Festival Updates and News
News about Ottawa Festivals and our Member festivals, special events and fairs.
Lights festivals herald Christmas across Canada
Katrina Heer, Centretown News
When do you know Christmas is just around the corner?
For some, it is opening that first window of the Advent calendar, revealing the stocking-shaped chocolate inside. For others, the first faint notes of Jingle Bells heard over a department store stereo; Michael Bublé crooning a jazzy rendition of It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas. Or, it means watching those first few snowflakes make their way to earth, painting the city with a layer of glittery frost.
For those living in Ottawa, it is the annual Christmas Lights Across Canada festival – where the city scape comes alive with thousands of dazzling Christmas lights – that marks the beginning of the holiday season.
The lights are one of many local public art displays – including the Bank Street bike racks or the fire hydrant sculptures on Wellington– that bring art to the streets.
The Christmas Lights program was first introduced in 1985 by the National Capital Commission to “liven up the winter months,” says NCC spokesperson Charles Cardinal, adding a welcome pop of colour to Ottawa’s snowy Parliament Hill.
Read more on the Centretown News website: Lights festivals herald Christmas across Canada
Winterlude is just around the corner!
Let’s Go Ottawa
The snow has started to fall in Ottawa and thoughts are turning to Christmas, the holidays and the whole winter season!
This winter marks the 42nd season of organized ice skating on the frozen Rideau Canal Skateway. The Canal snakes 7.8 km (4.8 miles) through downtown Ottawa— kids skate to school, people skate to work! It’s the equivalent in size to 90 Olympic-sized ice rinks, giving it the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest naturally frozen skating rink.
It takes several consecutive days of -15° Celsius (-5° Fahrenheit) or colder temperatures to ensure that the ice is at least a foot thick. That’s when the National Capital Commission deems it safe enough to open to the public — usually in late December or early January.
Read m0re on the Let’s Go Ottawa blog: Winterlude is just around the corner!
Jazz road warrior
Kellylee Evans loves to tour, whether it’s performing for thousands of fans or a handful
Peter Hum, The Ottawa Citizen
KELLYLEE EVANS
When: Thursday, Dec. 8, 6: 30 p.m.
Where: Library and Archives Canada auditorium
Tickets: $50, with a $30 tax receipt issued
Contact: 613-241-2633, ottawajazzfestival.com
Email: phum@ottawacitizen.com
Blog: ottawacitizen.com/jazzblog
Watch a video of Kellylee Evans performing in Paris.
OTTAWA — In the last month, Ottawa singer Kellylee Evans sang for crowds big and small, in venues near and far.
An indefatigable road warrior, Evans, who won a Juno Award this year for her most recent CD, Nina, performed for Canadian athletes in Guadalajara, Mexico as part of the Para Pan Am Games, revellers in Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square, jazz buffs at Birdland in New York and music-lovers at a Perth house concert.
Evans, who performs in Ottawa Thursday at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival’s annual fundraiser, discusses her travels, their impact on her family, and the live show that most recently knocked her out.
Tell me about your far-flung shows in the last month. What were those experiences like?
This last little bit has been just wake up and go wherever my calendar says to go. I really haven’t had a chance to process all of it. I love it though. I love being busy doing something I love. The trip to New York was wonderful. I had an opportunity to visit with friends and perform a couple of times. Both occasions were with the Sultans of String, who had gigs in the area and invited me to join them to promote our respective music to a new audience. We performed at a little venue called the Living Room and then moved to Birdland in the Times Square area. I know I say this a lot, but I really had a wonderful time.
Bluesfest and RBC Royal Bank Partner to Ensure the Music Plays On in the Nation’s Capital
[Source: Bluesfest press release]
Ottawa, December 2, 2011 – North America’s premier music festival, Bluesfest proudly announced its long-term partnership with RBC Royal Bank at a media event earlier today. The partnership ensures the music plays on for another five years in the Nation’s Capital and further strengthens RBC commitment to culture in Ottawa.
RBC Royal Bank has always shown a keen interest in cultural initiatives, supporting numerous organizations and events at a grassroots, national and global level. The new five-year partnership with Bluesfest further enhances their rich calendar of cultural and customer driven initiatives in Ottawa and its surrounding communities.
“RBC Royal Bank is proud to partner with North America’s premier music festival because we have two great things in common: we both continue to evolve to provide our customers with the best possible experience, and we are 100 per-cent committed to Ottawa from both a business and cultural perspective,” said Jeff Boyd, Regional President, Ontario North and East, RBC Royal Bank. “This is great news for our customers, for Ottawa and for RBC Royal Bank. We are delighted that RBC Royal Bank and our customers will now be able to benefit from this new partnership and we look forward to growing and enhancing the festival over the coming years.”
“This new partnership will ensure the festival can continue to operate as one of the biggest festivals in North America for many years to come.” said Mark Monahan, Executive Director, Bluesfest. “RBC Royal Bank’s long-term commitment to Bluesfest now allows Cisco to focus its sponsorship on technology enablement.”
Bluesfest was founded in 1994 and remains one of North America’s premier music festivals, continuing to play a prominent role in promoting the Capital Region on a global stage. The 2012 line-up will be announced on April 24th at the official launch event.
