Festival Updates and News
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
The National Storytellers Organization is Calling for Volunteers
The National Storytellers organization: Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada, SC-CC is having a meeting of its Board here in Ottawa October 2 to 4, 2009. Over the weekend the national organization will create a strategic plan for the next 3-5 years.
There will be a concert, Friday October 2, 7:30 pm of the storytellers involved:
Dale Jarvis NFLD, Cindy Campbell NS, Mariella Bertelli ON, Pearl-Ann Gooding AB, Moira Cameron NWT, and Mary Gavan, BC
We are looking for a help from Ottawa Storyteller volunteers.
Volunteer tasks:
- Drivers to meet guest storytellers at the airport and transport them to Concert Venue or Ruth’s Friday afternoon/evening and on Sunday to take people back to airport.
- Billets to house, feed breakfast Saturday and Sunday, and transport to a central meeting location (for about 8:30 am)
- Refreshments baked for the concert Oct 2, 2009
- Ticket takers, refreshment preparations (putting out for the break)
- Help publicize the concert; bring your friends to hear outstanding tellers
- Help in the kitchen setting up lunch on the Saturday and Sunday for about an hour (food will be available)
- Drivers to return tellers to the airport Sunday evening
- Although this is not an OST event, storytellers and storytelling organizations across Canada benefit from the work of SC-CC.
If you are interested please contact:
Ruth Stewart-Verger
Outreach Committee, Ottawa Storytellers
Co-president, Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada
613 722 8402
ruth.stewartverger@gmail.ca
INVITATION TO A FUN EVENING WITH OTTAWA STORY TELLERS
Members of the Ottawa StoryTellers are invited to join in an evening of campfire fun at the Billings Estate on Friday, August 21st.
The evening will begin at 7:00 with hotdogs and marshmallows roasted over an open fire. Then some favourite tellers will sing songs and tell stories under the stars (or inside a cosy tent, if it rains). The program will end at 8:30.
Bring something to sit on (chairs or a blanket), a bit of bug spray, and a warm jacket, and be prepared for an unforgettable experience.
Members of OST will be admitted free as thanks for your support of the organization.
The Billings Estate is located at 2100 Cabot Street (613-247-4830), which is near Billings Bridge shopping centre. If you are coming by bus, it is a ten-minute walk from the shopping centre. If you are driving, come along Riverside Drive, turn onto Pleasant Park, then a quick right on Cabot, and go straight down the street to the Billings Estate (free) parking lot. Click on this link for a map: Click Here
If you are not a member but would like to join, you can pay your $20 membership ($30 for families) at the Estate and get this benefit right away. In the fall, you’ll get another membership benefit when OST offers a concert of stories, featuring tellers from across Canada. (Note: attendance at these two event would cost you at least $25, so join now, save $5, and get further benefits and savings throughout the year.)
It would help us prepare for the evening if you could let us know if you are coming and how many will be in your party. Please reply to Joan Anderson at administrator@ottawastorytellers.ca
Many thanks,
Gail Anglin,
Chair, Membership Committee
–
Joan
Joan Anderson
Administrative Coordinator
Ottawa StoryTellers
(613) 322-8336
NCC SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW NOW HALF AN HOUR EARLIER
The National Capital Commission (NCC) wishes to inform the public that, as of tonight, the Sound and Light Show on Parliament Hill, Canada: The Spirit of a Country, will be presented half an hour earlier. Until September 13, this free, bilingual show is offered twice nightly, 7 days a week, at 9 pm and 10 pm.
This is the last chance to see Canada: The Spirit of a Country. The current edition of the Sound and Light Show comes to a close this year. The show, which debuted in 2005, has now been seen by over one million spectators. A new show is under development and scheduled to premiere next summer.
Canada: The Spirit of a Country is a 30-minute multi-media production with original music, giant images and spectacular lighting effects which transports the audience from coast to coast to coast through a unique experience of the story of our nation. The majestic landmark setting of Parliament Hill serves as a backdrop for the show as the Parliament Buildings become bathed in lights and images.
