A “Proclamation Concert” will officially launch the Ottawa Irish Festival (March 10-17/10). Taking place on March 10, from 7-9:30 p.m., at St. Brigid’s Centre, the evening starts with a proclamation by Mayor Larry O’Brien of “Irish Week” in the City of Ottawa. This will be followed by a musical concert with live entertainment. Kurt Stoodley of A Channel will emcee the event.

ADMISSION: “FREE – with donations”

DOORS open at 6:30 pm. CASH BAR

*** Everyone welcome ***

St. Brigid’s Centre for the Arts and Humanities
Home of the National Irish Canadian Culture Centre
(Kildare Room, Lower Level)
310 St. Patrick Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 5K5

www.saintbrigidscentre.com

POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE
NCCN-10-03-02-TA

Le 5 mars 2010

AVIS DE CIRCULATION

TRAVAUX DE RÉFECTION LE LONG DU SENTIER RÉCRÉATIF DU CANAL RIDEAU

Région de la capitale du Canada — La Commission de la capitale nationale (CCN), en collaboration avec Parcs Canada, souhaite aviser le public des travaux de réfection le long du sentier récréatif du canal Rideau, du côté de la promenade Colonel-By, à l’ouest du pont de la rue Bank. Ces travaux débuteront le lundi 8 mars et se poursuivront jusqu’à la fin avril 2010.

Les travaux n’affecteront pas la circulation automobile.

Le sentier récréatif situé le long de cette portion du canal sera fermé aux usagers du sentier sur une longueur approximative de 150 mètres. Des panneaux de signalisation seront installés le long du sentier pour aviser les usagers de la fermeture de cette portion du sentier.

Les travaux incluent la réparation des murs du canal, la reconstruction du sentier, ainsi que le remplacement des garde-fous et des lampadaires.

La CCN demande aux usagers du sentier de faire preuve de prudence, de respecter la signalisation et d’emprunter des trajets alternatifs, tels que le sentier récréatif de la promenade Reine-Élizabeth, pendant la durée des travaux.

Pour de plus amples renseignements, le public peut communiquer avec la CCN au 613-239-5000, au 1 800-465-1867, au 613-239-5090 (ATS) ou au 1-866-661-3530 (ATS sans frais) ou consulter le site Web de la CCN au www.capitaleducanada.gc.ca.

Cédric Pelletier
Agent des relations avec les médias / Media Relations Officer
Expérience de la capitale, communications et marketing /
Capital Experience, Communications and Marketing
Commission de la capitale nationale / National Capital Commission

Téléphone / Phone : 613-239-5709

Courriel / Email : CPelleti@ncc-ccn.ca

NCCN-10-03-02-TA
March 5, 2010

TRAFFIC ADVISORY

REHABILITATION WORK ALONG THE RIDEAU CANAL RECREATIONAL PATHWAY

Canada’s Capital Region — The National Capital Commission (NCC), in collaboration with Parks Canada, wishes to advise the public of rehabilitation work along the Rideau Canal recreational pathway, on the Colonel By Drive side, west of Bank Street Bridge. This work will begin Monday, March 8, and run until end of April 2010.

This work will not affect motor vehicle traffic.

The recreational pathway located along this portion of the Canal will be closed to pathway users over a length of approximately 150 metres. Signage will be put in place along the pathway to notify users of the pathway closure along this portion of the Canal.

Work includes repairs to the Canal walls, pathway reconstruction, as well as replacement of railings and lampposts.

The NCC asks that pathway users exercise caution, obey the signs and use alternate routes, such as the Queen Elizabeth Driveway recreational pathway, during the work period.

For more information, the public may contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 1-800-465-1867, 613-239-5090 (TTY) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY) or visit the NCC’s website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca.

Media Information:

Cédric Pelletier
Agent des relations avec les médias / Media Relations Officer
Expérience de la capitale, communications et marketing /
Capital Experience, Communications and Marketing
Commission de la capitale nationale / National Capital Commission

Téléphone / Phone : 613-239-5709

Courriel / Email : CPelleti@ncc-ccn.ca

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Mike Burns, as Ottawa StoryTellers presents A Thousand Welcomes: Stories of Ireland at the NAC’s FOURTH STAGE on Thursday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. (Doors open at 7:00.)

Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors & students and are available at the NAC box office or Ticketmaster.ca – 613.755.1111.

