011
Scott Taylor, Ottawa Sun
Dubbed “Canada’s Meeting Place” when it opened in April, the Ottawa Convention Centre lived up to the hype with brisk business and positive word of mouth.
On Thursday, it was honoured as New Business of the Year by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC).
A release from the TIAC stated the reasons for the award:
“The facility, an iconic addition to Ottawa’s tourism infrastructure, opened on time and on budget on April 12, 2011 to launch a new and unprecedented era in the meetings and conventions sector in Canada’s Capital, with triple the space of the former Ottawa Congress Centre.”
The project took three years and about $160 million to complete.
It’s estimated it will bring $82 million in tourism and hospitality revenue each year into the city.
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
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