Show times:
August 10 to September 13 — Nightly at 9 pm and 10 pm
For more information on the Sound and Light Show on Parliament Hill, the public can contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 1-800-465-1867 (toll-free), 613-239-5090 (TTY) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY), visit the NCC’s website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca/soundandlight, or stop by the Capital Infocentre, located at 90 Wellington Street (across from Parliament Hill).
LE SPECTACLE SON ET LUMIÈRE DE LA CCN
Région de la capitale du Canada ¾ La Commission de la capitale nationale (CCN) souhaite informer le public qu’à partir de ce soir, le spectacle son et lumière sur la colline du Parlement, Canada…l’esprit d’un pays, sera présenté une demi-heure plus tôt. Jusqu’au 13 septembre, ce spectacle bilingue et gratuit est offert 7 jours par semaine, à raison de deux représentations par soir, à 21 h et 22 h.
Ceci est la dernière chance de voir Canada…l’esprit d’un pays. L’édition actuelle du spectacle son et lumière prend fin cette année. Ce spectacle a maintenant été vu par plus d’un million de spectateurs depuis ses débuts en 2005. Un nouveau spectacle est présentement en préparation, avec un lancement prévu pour l’été prochain.
Canada…l’esprit d’un pays est une production multimédia d’une durée de 30 minutes avec de la musique, des images géantes et des effets d’éclairage spectaculaires, transportant les spectateurs d’un bout à l’autre du Canada en leur faisant découvrir l’histoire de notre pays. Le site majestueux de la colline du Parlement devient la toile de fond du spectacle qui plonge les édifices du Parlement dans un tourbillon de lumière et d’images.
Horaire du spectacle :
Du 10 août au 13 septembre, tous les soirs, à 21 h et 22 h
Pour de plus amples renseignements sur le spectacle son et lumière sur la colline du Parlement, les membres du public peuvent communiquer avec la CCN au 613-239-5000, 1-800-465-1867 (sans frais), 613-239-5090 (ATS) ou 1-866-661-3530 (ATS sans frais), consulter le site Web de la CCN au www.capitaleducanada.gc.ca/sonetlumiere, ou encore se rendre à l’Infocentre de la capitale situé au 90, rue Wellington (en face de la colline du Parlement).
Crowd welcomes trio who take over chamber music festival
Steven Mazey | The Ottawa Citizen
There were loud cheers from the crowd at the closing concert of the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival Saturday at the news many had suspected was coming: the musicians of the Toronto-based Gryphon Trio have been named the permanent new artistic programmers of the festival.
The three musicians succeed Ottawa cellist Julian Armour, the popular and much admired founder of the festival, who ran the event for 13 years but resigned in early 2007 over differences with the organization’s board of directors.
As interim directors following Armour’s departure, the Gryphon Trio musicians programmed this year’s festival and last year’s as well, and their programming has generally been praised for staying true to Armour’s vision, with a wide range of music from the traditional classical repertoire to new music, world music and jazz, as well as concerts for young people.
Founded in 1993, the Gryphon Trio was presented regularly at the festival by Armour and has developed a loyal Ottawa following. The three musicians live in Toronto and tour internationally. Borys has commuted extensively for his work in programming the festival.
At Saturday’s concert, Hodgins praised the group’s work in programming the festival for the past two summers.
“None of this happens without a sense of extraordinary vision and creative programming. At the heart of it, that’s what we’re all about. You’ve had 16 years to get to know the Gryphon Trio as the wonderful Canadian ensemble that it is. The capacity audience we had at their concert this past Wednesday night and a number of standing ovations demonstrates how much they are loved here in Ottawa,” he said, adding “they have brought us two fantastic festivals as interim programmers.”
For the full article visit The Ottawa Citizen
Wallace and Gromit, Pixar, U2, and Coraline lead star-studded lineup at Ottawa International Animation Festival
From October 14-18, 2009, hundreds of international animators will descend on Canada’s capital with one goal in mind: capturing one of the prizes up for grabs at this year’s Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF).From the record-breaking 2185 entries received, 98 films representing 20 countries have been chosen for Official Competition. An additional 58 films will be shown in out-of-competition Showcase screenings. This year’s film selection is comprised of film, video, and digital animations from Germany, France, Russia, Australia, South Korea, the U.K., Israel, Sweden, the U.S.A, Italy, Brazil, Japan, and Canada.