With the stories he heard as a child and has polished over decades of telling, Mike Burns will bring you to the place that still haunts him though he has been more than twenty years in Canada. It is a land of fogs and rugged cliffs, farming and fishing, evenings warmed by whiskey and turf and stories. You will know the glimmer of the embers in the hearth, and the old stories that have lived in the place names and in the minds and hearts of the people of the wild western coast of Ireland – the next parish to America, as it is sometimes called. These are stories of love, lust, and lies; bright blue spears and little folk; magic and mayhem; wise men and cruel kings; havoc and hunting; laughter and tears.

Mike Burns has been telling stories for over 40 years now and says he “has the feeling I may yet come good at it.” He got a lazy start, not having to leave the fireplace in his father’s house to hear stories and “seanchas”. He is a Gaelic speaker and has a repertoire of several hundred traditional stories from the lore of Iveragh (South Kerry). He gives concerts regularly at festivals across Canada and abroad. He has created a book-CD of stories (in French) and a CD of stories in English as well as being included in anthologies of Canadian storytellers in both French and English. He is a co-founder of Regroupement Du Conte au Québec (RCQ) and has been awarded the Girouette Cuivrée prize for services as a storyteller.

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Caitlyn Paxson, Managing Artistic Director, Ottawa StoryTellers

MAD@ottawastorytellers.ca or info@ottawastorytellers.ca (tel: 613.322.8336)

www.ottawastorytellers.ca

Patrick Holloway
Coordinator of Publicity and Marketing
Chair, 2010 Festival Committee
Ottawa StoryTellers
PR@ottawastorytellers.ca
patrick.holloway@sympatico.ca
Ph.: 613-731-1047

By DENIS ARMSTRONG
Ottawa Sun

After years as a local folk music icon, Ana Miura’s finally got a day job, and it comes with an office, a computer and a water cooler.

In February, she became the new general manager of the Ottawa Folk Festival, but she hasn’t exactly traded in her guitar for a laptop. Not yet, anyway, not with the launch of a brand new album called The Kindness of Years and an Acoustic Waves gig at the Great Canadian Theatre on Sunday (March 14).

“I was looking for something more stationary,” Miura says. “After years of constant touring, I wanted to stay closer to home for my eight-year-old. Being the GM of the festival makes me feel closer, more intimate with the fans, too. I love the job because I love the people.”

Miura, who’s recorded three albums and heads the Babes For Breasts campaign, came to the festival’s top job last summer, when Chris White, the festival’s founding artistic director, recruited the motivated Miura to co-ordinate the festival’s Britannia Park gardens when she wasn’t playing the main stage with Bruce Cockburn, Joel Plaskett and Steven Page.

She took to it so quickly that White asked Miura if she would co-ordinate the Ontario Council of Folk Festival conference in Ottawa last October.

To read the full article, see Folk singer Ana Miura Gets a Day Job.

Call for Submissions: Pitch Sessions, Magnetic North
March 8, 2010 — TAPA

Magnetic North Industry Series 2010
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario

Magnetic North Theatre Festival – June 9 – 19, 2010

The Magnetic North Theatre Festival is the premiere festival of contemporary Canadian theatre in English. Moving between Ottawa and another Canadian city in alternating years, we will celebrate our 8th festival in Kitchener-Waterloo. We will host 9 professional productions from across the country, a student show from Toronto, and myriad ancillary events to enrich your experience. The productions range tremendously in scale and address an array of subjects, in many different styles. What they share is the ability and desire to tour, a notion that is at the very core of Magnetic North.

Pitch Session - Wednesday, June 16, 1pm – 3pm

The Pitch Session is an ideal opportunity for artists to take their project to the next level, find new collaborators and extend touring opportunities, by presenting their shows, or their ideas in development, to producers, artistic directors, festival curators, presenters and other cultural industry representatives. The pitches take place in a theatrical setting, this year at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts. We encourage theatricality in your presentation, though it is not mandatory. The rehearsal the day before the actual event will allow for feedback and revisions if you so require.

For a list of Pitch Selection Criteria and Submission Guidelines, see Call for Submissions:  Pitch Sessions.

The deadline to submit your completed application is March 29, 2010.

Successful applicants will be notified by April 5, 2010.

For more information, contact Naomi at 416 703 5491 or naomic@interlog.com.

www.magneticnorthfestival.ca

Volunteer!

Volunteer for the Canadian Tulip Festival – Portez-vous bénévole pour le Festival Canadien des Tulipes

The Canadian Tulip Festival is the LARGEST festival of its kind in the WORLD!

Join us at the 2010 Canadian Tulip Festival and be part of this year’s 65th Anniversary Liberation edition.

It is the most spectacular springtime explosion of color you will see in Canada’s Capital.

