Festival Updates and News
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
Genie Awards: Finding the ‘crazy manic sides’
Larissa Cahute, Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa’s Chris Robinson knew he was partly writing about himself when he penned the script for the Genie-nominated animated short film The Lipsett Diaries, but he didn’t realize how much until a year after he’d finished.
The film tells the tragic tale of 1960s film director Arthur Lipsett, and reveals the so-called method to his madness behind his unique experimental shorts.
During Lipsett’s time with the Nati onal Film Board, he would collect “found footage” from the trash and then connect those tossed clips to tell his desired story. Lipsett’s sporadic style is said to have stemmed from his battle with psychological disorders, from witnessing his mother’s suicide to his own struggle with bipolar disease, which ultimately led to his suicide weeks before his 50th birthday.
Read the full story on the Ottawa Citizen website: Genie Awards: Finding the ‘crazy manic sides’
Ottawa Police Service Celebrates Irish Week
In partnership with the Irish community and the Irish Society National Capital Region, the Ottawa Police Service will celebrate Irish Week by displaying the Irish flag at Ottawa Police headquarters in a ceremony on Thursday. Media is invited to attend.
Date: March 10, 2011
Time: 10 am
Location: 474 Elgin Street
Light refreshments will be served.
The flag will be on display until Thursday, March 17, 2011.
Importance of the Flag and Banner Recognition Program
The flag will be present as part of the Ottawa Police Flag Recognition Program. The program comes out of community requests and input from Interfaith Ottawa and is meant to increase awareness in the Ottawa Police about important secular and non-secular activities in our community. The program also provides opportunities for different communities in Ottawa to show their pride and traditions to our organization and the community at large.
Importance of the Ottawa Irish Festival
The Ottawa Irish Festival is an annual celebration of Irish and Irish-Canadian culture in the National Capital Region.
This week-long event allows residents and visitors to enjoy the very best of all things Irish: music, poetry, history, song, dance, theatre, language, sport and the annual Ottawa St. Patrick’s Parade and Grand Irish Party.
The 2011 Festival will run from March 10 – 17, 2011. For more information about Irish Week, please visit www.irishsocietyncr.com.
For more information about the flag and banner program, please contact Zoye Coburn, Diversity & Race Relations Section, 613-236-1222, Ext. 5011, or email: coburnz@ottawapolice.ca
Additional day and new festival site for Ottawa Folk Festival
More music, more accessibility for Ottawa music fans
Ottawa Folk Festival organizers today announced plans to add a day to the 18th edition of the annual event. There will also be a physical move to a new festival site. This means that the 2011 Ottawa Folk Festival will become a four-day event, running from Thursday, August 25 to Sunday, August 28.
Along with an additional day of programming, the festival will be moved from its past location in Britannia Park to Hog’s Back Park. Some of the many benefits cited for the move include the central location of the site, and the fact that Hog’s Back Park offers more flexibility in terms of space, sightlines, and stage settings.
“The festival is not viable in its current location for a number of reasons, but mainly because of accessibility,” says festival supervisor Mark Monahan. “This relocation is imperative to solidify the festival’s future.”
The plan is intended to meet the needs of the festival’s existing patrons for a central location and to attract and develop new audiences by showcasing one of Ottawa’s more beautiful public parks, adjacent to the stunning Ottawa landmark known as Hog’s Back Falls.
“The additional day of programming is intended to do the same in terms of audience development through more music, more to choose from, and more inclusivity,” says Monahan, while adding that the Folk line-up will be announced on May 25, with tickets going on sale Saturday, May 28. This on-sale date for the general public will be preceded by a special pre-sale for Ottawa Folk Festival insiders. To become an ‘insider’ music fans can simply visit www.ottawafolk.com to sign up.
Runners to take Ottawa’s scenic route
Martin Cleary, Ottawa Citizen
Running a marathon, halfmarathon or 10-kilometre road race is hard enough, but the organizers of the Ottawa Race Weekend will erect another hurdle in the path of their sneaker society members.