Among the many highlights of this year’s OIAF competition: Henry Selick, the director of the stop-motion classic The Nightmare Before Christmas is back with Coraline, a dark gem about a little girl who discovers a too-good-to-be-true world behind a secret door; twice Oscar-nominated Cordell Barker, who brought us The Cat Came Back, is once again at his best with Runaway; four-time Academy Award winning director, Nick Park shows his latest Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death; and U2’s latest music video for “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”, directed by David O’Reilly. Pixar Animation Studios is also on hand with a special screening of their new short film, Partly Cloudy, directed by Peter Sohn.
The OIAF competition includes categories for feature, narrative, experimental and student films; TV shows, commercials, music video. There is also a separate competition for films and TV shows made for children. Prizes will be awarded to category winners and a Grand Prize will be awarded to the winner of each competition (Short Film, Feature Film, Student, and Commissioned).
“One of the categories I’m really excited about is the Animated Feature category”, says Artistic Director Chris Robinson. “This is, by far, the strongest feature competition we’ve had to date. Normally we take a maximum of five films to compete in this category but this year it was too difficult to narrow it down, so we increased the competition to seven films.”
Included in the Animated Feature line up along with Henry Selick’s Coraline are: Adam Elliot’s Mary and Max, the story of a 20 year long pen-friendship between an unlikely pair; Life Without Gabriella Ferri, a dramatic love story of a couple living in a world full of challenges; My Dog Tulip by Paul Fierlinger and Sandra Fierlinger is a bittersweet account of the relationship between a man and his beloved dog; Neil Burns’ bizarre animated feature Edison & Leo; Australia’s Tatia Rosenthal’s $9.99, featuring the voices of Geoffrey Rush and Anthony Lapaglia; and the family-friendly magical adventure Mai Mai Miracle directed by Sunao Katabuchi.
A complete listing of all the film selections can be found at www.animationfestival.ca
About OIAF
The Ottawa International Animation Festival is one of the world’s leading animation events, providing first-class screenings, exhibits, workshops and entertainment since 1976. The annual five-day event brings art, industry and inspiration together in a vibrant hub that attracts artists, production executives, students and animation fans from across Canada and around the world. 2008 total attendance was over 25,000. OIAF 09 will be held October 14-18, 2009 in Ottawa. For more information and to experience OIAF online, please visit www.animationfestival.ca.
August StoryTelling Events
Stories & Tea Series | TUESDAY, August 11
7:00 pm to 8:45pm – The Tea Party, 119 York St.
Stories & Tea Series – “Stories of Science-Fiction and Fantasy”
Robert Collins and Marie Bilodueau
Presented by Ottawa Storytellers and The Tea Party
Stories & Tea Series | TUESDAY, August 25
7:00 pm to 8:45pm – The Tea Party, 119 York St.
Stories & Tea Series – “Stories for the Young at Heart”
Sheryl-Elaine Brazeau and Aileen Mani
For more information about the Tea Series call 613-731-1047 or visit www.ottawastorytellers.ca
Story Swap | THURSDAY, August 6,
7:00 – 9:30pm – Library and Archives
The next “Story Swap”
Bonfire Stories | FRIDAY’S in AUGUST
7:00 – 9:00 p.m. – Billings Estate National Historic Site, 2100 Cabot St
“Bonfire Stories” every Friday evening
An interactive evening of stories designed for families:
- historical stories of the Billings family;
- stories of old Bytown/Ottawa and area;
- stories that have a national focus with a local tie-in, such as the Great Depression, women’s suffrage,
the lumber business, etc.
