The BreakFest Blog
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
The Ottawa International Writers Festival Presents …
Amen: What Prayer Can Mean In A World Beyond Belief with Gretta Vosper
Sunday, April 15th, 2012
7:00pm • Southminster United Church • 15 Aylmer Ave at Bank Street
Join Gretta Vosper, founder of the Canadian Centre for Progressive Christianity, bestselling author of With or Without God and pastor of West Hill United Church in Toronto, for a compelling look at the place of prayer in the modern world.
New Perspectives on the Middle East
Hosted by The Ottawa Citizen’s Kate Heartfield
Sunday, April 22nd, 2012
3:00pm • Mayfair Theare • 1074 Bank St.
Join us for an afternoon of events featuring two of the Middle East’s most acclaimed writers whose works offer unique perspectives on the people, culture and politics of the Middle East.
• 3:00 PM Arab Labor with Sayed Kashua
• 4:30 PM Cairo with Ahdaf Soueif
Read more: The Ottawa International Writers Festival Presents
When Burning Man Went Viral: How A Festival-Turned-Subculture Struggles With Scarcity
Carly Schwartz, San Francisco Editor, The Huffington Post
On a recent Friday afternoon, organizers of Burning Man, the arts festival that pops up in the Nevada desert for a week each summer, sent a message to members of their community.
“For all the frustration, anxiety, stress, and heartache we’ve caused, please accept another humble apology,” it read. “Burning Man is a participatory and collaborative event, and many collaborations are perilously close to falling apart.”
The Burning Man organizers were referring to the outcome of their January ticket lottery for the upcoming Aug. 27-Sept. 3 festival, an effort to address increasing demand after last year’s event sold out for the first time in history. Some 80,000 eager attendees registered for the 30,000 tickets available in the lottery; winners were randomly selected. As a result, many of the people who make up the fabric of the festival, from camp leaders to community organizers to artists and performers, were left stranded.
Read more: When Burning Man Went Viral: How A Festival-Turned-Subculture Struggles With Scarcity
Host Committee Adds Capital Flavour to the 2012 JUNO Awards Celebrations
The 2012 JUNO Host Committee today announced that they will add their “Capital” mark to the festivities during JUNO Week. The Host Committee, comprised of representatives of the Capital’s private and public sectors, is adding to the buzz, and offering activities that showcase the Capital and its musical talent.
“Canada’s Capital Region is a place where we showcase Canadian excellence and achievements for all to enjoy,” said Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer of the National Capital Commission. “This is the second time we’ve had the opportunity to host the best talent from our Canadian music industry, and we’re looking forward to celebrating their accomplishments with a full week of diverse and dynamic activities.”
“The City of Ottawa is proud to welcome music fans and industry professionals from across the country and around the world,” said Mayor Jim Watson. “It’s an honour to host Canada’s incredible music scene for one full week in the nation’s capital, and I want to encourage our residents to participate in the many activities taking place, and wish all of our visitors a fantastic time.”
Post-Budget Breakfast with the Hon. John Baird
[Courtesy of Chamber of Commerce]
Date: 3/30/2012
Time: 7:00 AM TO 9:00 AM
Westin Hotel Ottawa
11 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa
Phone: 613-236-3631
Event Description: It is one of the most anticipated federal budgets in years. With global economic uncertainty, Canada is struggling to balance its budget. And locally, federal public servants are bracing for possible cutbacks.
With this as a backdrop, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ottawa-West Nepean MP, the Hon. John Baird will deliver a post-budget address to Ottawa’s business community.
Join the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and Ottawa Business Journal for this important national and local economic update.
Register: Post-Budget Breakfast with the Hon. John Baird
National Art Gallery’s Curator of Canadian Art to Speak at WIFF Screening of Tom Thomson Film
[Courtesy of Wakefield International Film Festival]
(Wakefield, QC) – WIFF organizers are thrilled to host Charles Hill, curator of Canadian Art at the National Art Gallery for the Sunday, March 25th showing of West Wind: the Vision of Tom Thomson, a film by Canadian filmmakers Michèle Hozer and Peter Raymont. Mr Hill will speak following the screening on Thomson, his life and his position in the stratosphere of Canadian art.
The film traces Thomson’s life from his unlikely background as an Ontario farm boy with little art training to his remarkable achievement as our “greatest colourist” and the “Canadian van Gogh.” His vibrant interpretations of the northern forest and lakes have become iconic of the Canadian landscape. But just as he was reaching ascendency in his art, Thomson paddled across his favourite lake and disappeared – his body was found floating eight days later.
