We will inform people with a status update if required when we speak with them later this weekend.

We thank you for your understanding and patience with this matter,
Ottawa Festivals Staff

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UPDATE (June 23, 2011): We received notice late this afternoon that we will not be able to open the office on Friday, June 23, 2011 due to the continued efforts of the restoration company to clean-up smoke damage sustained during the fire in the ByWard Market.

We will be meeting with them tomorrow morning (Friday, June 24th) for an update.

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UPDATE (June 22, 2011): Due to smoke damage, the Ottawa Festivals Ticket and Information Office will remain closed until Friday, June 24, 2011. Staff will do their best during this time to maintain regular admin service levels to our members remotely, but the retail services will remain closed.

Thank you for you understanding with this matter.

Ottawa Festivals Staff

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Due to a serious fire at 53 William Street (next door to us) our offices sustained some smoke damage. The fire department has evacuated our building at 47 William Street as carbon dioxide levels are too high.

We will assess conditions tomorrow (June 22, 2011) and update our status then.

Thank you to everyone inquiring about the fire. Our staff are all fine and we were not at the building when the fire took place.

Thank you for your understanding.

The local chapter organizes numerous activities including celebrating the Italian culture and Ferrari. This FREE event occurs during the Italian Week festivities and appeals to the motoring enthusiast who enjoys pleasure drives, rallies and social BBQ’s. The festival attracts Ferrari’s from Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and New York State.

During its fundraising efforts funds go directly to the Villa Marconi Long Term Health Care Centre to provide peace of mind and care to the seniors of Ottawa.

This award is the result of an application prepared and submitted by Ottawa Festivals with the cooperation and participation of the City of Ottawa (Event Central, Cultural Funding, and Economic Development), the National Capital Commission, Ottawa Tourism, BIAs, and numerous event organizers.

In its inaugural year, the award affirms Ottawa’s standing as an event destination city that is home to events and festivals of the highest caliber. It speaks to the strength and collaboration within our event and volunteers community.

It is through this type of cooperation between numerous stakeholders  that we, as a city, are able to demonstrate the leadership and commitment that has allowed us to become recognized as ‘Canada’s Festival Capital’.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Barbara Stacey
Executive Director
Ottawa Festivals d’Ottawa
47 Rue William Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 6Z9

We are looking for volunteers that have previous volunteer experience in the festival, special event and fair sector in Ottawa.

The volunteer tool will contribute to advancing the skills, knowledge and experience of volunteers in our industry. This includes matching volunteers with the right volunteering position, as well as creating a virtual space for volunteers to communicate and to share their experiences.

Your opinions and views are crucial for the volunteer tool to be successful and sustainable.

We will be holding two focus group sessions, please register for one of them.

Date: Sunday, September 26, 2010.
Time: 12p.m.-1:30p.m.
Location: 47 rue William Street. Ottawa, ON, K1N 6Z9

Date:  Monday, September 27, 2010.
Time: 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Location: City Hall, Richmond Room.110 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, ON, ON K1P 1J1

Please R.S.V.P by emailing volunteers@ottawafestivals.ca or by calling 613-233-1085 ext 113.

Refreshments will be provided.

The Supernova Award is presented by the Galaxie Rising Star Program, which provides bursaries to rising Canadian music talent at festivals and events across Canada. Chosen by a jury appointed by the Ottawa Folk Festival, eligible artists had to meet three simple criteria: 1) be part of the 2010 Ottawa Folk Festival line-up; 2) be Canadian; and 3) have released at least one but no more than three albums. Jurors were required to watch performances by all eligible acts over the course of the festival weekend (August 13-15, 2010) and then meet to deliberate and choose a winner after the conclusion of the festival.

Winners Delhi 2 Dublin were chosen for their “dynamic and incredibly high-energy live performance, their innovative fusion of traditional and modern musical styles and instrumentation, and their ability to connect with and inspire their audience,” says Festival Director Dylan Griffith. Formed in 2006 to take part in a one-off club night, Delhi 2 Dublin combine traditional Indian instruments such as tabla, dhol and sitar with fiddle and programmed electronic beats and lyrics sung in both Punjabi and English to create a unique fusion of Bhangra, Celtic, dub reggae, hip hop and electronica sounds. Blending east and west, electronic and acoustic, mainstream and underground, Delhi 2 Dublin “have a broad cross-cultural and cross-generational appeal” says Griffith, “partly due to the various musical elements they bring together but more so because of their incredibly infectious energy and obvious love for creating and playing music.”

The Supernova Award was one of two Galaxie-sponsored awards presented as part of the 2010 Ottawa Folk Festival. The first award, presented in June, went to Ottawa trio The Musettes, winners of the Under 25 category during the Ottawa Folk Festival auditions. Twenty acts participated in the preliminary round of auditions held in March, with three groups advancing to the final round held in June at the Canadian Library and Archives. The winners received a $1,000 bursary from Galaxie, as well as a performance slot during the 2010 Ottawa Folk Festival.