Cost: $10, includes roasting stick, marshmallows, and wieners
The Ottawa Folk Festival in Full Bloom
“Dig Your Roots” is the 2009 slogan for the Ottawa Folk Festival, to be held August 21 to 23 at Britannia Park. This slogan refers not only to the music at the Festival, but also to the fact that this year’s Festival will have a major Gardening theme. Under the skilled guidance of long-time Ottawa Folk Festival performer Ana Miura, the Festival will offer a rich array of garden-related activities, discussions and musically-themed events throughout the weekend.Many of the gardening activities will take place in the Festival’s new Gardening Village. This area will include the Garden Stage offering a range of seminars and discussions, the Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton Advice Tent where attendees can chat with gardening pros, and several large-scale participatory projects, including a Patchwork Garden and a Zen Garden. The Gardening Village will also offer a range of planting activities and garden-themed crafts for children, with opportunities to decorate flower pots and plant seeds to take home. As well, children will be invited to colour in one of Meredith Luce’s beautiful drawings of native flora and fauna. These pages will then be displayed as part of a 200-square foot “Paper Garden” in the Dance Tent.
The Garden Stage will host fascinating discussions and workshops with facilitation from CBC’s Ed Lawrence, the Ottawa Japanese Cultural Centre (OJCC), the Worm Factory, USC Canada and many others. Ed Lawrence, CBC Radio’s renowned horticultural expert and best-selling author, will host discussions on how to garden without pesticides, and will participate in book-signing sessions on both Saturday and Sunday. The OJCC will host a Kimono demonstration and a Japanese tea ceremony, courtesy of Camellia Teas of Ottawa. As well, the OJCC will run workshops on making origami flowers, and Rebecca Cragg will host a demonstration of Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging.
The Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton will be on hand to provide free gardening advice to all attendees on both Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm. They will also have a selection of hands-on activities for children, such as propagating geraniums from cuttings; saving and re-planting radish seeds; and starting a peanut bush from seed. Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton (MGOC) draws on information and resources from over 800 Master Gardeners around the province, and many more world-wide. Gardening experts provide volunteer time to assist home gardeners through help lines, advice clinics, lectures and articles. According to MGOC member Rebecca Last, “The Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton are thrilled to be part of the Ottawa Folk Festival’s gardening theme this year. We are a group of trained volunteers who provide unbiased horticultural advice and expertise to home gardeners.”
Of course, there will be several types of gardens on display at the Folk Festival. For the Patchwork Garden project, volunteers built 30 wooden planters and distributed them in advance to a variety of community groups and artists prior to the Festival. Recipients were asked to plant a mini-garden inspired by the Festival’s “Dig Your Roots” theme. In this way, the “patches” will reflect the diversity to be found in our community, and will celebrate that diversity in the form of a “patchwork quilt” of planters. Rebecca Cragg will create a Zen Garden to provide a tranquil place for Festival attendees to take a break.
City Repair Ottawa will host a workshop teaching attendees about building with cob, a traditional building material consisting of clay, sand, straw, water and earth. Participants can learn the basics and then get their hands (and feet!) dirty by helping to create a doll-sized house. Cob can be used for buildings, outdoor installations such as benches and bake-ovens, and art objects like sculptures and murals. Cob is fireproof, inexpensive, bio-degradable, and resistant to seismic activity.
The Ottawa Folk Festival would like to thank all the community partners that made the Gardening Village possible. A special thanks goes out to Ed Lawrence, Arbour Environmental Shoppe, USC Canada, Master Gardeners of Ottawa Carleton, The Worm Factory, City Repair Ottawa, Ottawa Japanese Cultural Centre, Just Food, Ottawa Green Roofs, Canadian Organic Growers and Camellia Teas of Ottawa.
Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival option available for Ottawa’s “Girlfriends Getaway”
Let’s face it – girls just want to have fun. And once in a while they need an escape from the guys but not from fun and excitement. Ottawa Tourism is serving up an eclectic menu of Girlfriends Getaway packages where the emphasis is on fun, arts, culture, shopping, and spas all at a very affordable price-from only $138 CAD per person for a two-night stay (based on double occupancy).