When the thousands of runners go to the start line for the races on May 28-29, they should be aware that there will be plenty of temptations and distractions as they head west and run through districts with some of the finest restaurants and shopping in the city.
Jim Robinson, the general manager of the Ottawa Race Weekend, announced Monday major revisions to all three race courses, which will see the runners and walkers pass under the impressive Imperial Arch gateway of Chinatown, and past the appealing cafés of Little Italy and the fashionable shops of the Westboro Village district.
Read more: Runners to take Ottawa’s scenic route
The Ottawa International Animation Festival reveals poster for 2011
The Ottawa International Animation Festival is pleased to reveal the 2011 Festival Poster designed by renowned illustrator and animator Gary Leib.
Gary has won wide praise for his work as an animator and cartoonist, including a 1994 Harvey nomination for his comic book Idiotland. His illustrations and cartoons have appeared in The New Yorker, Musician Magazine, The New York Observer, Raw, Blab and as weekly features in The New York Press for many years. To learn more about the man and his work visit www.garyleib.com.
For more about the OIAF, please visit www.animationfestival.ca
BIXI CAPITALE DÈS LE MOIS DE MAI DANS LA RÉGION DE LA CAPITALE DU CANADA
Région de la capitale du Canada ― BIXI Capitale, le service de vélo en libre-service au cœur de la capitale du Canada, commencera en mai 2011. La Commission de la capitale nationale (CCN) a confirmé que la Société de vélo en libre-service, de Montréal, a été sélectionnée pour l’implantation d’un service permanent de vélo en libre-service dans la région de la capitale du Canada.
« La mise en œuvre d’un service de vélo en libre-service est une étape importante pour encourager les résidents et les visiteurs à adopter un mode de transport plus actif pour leurs déplacements quotidiens dans le cœur de la capitale, a déclaré Marie Lemay, première dirigeante de la CCN. BIXI Capitale contribuera à la création d’une région plus vibrante et dynamique en plus de développer davantage l’expérience du vélo dans la capitale du Canada. »
Capital BIXI starts in May in Canada’s Capital Region
The Bixi bike rental system has been popular in Montreal and Paris. (Corinne Smith/CBC)
Canada’s Capital Region ― Capital BIXI, the bike share service in the core of Canada’s Capital, will start in May 2011. The National Capital Commission (NCC) confirmed that Montreal’s Public Bike System Company service has been selected to implement the permanent bike share service in Canada’s Capital Region.
“The implementation of a bike share service is an important step in encouraging residents and visitors to adopt a more active mode of transportation for their every day trips in the core area of the Capital,” said Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer of the NCC. “Capital BIXI will contribute to creating a more vibrant and liveable region and will further develop the cycling experience in Canada’s Capital Region.”
“We are proud to have been selected by the NCC to implement a BIXI system in Canada’s Capital Region and to be recognized in the country where it was first created,” said Roger Plamondon, Chairman of the Public Bike System Company’s Board of Directors. “BIXI is remarkably successful internationally and after London and Washington, this announcement represents the third significant capital that has chosen our system; a transportation solution that is flexible and ecological.”
End of the 41st skating season on the World’s Largest Skating Rink
Canada’s Capital Region —The National Capital Commission (NCC) regrets to advise the public that the Rideau Canal Skateway is officially closed for the season.
The heavy snowfall of the last few hours and the high temperature, following a yesterday’s day long downpour create risks to the integrity of the ice. Moreover, the weather forecasts for the next week make it unrealistic to expect to rebuild lost ice thickness. The 41st skating season on the Rideau Canal Skateway cannot resume.
The 41st skating season on the world’s largest skating rink started on Saturday, January 8 and lasted 58 days. During that period, hundreds of thousands of people enjoyed 53 days of skating, including a beautiful stretch of 40 consecutive days with near ideal skating conditions on most of the Skateway – a stretch that almost overlapped all of the Winterlude season.
This season will be remembered for the sustained periods of great ice surface conditions. It has also been a longer season than the average (51 days) of the past five years. The last season was much shorter: 2010 only delivered a 44 days season with 36 days of skating.