Ottawa Little Theatre hosts Eastern Ontario Drama League Spring Festival 2012 Five community theatre productions from April 10 to 14, plus Awards Brunch on April 15
[Courtesy of Ottawa Little Theatre]
The Ottawa Little Theatre is proud to host the Eastern Ontario Drama League (EODL) 2012 Spring Play Festival from April 10 to 14. The annual festival, which is taking place in Ottawa for the first time since 2004, will feature five full-length productions from community theatres based in Kingston, Picton, Peterborough and Trenton as well as Ottawa. Each play is followed by a short public adjudication given by John P. Kelly in the auditorium followed by a reception in the Ottawa Little Theatre foyer, while Kelly gives the companies a more detailed adjudication in the Rehearsal Hall. This year’s productions range from Domino Theatre’s production of the searing drama A Streetcar Named Desire and Prince Edward Community Theatre’s comic two-hander Educating Rita, to new Canadian plays The Mouse House by Peterborough Theatre Guild, and Pathways by the Bay of Quinte Community Players. Ottawa Little Theatre’s entry, Self Help by Norm Foster, opens the Festival.
German performers at the Ottawa International Children’s Festival
The Ottawa International Children’s Festival was established in 1985 and is an annual celebration of the best in live performing arts for children. This year’s edition will feature the German master puppeteer Matthias Kuchta with Hans My Hedgehog and The Wolf & the Seven Little Goats as well as Theater Mummpitz from Nuremberg with The Terrific Adventures of Brave Joan Woodsword. May 30 – June 3, 2012
Read more: German performers at the Ottawa International Children’s Festival
Penny Plain, NAC Theatre, March 14 – April 1, 2012
Penny Plain, Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes
NAC Theatre, March 14 – April 1, 2012
Running time is approximately 1 hour 40 minutes with no intermission.
Created and performed by Ronnie Burkett
A marionette play for adults only. Ages 14 +
Penny Plain is blind, but she hears plenty about the state of things and the fate of mankind. When her companion dog Geoffrey leaves to live as a man, Penny sits waiting for the world to end. But her vigil is interrupted by survivalists, a serial killer, a cross-dressing banker, talking dogs and mysterious strangers seeking sanctuary. Part gothic thriller, part apocalyptic drawing room comedy, Penny Plain shows the horribly funny consequences of mother earth reclaiming her ground.
“Ronnie Burkett is simply one of the geniuses of world theatre and a Canadian cultural treasure.” Vancouver Province
Read more/buy tickets: Penny Plain, March 14 – April 1, 2012
Ottawa named Canada’s best city to live
[Courtesy of CTV.com]
Ottawa has been deemed the best place to live in Canada for the third consecutive year by MoneySense magazine.
“The city’s residents enjoy high household and discretionary incomes, thanks to the large number of well-paying government jobs, which insulate it from the vagaries of the economy,” according to the article posted online Tuesday.
The capital’s “cultural offerings and family-friendly lifestyle” were main reasons for the city’s top designation.
Ottawa has been deemed the best place to live in Canada for the third consecutive year by MoneySense magazine.
“The city’s residents enjoy high household and discretionary incomes, thanks to the large number of well-paying government jobs, which insulate it from the vagaries of the economy,” according to the article posted online Tuesday.
The capital’s “cultural offerings and family-friendly lifestyle” were main reasons for the city’s top designation.
Read more: Ottawa named Canada’s best city to live
Ottawa hosts the Junos: Getting the teens involved
Event aims to introduce youth to nominees
By Adam Feibel, The Ottawa Citizen
All Ages Juno Affair
When: 6:30 p.m., Friday, March 23
Where: Mansion Nightclub, 400A Dalhousie St.
Admission: $20 at the door
Mansion Nightclub will host a special all-ages party March 23 aimed at getting 14- to 19-year-olds excited about the Junos.
The All Ages Juno Affair will include music by Juno-nominated artists, a Juno promo reel, dance battles and a red carpet with celebrity-style photography. The goal of the event is to supplement the Juno celebrations, with an event that is as universal and accessible as possible, especially to a younger audience. The Junos officially kick off at the National Arts Centre March 28 and end April 1 with the awards show at Scotiabank Place
Read more: Getting the kids involved, Event aims to introduce youth to nominees
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