Tulip Festival receives boost
Great weather, weekend events hike attendance
By Tony Lofaro, The Ottawa Citizen
]The glorious weather that blessed Ottawa over the past 10 days also pushed up attendance figures for the Canadian Tulip Festival.
Festival officials said Tuesday final figures were not in yet, but the number of visitors to the 18-day festival could surpass last year’s total of 594,000. The festival, which ended Monday, could also post a profit this year after losing money in 2009.
Read more: Tulip Festival receives boost
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Philippine Culture Showcased at Canadian Tulip Festival
Republic of the Philippines – Department of Foreign Affairs
The Philippine Embassy in Canada reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Philippines successfully participated in the 2010 Canadian Tulip Festival held at the Major’s Hill Park in Ottawa from May 14 to 24.
The Embassy spearheaded the country’s participation in the well-attended and successful event.
Read more: Philippine Culture Showcased at Canadian Tulip Festival
6 local artists create 50 paintings in 7 days during Tulip Festival to sell for charity THIS SATURDAY
The Downtown Rideau Business Improvement Area (DRBIA) is pleased to announce that 6 local artists participating in the 1st annual PLEIN AIR Art Exhibit & Sale have created 50 original works of art while painting outdoors at various locations in Downtown Rideau during weekends of the Tulip Festival. They will be out again this Friday between 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., which is their last day of painting before the Exhibit & Sale on Saturday.
The PLEIN AIR connects artists with new audiences by providing them access and approval to high pedestrian areas and landmark views to create works from sidewalk, boulevard and parkland spaces and promote them under Downtown Rideau’s “marketing umbrella”. In addition to connecting and promoting artists, the PLEIN AIR offers artists an opportunity to create, compete, exhibit and sell, while also raising funds for charity.
The artists are donating 15% from the sale of each of their works to the Ottawa Arts Court Foundation. The Foundation is a charity organization based out of Arts Court that manages, programs, and provides arts services to Ottawa’s local emerging and professional artists.
The public and Tulip Festival visitors can VIEW AND PURCHASE THE ARTWORK at a Meet the Artists Reception during the Exhibit & Sale this Saturday, May 22 from 12:00—5:00 p.m. at The Underpass, at the corner of Rideau Street and Colonel By Drive. Works range in sizes varying from 3”x5” to 20”x26” and prices from $30 to $650. They can be viewed on the BIA’s website and from a link off the homepage www.downtownrideau.com. The Brian Downey Jazz Quartet will be performing and refreshments will be available. Over $2,000 in prize money will be awarded during a COMPETITION before the works go on sale at noon. 1st Place ($1,000) and 2nd Place ($750) will be selected by jury, with 3rd Place ($300—the People’s Choice Award) chosen by public vote between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Public vote ballots will be drawn at noon for a chance to WIN a Downtown Rideau gift basket valued at over $400.
Participating artists include: Barbara Nathan Marcus, Brian Seed, Shirley Moulton, Johanne Jutras-Pendleton, John Alexander Day and Brenda Beattie. “This has been a wonderful experience”, says artist Barbara Nathan Marcus, who had people wanting to buy her works-in-progress. “People stopping to watch me paint wanted to buy, but I told them to come back on Saturday, May 22 when they would be for sale”. When Peggy DuCharme, the BIA’s Executive Director heard about the interest to buy works, she encouraged the artists to pursue commissioned works when people inquired about buying — “offer to make them another one”, DuCharme suggested. “We don’t want the artists to loose a sale. On the other hand, we want to ensure we have artwork to sell on the 22nd”.
Here’s your guide to some holiday fun
By Citizen files from Tony Spears, Kristy Nease, Katie Stewart and Bruce Deachman, The Ottawa Citizen
Our traditional observance of Victoria Day (the Queen’s official birthday) has given Canadians the perfect spot on the calendar to unofficially kick off summer. Bedding plants go in the frost-free ground. Cottages are opened and the patio furniture is hosed down. If you need a break from all that work, there’s plenty to do in the capital. The fabulous new incarnation of the Museum of Nature opens, with a packed schedule of special events. It’s also the final weekend to enjoy the Tulip Festival as it wraps up with a Prince Edward Island kitchen party. Another sure sign of the May long weekend is the launch of Sunday Bikedays, when the barriers go up to keep four-wheeled vehicles off the parkways, at least for a few hours.
Read more on the Ottawa Citizen website: Here’s your guide to some holiday fun
Waylon living up to his name
By DENIS ARMSTRONG, Ottawa Sun
He’s sung with the royalty of American soul. Last year, he did a duet with Mary J. Blige. Now, he’s touring with Whitney Houston and in July, he’ll open for Al Green. His name is Willem Bijkerk, but you might know him by his more American name, Waylon.
It’s a name the 30-year-old soul singer picked up nearly a decade ago while touring the southern States, trying to become a soul singer just like the American soul and country singers he grew up listening to in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.
Read more: Waylon living up to his name
Tulip Festival visitors undaunted by cold
By SCOTT TAYLOR, QMI AGENCY
Cold weather and gusty winds made it a sure thing that nobody was going to literally tiptoe through the Tulip Festival in Ottawa Sunday, but hardy visitors still wrapped up and braved the elements.
