FREE Admission – Donations Gratefully Accepted

For a number of years now, the Summer Solstice Aboriginal Arts Festival has been providing families a unique opportunity to experience and celebrate the diverse Aboriginal cultures of the National Capital Region. Ongoing, lively and interactive programming will keep your family entertained throughout the day including extensive Family activities (pony rides, petting zoo, bouncy castles, stilt-walkers and more) Aboriginal artisan village (featuring interactive arts workshops, demonstrations and vendors) and our popular Main Stage featuring headliner Shane Yellowbird, Shy Anne Hovorka, Kaiva, Aboriginal Canada We’ve Got Talent! and ongoing cultural showcases throughout the day.

Festival Information:

General information: 613-261-3637

General information email: nadottawa@gmail.com

Locations:

Lebretton Flats Park (behind the War Museum)
Museum of Civilization
(Please consult the Summer Solstice website)

On the Web:

Website: www.aboriginalexperiences.com

“Arts, culture and heritage are about remembering where we come from, celebrating who we are today and dreaming about what we can be tomorrow,” said Mayor Jim Watson. “These will continue to be the keys to our success, especially as we prepare to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017.”

“The renewal process brought together the strongest diversity of representation and participation ever for municipal cultural planning purposes in Ottawa,” said Councillor Mark Taylor, Chair of the Community and Protective Services Committee. “The plan will close cultural gaps, meet emerging needs and continue to improve cultural investment in the City of Ottawa.”

The plan includes four strategies:

• Celebrate Ottawa’s unique cultural identity and provide access to culture for all
• Preserve and develop cultural and creative places and spaces
• Get the word out about Ottawa’s vibrant local culture and unique identity
• Invest in local culture and build cultural leadership

The process brought together First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals and communities, representatives of the Anglophone and Francophone cultural mosaic, diverse citizenry from rural, suburban and urban neighbourhoods, new Canadians and arts, heritage, festival and fair representatives.

A recent economic study reported that Ottawa-Gatineau’s cultural industry (non-profit and for-profit) represented approximately 4.1 per cent of GDP, totalling $1.98 billion. In 2010, attendance and participation in local cultural activity totalled 4.1 million, and 21,861 volunteers provided 519,755 volunteer hours (valued at $9.1 million) to the local cultural sector.

The City of Ottawa, the National Capital Commission (NCC) and State Farm®, sponsor of the Skate Safe program, have teamed up once again to make an Ottawa winter tradition more fun for everyone through the Skate Safe program. The Skate Safe tent officially opened on Saturday morning on the Rideau Canal Skateway at the State Farm Zone at Concord.

Visitors to the Skate Safe tent will get assistance with helmet fittings, tips on helmet use and a free 15-minute “tips and tricks” skating session from staff and volunteers from Ottawa Public Health (OPH), Ottawa’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services department and ThinkFirst. The tent will be open Saturdays and Sundays during Winterlude, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., until February 20.

“Skating on the canal can be even more enjoyable if you possess basic skating skills and are wearing a proper helmet,” said Councillor Mathieu Fleury, member of the Board of Health. “I’m proud that Ottawa Public Health and Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services have joined forces to offer this innovative Skate Safe program to residents and tourists enjoying skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway, a UNESCO world heritage site, located here in our Nation’s Capital.”

The Skate Safe program is a partnership between the City of Ottawa, the NCC, State Farm, the Ottawa chapter of ThinkFirst, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the Brain Injury Association of Canada. The initiative began in 2004 when the NCC approached Ottawa Public Health (OPH) and asked for assistance in addressing the growing number of skating injuries on the Rideau Canal Skateway.

“The NCC wants residents and visitors to have a safe and positive experience on the world’s largest skating rink,” said Marc Corriveau, Director of Urban Lands and Transportation at the NCC. “Our partnership with the City of Ottawa and State Farm is building awareness of and encouraging the use of helmets on the Rideau Canal Skateway.”

“State Farm is always proud to have the opportunity to sponsor world renowned events, and being part of the Rideau Canal Skateway 2012 is a great way to show support for Canadian families. This event highlights the opportunity for family and friends to be able to interact and enjoy time together in a safe and friendly environment,” said Caroline Quinn, State Farm Canada Marketing Manager. “Our relationship with the NCC, City of Ottawa, and CHEO to support the Skate Safe program is a great way to enhance this family experience. We’re excited to be an official sponsor of this celebration which continues to be a memorable event, year after year. ”

This year, OPH will be hosting a contest to encourage Ottawa youth to wear a helmet while skating on the Skateway and at other City indoor and outdoor skating facilities. “Get Caught Wearing Your Helmet is just one more way that OPH is reaching out to youth,” said Dr. Isra Levy, Medical Officer of Health. “Making it fun by providing youth incentives to wear a helmet while skating will help us promote the important message that wearing a proper helmet is the right thing to do.”