Since its inception in 2000, over 750 artists have directly benefitted from the Galaxie Rising Stars Program. Each year, the Program works with numerous music industry partners across Canada to discover, encourage and promote new artists. Louis Bellavance, Director of the Galaxie Rising Stars Program says “Galaxie has been able to help up and coming artists for over ten years and it has been an incredible journey to follow the careers of artists we have supported”.

For more information on The Galaxie Rising Star Awards, visit http://www.galaxie.ca. For more information on Delhi to Dublin please visit http://www.delhi2dublin.com.

The research team needs your input to make this a useful and successful tool.

We are looking for volunteers that have “previous volunteer experience” in the festival sector in Ottawa.

The volunteer tool will contribute to advancing the skills, knowledge and experience of volunteers in the festival industry.

This includes matching volunteers with the right volunteering position, as well as creating a virtual space for volunteers to communicate and to share their experiences.  In addition, it will be used to deliver a number of workshops and seminars to help train and develop volunteer skills and knowledge.

Your opinions and views are crucial for the volunteer tool to be successful and sustainable.

We will be hosting four focus group sessions, please register for one listed below.

Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Date: Saturday, August 21, 2010, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Date: Sunday, August 22, 2010, 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Date: Monday, August 23, 2010, 7 p.m. -8:30 p.m.

Location: Ottawa Festivals Office, located in the Byward Market @ 47 William St. Ottawa

If you have any questions or would like to RSVP, please email Sadia Arush at volunteers@ottawafestivals.ca or by calling 613-233-1085 ext 113

Refreshments will be provided.

Are you an outgoing and reliable person interested in participating in a research project about the social impact of festivals in the National Capital Region? Are you looking for work experience in a research environment?

Ottawa Festivals, a not-for-profit organization, is seeking the participation of a group of volunteers to help administer surveys during a number of festivals taking place in April 2010. Your task will consist of distributing and collecting surveys during the festival. If interested, please send a copy of your resume with your availability (daytime preferred) to research@ottawafestivals.ca.

This year’s event hosted over 300 attendees at Jean Pigott Place in Ottawa City Hall which was decorated with local festival pageantry items and decorations representing festivals, special events & fairs. Local bands and various performers entertained, while many door prizes, prize packs and festival giveaways were drawn.

Master of Ceremonies, Luba Goy welcomed guests, acknowledged dignitaries, and festival supporters and sponsors. She presented the itinerary for the event. Mayor Larry O’Brien congratulated Ottawa Festivals for winning the Ottawa Tourism Small Company of the Year Award and spoke about the significant impact festivals have on the City of Ottawa. Julian Armour, President and Chair, Ottawa Festivals, unveiled the 2008 Ottawa Festivals public awareness campaign and guests were provided a sneak peak of the industry video, the unveiling of the winner of the Ottawa Festival’s rebranding contest, and a line-up of the newest festival members.

Carter Brown, KISS FM personality, announced the winner of the full festival season prize pack which consisted of tickets for the 2008/2009 festival season from all festivals, special events & fairs. The contest ran for four (4) weeks on 105.3 Kiss FM & Ottawa Sun. One Hundred semi-finalists attended the event and enjoyed the entertainment and a buffet lunch catered by Carmello’s on Cooper.

Speakers

1. Barbara Stacey Executive Director, Ottawa Festivals
2. Luba Goy Celebrity guest and Master of Ceremonies, Royal Canadian Air Farce
3. Mayor Larry O’Brien Mayor, City of Ottawa
4. Julian Armour President & Chair, Ottawa Festivals & Director of Celebridée, Canadian Tulip Festival
5. Carter Brown Announcer, 105.3 Kiss FM 

Guests

Dignitaries, City Councillors, business leaders, Festival Member Executive Directors, staff, volunteers and Board of Directors, media, contestant semi-finalists, and industry partners, such as; NCC, NAC, Ottawa Tourism, BIA’s, and festivals sponsors attended.
 
Winner of the festivals season prize pack Tracey Bissonnette said, “I’m truly excited & can’t wait to attend all the festivals, special events, and fairs that Ottawa has to offer. A big thank you to Ottawa Festivals for such a fantastic prize pack!”
Luba Goy then invited all guests to enjoy the buffet lunch sponsored by Carmello’s on Cooper while the Mayor, speakers, Board of Directors, and distinguished guests participated in various photo opts; and cutting of the cake. Closing remarks from Barbara Stacey ended the event.

Sponsors

The day could not have occurred without the support and contribution of our sponsors.
 
BFL Canada, Lawrence McMullan
105.3 KISS FM, Carter Brown
CTV Ottawa, John Rogers
Ottawa Sun, Susan Fulton
Berkshire Securiteis Inc., Duane Francis
Artistic Cake, Brian & Linda Bloomfield
Carmellos on Cooper, James Conoy
City of Ottawa, Richard Mineault
Provincial Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities in partnership with Gov’t of Canada, Corry Berghout
Hertz Car & Truck Rental, Darcy Church
RA Photo Club – Urban Group
Industry Images, Michael Hilton
Photographer, Matthew Claydon
Webpointz & Vibrant Design, Keith Lamont & Michael Beveridge
Keg Express, Rob Lewis
9to5 Coffee, Jack Presser

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