Read more: Tulip Festival visitors undaunted by cold
Tulip Festival opens in Ottawa
Lesley Peterson, Toronto Cultural Travel Examiner
The Canadian Tulip Festival (May 7 to 24, 2010) opened in Ottawa yesterday but if you’re planning to catch the three million bulbs on display, better hurry. Many of them are already in full bloom.
Read more: Tulip Festival opens in Ottawa
It’s cold, but tulip festival goes on: Forecast for coming days at least promising
Ottawa Citizen
… the first full day of the Canadian Tulip Festival. “It’s comfortably cold,” said Sai Medaravrpu, who is visiting Ottawa for the first time from India. …
Read more: It’s cold, but tulip festival goes on
Tulip time again in Ottawa: Festival to feature recreation of street party marking end of WWII
TRACEY TONG, METRO OTTAWA
With hundreds of tulips already in bloom in Ottawa and Gatineau, the Canadian Tulip Festival will make it abundantly clear that it’s tulip time in the nation’s capital.
The stars of the festival, of course, are the one to two million tulips, which have or will come up over the next few weeks.
“There are some beautiful flowers right now,” said Berry. “We’re encouraging people to come out right now to get the full effect of it.”
Ontario Tourism estimates that the festival will have a $100-million impact for Ottawa.
Full story: Tulip time again in Ottawa
NCC WELCOMES THE CANADIAN TULIP FESTIVAL TO ITS CAPITAL PARKS
Visit the NCC’s Tulip Legacy Exhibit in Commissioners and Major’s Hill parks
The National Capital Commission (NCC) is pleased to welcome the Canadian Tulip Festival to Commissioners and Major’s Hill parks, from May 7 to 24, 2010, and to provide the colourful displays of tulips found throughout the Capital Region.
NCC’S TULIP LEGACY EXHIBIT
Commissioners Park, May 7 to May 24, 2010
Major’s Hill Park, May 14 to 24, 2010
The NCC’s Tulip Legacy Exhibit recounts the history of the Dutch Royal family’s refuge in Canada during the Second World War and the contribution of Canadian troops in the liberation of the Netherlands in 1944-45. With panels, photographs and a discovery cart*, NCC interpreters can help visitors discover how the tulip has become a symbol of peace and freedom shared by Canada and the Netherlands. (*discovery cart available at Commissioners Park, Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 5 pm, and Friday to Sunday from 9 am to 8 pm)
65th ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF THE NETHERLANDS
This year, 22,000 tulips, donated last fall by the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, will bloom in a special commemorative flowerbed at Commissioners Park to pay tribute to the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. The design of the bed represents, in red and white tulips, the two countries – Canada and the Netherlands, and in blue hyacinths both the Netherlands’ flag and the ocean that unites us.
While touring the Capital, visitors can pick-up a free copy of the “Experience the Beauty! The National Capital Commission’s Tulip Beds” brochure, which provides information on the tulip legacy story, maps out the location of key gardens and designated photo sites in some of the Capital’s most beautiful tulip displays, and recommends walking and cycling routes, with distances, to best enjoy the flowerbeds.
TULIPS AT THE NCC’S CAPITAL INFOCENTRE
May 7 to 14, 2010, from 9 am to 5 pm / May 15 to 24, from 9 am to 9 pm
Tulip lovers will also want to visit the NCC’s Capital Infocentre, one of the Festival’s official sites located across from Parliament Hill. The gallery on the second floor offers an impressive view of the 28,000 red tulips planted by the NCC each year on Parliament Hill.
TULIPS AT THE NCC’S HISTORICAL MACKENZIE KING ESTATE IN GATINEAU PARK
Beginning May 15, weekdays from 11 am to 5 pm and weekends and statutory holidays from 10 am to 5 pm
William Lyon Mackenzie King was Prime Minister of Canada when Princess Juliana of the Netherlands sent a gift of thousands of tulip bulbs to the Canadian people to be planted in Canada’s Capital. Each spring, tulips also bloom at Mackenzie King Estate located in the Capital’s Gatineau Park. The historic buildings of the Estate, set among a unique collection of ruins and stunning gardens, will be open to the public beginning May 15, 2010.
ABOUT THE NCC’S FLORAL PROGRAM
Each spring, over one million tulips and 200,000 annuals planted by the NCC bloom on Parliament Hill, in Major’s Hill, Commissioners and Jacques-Cartier parks, as well as along Confederation Boulevard, the historic Rideau Canal, the Capital’s scenic parkways and recreational pathways, and in front of national museums and institutions. As the official gardener of Canada’s Capital, the NCC is responsible for the design and maintenance of many of the public gardens and the 90 flower beds found throughout the region. The most impressive display of tulips is found in Commissioners Park, where some 300,000 tulips bloom each year.
For more information on tulips, the public can 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 website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca/tulips.
For information on the Canadian Tulip Festival, the public can visit the Festival’s website at www.tulipfestival.ca.