The basic Girlfriends Getaway package to Ottawa includes two nights’ accommodation for two people (additional guests can be added on for an extra charge) and a certificate for the Rideau Centre Savings Directory filled with many coupons to satisfy any shopaholic.
And those who purchase a package between September 1 and October 9, 2009 will also receive a complimentary copy of a new magazine-The Best Places to Go Shopping-published by Ottawa Magazine.
And to increase the fun, guests on a Girlfriends Getaway can choose to add on a number of optional activities, including visiting the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Canadian War Museum, Canada Aviation Museum, and/or National Gallery of Canada, sitting back on the scenic Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train, catching a concert at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival (on until August 9, 2009), being pampered thanks to a $50 Holtz Spa Gift Card; or enjoying a performance of the blockbuster hit The Drowsy Chaperone at the National Arts Centre (October 14-31, 2009).
Given Ottawa’s abundance of attractions, the Girlfriends Getaway package provides a compelling reason to plan a weekend visit so gather up the girls and start having fun in Canada’s Capital Region. Guests who book accommodations at a participating hotel for a (consecutive) Friday and Saturday two-night stay have the option to reserve a third night at 50% off the listed room rate. The Girlfriends Getaway two-night package starts at $138 CAD per person based on double occupancy.
Those wanting information, tickets and lodging reservations for the Girlfriends Getaway can visit www.ottawatourism.ca, a powerful website operated by Ottawa Tourism. Visitors can also book by phone at
Ottawa’s annual Chamberfest has shrunk in size, but expanded in scope
COLIN EATOCK, Globe and Mail
Time was when the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival – or “Chamberfest” – boasted it was the largest such event in the world. It grew every year after its founding in 1994, peaking last year with 127 concerts, densely packed into a two-week period.
But this summer, the festival, which opened on Saturday night, is smaller by 34 performances. In part this is a response to tough economic times, but it’s also because of a shift in philosophy.
“The numbers don’t matter,” insists Glenn Hodgins, who is in his second year as the festival’s executive director. “We’re trying to get away from the ‘biggest’ as a benchmark. Let’s be the best.”
Full review on the Globe and Mail website: Ottawa’s annual Chamberfest
Canadian Music Icon Bruce Cockburn Returns Home
The Ottawa Folk Festival will be bringing home a local music icon whose music will make this year’s Festival (August 21 to 23) an unforgettable experience. Bruce Cockburn, whom some consider the ‘world’s finest solo performer’, will showcase his extraordinary talent on the Saturday evening Main Stage for what is certain to be a show of a lifetime. The Ottawa native is one of the most decorated Canadian musicians of all time, with a career that not only consists of 30 albums, 20 gold and platinum records, and 11 Juno Awards, but also includes an induction to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and recognition as an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Performing solo to the Britannia Park audience on Saturday evening will provide Cockburn with the perfect format to allow his incomparable musicianship and guitar prowess to shine through, and will treat listeners to his amazing catalogue of songs which have received over 250 cover versions from artists such as Jimmy Buffet, The Barenaked Ladies, Anne Murray, Ani DiFranco and the late Jerry Garcia.
In March 2009, Cockburn released his first-ever live solo album, a double CD entitled Slice of Life. The album was recorded last spring while Cockburn toured the northeastern United States with one stop in Quebec. It showcases his finest songs and some of his most astounding guitar work. The album also includes one new song, ‘City is Hungry’, three tracks recorded at sound checks on the tour, and some between-song banter that shows Cockburn to be both a quick wit and engaging storyteller.
The Ottawa Folk Festival takes place at Britannia Park from August 21 to August 23, 2009 and features over 50 acts including: Bruce Cockburn, Steven Page, The Sadies, Amy Millan, Joel Plaskett, and Kinnie Starr. Some of the major themes at this year’s Festival include Gardening, Sound Healing, Instrument Building, Cross-Cultural Interaction, and Audience Participation. The Festival features a Dance Tent, environmental and gardening displays and discussions, “build-your-own-ukulele” workshops, Cajun, Swing and Latin dance lessons, and yoga instruction.
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