Awards bring a folk feast to Toronto
Greg Quill, thestar.com
It’s a big weekend for folk music in Toronto, host city for the first time since its inception seven years ago of the Canadian Folk Music Awards.
The CFMAs pack in numerous events over the next three days — including the premiere of the documentary A Walk in My Dream, about Canadian harmonica virtuoso Mike Stevens (Friday, 8 p.m., Bell Lightbox) and a star-studded nominees showcase at Hugh’s Room Saturday night, featuring Dave Gunning, Janet Panic, Qristina and Quinn Bachand, Ashley Condon, Massiel Yanira, Lizzy Hoyt, Ouzo Power and Raz-de-Marée/Tidal Wave.
They culminate in the awards presentation and gala concert at the Isabel Bader Theatre Sunday at 8 p.m., hosted by CBC Radio’s Shelagh Rogers and Benoit Bourque from Quebec folk outfit La Bottine Souriante.
Read more on the Star.com website: Awards bring a folk feast to Toronto
Ottawa Fringe Festival announces winners of its 2012 lottery
Trevor Pritchard, OpenFile
It’s not too early to start thinking about the 2012 Ottawa Fringe Festival, is it? Next year’s Fringe could feature international productions from Australia and the United States—as well as Canadian productions from B.C., Quebec, and southern Ontario—after the festival announced the winners of its annual lottery earlier this week.
Local theatre reviewer Andrew Snowdon was on-hand when the 36 lucky production companies were announced Tuesday at Patty Boland’s. He told us over email a bit about the philosophy behind the lottery system:
Read more on the Open File website: Ottawa Fringe Festival announces winners of its 2012 lottery
Bluesfest scales down plans for former Westboro church
Neco Cockburn, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — A 98-year-old church in Westboro might be converted into a Bluesfest office space and a community centre, but the project would not include a 400-seat music hall that was presented in previous plans.
Bluesfest executive director Mark Monahan said the concept for the former Westboro United Church has changed.
“We actually did all of the drawings and costed it out, and it just in our opinion was too ambitious a project,” Monahan said on Tuesday.
“It wasn’t clear to me that it would be viable or sustainable.”
Council’s planning committee is to discuss on Monday a zoning amendment that would allow the church to be used by the Ottawa Music Foundation as office space for Bluesfest and other music organizations, as well as for a community centre and community health and resource centre.
The church, at 450 Churchill Ave. North, near Byron Avenue, was built in 1913. Under the plans, additions at the back of the church building would be demolished and the rest of the site filled with 16 three-storey townhouse units and four “live-work/office/townhouse units” in a three-storey building, says a staff report to go to the committee.
The Free Thinking Film Society Needs Your Help!
[Source: Free Thinking Film Festival]
Dear Free Thinking Film Society Supporter:
I want to thank everybody for making our 2nd Annual Free Thinking Film Festival 2011 a tremendous success.
We had very big audiences for Angryphone and for our documentary on the CBC. After our film on the velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, I met a woman who was in Prague in 1968 and she brought her snap-shots to show people. She was very moved by the film and she moved me! The film, The 10 Conditions of Love, about the Uyghur people brought tears to the eyes of my friend Rukiye who was representing the Uyghurs of Canada. And, who can forget Rev. Majed El Shafie and his inspirational talk after his film “Freedom Fighter?”
And, Irwin Cotler’s speech after the film “Unmasked: Judeophobia and the Threat to Civilization” was just amazing.
The Canada Dance Festival hires new artistic leader
Following a national search, Jeanne Holmes has been named the new Artistic Producer of the Canada Dance Festival (CDF).
Currently the Producing Director of Dancemakers and the Centre for Creation in Toronto, Ms. Holmes has over 20 years of experience in the performing arts. After completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Windsor she immediately started her career in dance, and has built an extensive background in performance, production, programming, and arts management.
“I am both excited and honored by this opportunity to join the CDF,” said Ms. Holmes. “I am not only inspired by the organization’s long-standing commitment to the creation and commissioning of dance in Canada, but to its dedication to ensure that Canadian dance evolves, thrives, and remains relevant to dancers, dance makers, artists and audiences from coast to coast to coast.”
Acclaimed singer-songwriter returns to Waterloo
Record staff, The Record.com
WATERLOO — Matthew Barber is returning to Waterloo to introduce his new self-titled album.
The acclaimed singer-songwriter performs Wednesday at the Original Princess Cinema.
The concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m., is his third visit to the Princess in as many years. It’s his first performance with his full band.
Barber is a finalist for the 2011 Canadian Folk Music Awards in the contemporary singer of the year category.
Matthew Barber is the artist’s sixth album, following last year’s True Believer and the Juno-nominated Ghost Notes, released in 2008.
Like the two previous releases, the album is a stripped-down, bare-bones affair recorded on analog eight-track equipment at his Toronto home.
In addition to producing, Barber plays all the instruments. Guest artists include sister Jill Barber and Sarah Harmer.
Read more on The Record website: Acclaimed singer-songwriter returns to Waterloo
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