UNSAFE ICE CONDITIONS — The ice surface of the Skateway can be unpredictable and many hazards cannot be seen by untrained eyes. The NCC urges skaters and pedestrians and the general public to keep personal safety in mind and remain off the Skateway as it is now closed. Respect the red flags, the barricades and the signs installed at access points. NCC staff and contractors will work over the next few days, on the remaining ice surface, to dismantle the equipment and infrastructure necessary for the operations of the Skateway.
Managed by the NCC since the 1970-1971 season, the 7.8-kilometre Rideau Canal Skateway holds the Guinness World Records™ for the “World’s Largest Naturally Frozen Ice Rink”. The world-famous ice surface is equal to more than 90 Olympic sized rinks or 165 621 m2, and is one of the official sites for Canada’s winter celebration, Winterlude.
The NCC would like to thank its official partner American Express® and its official sponsors Sun Life Financial and West Jet for their contribution to this year’s 41st season of skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway. The NCC also thanks for their support with the Rideau Canal Skateway: State Farm, Subway, Pizza Pizza, Pepsi, NRJ, Rock Détente, Majic 100 and Bob FM.
For more information about the Rideau Canal Skateway, please 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/skateway
Canadian Tulip Festival unveils highlights of Festival 2011, announces funding from the Province
The Canadian Tulip Festival unveiled early details for Festival 2011 today. Festival Chairman David Luxton stated that 2011 will feature “a truly beautiful rendition of the 59-year old Festival, one that will breathe fresh air into Ottawa’s top tourism event and allow it to compete against the world’s top festivals in the increasingly competitive international tourism market”.
The Canadian Tulip Festival’s 2011 Program theme is Kaleidoscope – a celebration of the awakening of spring through colour, culture and community. For this 59th edition of the Festival, the National Capital Commission has planted three beds at Major’s Hill Park that are evocative of the 2011 theme, Kaleidoscope.
The release of 2011 Program details coincided with the announcement of important financial support from the Government of Ontario under its “Celebrate Ontario” tourism funding program. The amount of funding directed toward the Canadian Tulip Festival for its 2011 program is $355,000.
Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest Opening Gala
Ottawa, March 3, 2011 – Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest organizers today announced plans for an opening gala at the all-new, state-of-the-art Ottawa Convention Centre. The event will take place Tuesday, April 26 and feature an amazing evening of food and drink, a stellar cast of celebrities, including Ace of Cakes Duff Goldman, and the line-up announcement for the 2011 Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. Musical entertainment will be provided by Canada’s own Maple Blues Revue featuring Chuck Jackson, Dawn Tyler Watson & John Mays. Some of Ottawa’s foremost musicians will also take to the stage. The event will be dedicated to raising funds for the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, the Community Foundation of Ottawa, the Sens Foundation, and Raise-a-Reader charities.
When it opens this April, the Ottawa Convention Centre will be the premier Canadian convention centre and events venue. The location overlooks the UNESCO World Heritage-designated Rideau Canal and is surrounded by Ottawa’s national landmarks, cultural treasures, natural beauty and many amenities. A sweeping, windowed façade will afford panoramic views of Parliament Hill, Confederation Square, and the National Arts Centre.
This once-in-a-lifetime event will also offer patrons an opportunity to say, “I was among the first-ever to dine at the Ottawa Convention Centre,” not to mention ‘being there’ when Bluesfest executive director Mark Monahan unveils the much anticipated line-up for the 2011 edition of the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest.
“We typically announce our line-up during the last week of April, so this is a great opportunity to do it in a big way,” says Monahan. “It’s also a great way to make the most of the popularity of our festival by getting together with some great non-profit organizations to raise funds for some very worthwhile charities.”
Registration forms for tables of 10 ($2,750) and individual tickets ($300) are available on-line at www.ottawabluesfest.ca . Registration forms can also be printed from the website and sent by fax or by mail to the Ottawa Bluesfest office.
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