Volunteer positions include:  Backstage; International Pavilion; Information Agent (bilingual); Logistics; Security; Décor; and many more!

Please visit our website for a list of all available positions and the online application form or contact us at one of the following:

Website/site web: http://www.tulipfestival.ca

Email/courriel: volunteer@tulipfestival.ca

Phone/téléphone: (613) 567-5757 ext. /poste 231

Soyez Bénévoles!

Le Festival Canadien des Tulipes est le PLUS GRAND festival de tulipes au MONDE!

Joignez-vous au Festival Canadien des Tulipes 2010 et faites partis de l’édition Libération pour le 65e Anniversaire du festival.

Vous pourriez travailler à l’arrière scène, au Pavillon International, en logistique, en sécurité, en décor et encore plus!

S’il vous plait, visitez notre site web pour une liste des positions disponibles et pour notre formulaire d’application enligne ou contactez nous par le prochain :

Website/site web: http://www.tulipfestival.ca

Email/courriel: volunteer@tulipfestival.ca

Phone/téléphone: (613) 567-5757 ext. /poste 231

The application form for dance groups/dance performers at Ottawa’s Carnival of Cultures can be accessed by visiting Carnival of Cultures.  The deadline to apply is Tuesday, March 30, 2010.

This year’s Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario list was released this weekend at the Festivals & Events Ontario Conference held this year in Ottawa and eight Ottawa Festivals made the annual list of distinction.

Congratulations to Canadian Tulip Festival, TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival, Canada Day Celebrations, Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest, Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Rideau Canal Festival, Ottawa Folk Festival and Winterlude.

Below is the announcement released at the conference by FEO:

Festivals & Events Ontario (FEO) announced the Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario last night as part of the Association’s President’s Gala, a celebratory conclusion to its annual conference.

Sponsored by VIA Rail Canada, The Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario designation is presented to a select few of more than 2,000 that occur annually within the province. Among the winners were household names like the Scotiabank Caribana Festival, Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest and Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest. It also featured many smaller, festivals such as the Lanark Highlands Art of Being Green Festival, the Cobourg Sandcastle Festival and the Rideau Canal Festival. In conjunction with the Top 100, FEO also announced its 2010 Achievement Award winners. Achievement Awards acknowledge individual festival and event excellence and best practices across a broad range of categories.

The President’’s Gala is a follow up to a Welcome Reception that was held on Wednesday night. The Honourable Mr. Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture was in attendance to welcome guests and announce the 2010 Festivals and Events of Distinction. This year’’s inductees were Rogers Bayfest and the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival.

“Solicitations for submissions were issued towards the end of the previous calendar year, and an independent jury of industry peers conducted the selection process just prior to the Conference,” explains the Association’s Executive Director, Gary Masters.

According to the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, 93% of recreational travelers are seeking cultural and entertainment experiences, such as festivals and events, when they plan a vacation. Over the past two years, approximately 2,000,000 people who visited a festival or event say it was the primary reason for their vacation.

“With so many options for the festival-goers here in Ontario, it can be hard to know which festivals and events offer the most rewarding experiences. As the provincial Association for this industry, we believe it is our responsibility to set these standards and present the results to our consumers in an easily accessible and recognizable brand,” states FEO’s President, Sarah Wood.

The winners of this year’s Top 100 will be highlighted in the annual Festivals and Events in Ontario Guide distributed in both a printed and online format. A list of the 2010 winners can be found on the Association’s website, www.festivalsandeventsontario.ca.

Laura Hay | EMC

In Ottawa, we stand at 28 years running for our annual St. Patrick’s parade. Over the course of these past two decades, our parade has evolved to represent a focal part of the Ottawa Irish Festival and is by far the most visible event in the week of activities around the city. These photos reveal some of the past entrants, and capture the atmospheres of previous parades and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

This year’s parade is being held on Saturday, Mar. 13, starting at 11 a.m. The route cuts through the centre of downtown Ottawa, allowing for crowds to line the sidewalks of Bank Street with their coffees in hand and watch more than fifty entrants proceed along until they reach Lansdowne Park. In addition to showing some Celtic pride and entertaining the Ottawa public on a Saturday morning, the St. Patrick’s parade is supporting the Ottawa Food Bank. Volunteers will be collecting food and monetary donations along the parade route as the floats, marching bands, musicians and dancers stream by.

While the parade may be the most visible aspect of the Ottawa Irish Festival, it is by no means the only event. The Ottawa Irish Festival is a week-long celebration of our Irish identities and traditions.

Full article: St. Patrick’s parade in Ottawa a long tradition

For more information, visit Ottawa Irish Society National Capital Region.