For more information on Skate Safe, please visit ottawa.ca/health, or call the OPH information line at 613-580-6744 (TTY: 613-580-9656).

Jean Levac, The Ottawa Citizen

A proposed smoking ban on municipal properties such as City Hall could hurt attendance at the Capital Pride festival, say organizers who are calling for a grace period this summer if the new rules are approved.

Proposed bylaw amendments would see smoking prohibited on city properties such as parks, beaches, sports fields and areas outside municipal facilities, as well as bar and restaurant patios.

Events on city properties would also be smoke-free under the regulations, something that would affect the 2012 Capital Pride festival planned for Marion Dewar Plaza outside City Hall, organizers said.

Read more: Capital Pride organizers want grace period on outdoor smoking ban

Canada Day festivities in 2017 should be turned into a weeklong “Canadian Cultural Festival,” says Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.

The city should work with the National Arts Centre, National Capital Commission, provincial and territorial governments and the private sector to create the event between June 25 and July 1 in the year of Canada’s 150th birthday, Watson said in prepared remarks to an Ottawa Kiwanis Club luncheon.

Full story at Canada.com Ottawa Mayor wants big bang on Canada’s 150th birthday

[Source: Savour Ottawa press release]

OTTAWA, November 1, 2011—Local farmers, chefs, retailers and organizations will gather at the sixth annual Savour Ottawa Networking Summit on Monday, November 7 starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Restaurant International at Algonquin College’s School of Hospitality and Tourism.

This free event will kick off with a one-hour meet & greet event showcasing local farm products to chefs and retailers. The goal of this culinary speed dating is for chefs and retailers to order products for late 2011 and early 2012 at the event. A similar Meet & Greet event has been held in late winter for the past 5 years—participants asked for a second yearly event.

Attendees at this business-to-business event (not open to the public) will review Savour Ottawa’s 2011 successes, including

• The integration of seven retailer members into the program
• The opening of the Savour Ottawa Field House at the Parkdale Market, a cooperative of 10 Savour Ottawa farmers
• The Savour Ottawa promotions campaign, including videos, ads and @SavourOttawa Twitter feed
• Savour Ottawa’s first-ever public event, the Harvest Table, held on August 28, 2011.
• The inclusion of Savour Ottawa programming in the upcoming Ottawa Wine and Food Festival including a farm tour
• Significant media coverage of the initiative at home and around theworld

Up-and-coming culinary students at Algonquin College will prepare and serve locally sourced canapés, wine and beer. The 2012 Savour Ottawa Advisory Committee—comprised of farmers, chefs and other representatives—will be introduced at the event.

Sponsors of the event include Algonquin College and the provincial program Foodland Ontario.

While the event is free, advance registration is required to attend. Full details can be found at http://www.savourottawa.ca/events.php or simply respond to this email to indicate your attendance.

Officially launched as a membership-based initiative at the Networking Summit in November 2007, Savour Ottawa boasts over 120 members – farmers, chefs, restaurateurs, hoteliers, retailers and representatives of organizations working in the culinary and tourism fields.  Savour Ottawa is led by a partnership of Ottawa Tourism, the City of Ottawa and Just Food.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: Monday, November 7, 2011

Restaurant International, Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Avenue

1:00-2:00 – Meet & Greet

2:00-3:00 – Review of 2011 successes, discussions, looking forward to 2012

3:00-4:00 –Networking, wine, beer & nibbles

Savour Ottawa works to develop and promote Ottawa and area as a premier, year-round culinary destination, with robust offerings of local foods and experiences for both locals and visitors to the area.

From Sept. 21-25, animators and filmmakers could be found in the Chateau Laurier lobby. Janet Perleman, a filmmaker from Montreal, says she’s been to the festival since it started in 1976.

During the festival, Perleman stays at a hotel. This year, she was at downtown Ottawa’s Novotel.

In fact, hotels are one of the biggest festival sponsors in Ottawa.

Robin Grant, Centretown News

Kimberly Wilson, Novotel sales and marketing director, says sponsoring festivals shows support for the city and helps business.

“The city needs support because it is competing with other cultural hubs like Toronto and Montreal.”

Arc Hotel sponsors the writers’ festival among other art festivals.

“Being as we are an artistic design hotel, these festivals make sense to us,” says Dean Lake, director of sales at the Arc.

Read more on the Centretown News website: Art festivals boost local economy

“When it comes to food, there is no place like home,” said Mayor Watson. “Especially in Ottawa at this time of the year, when there is such a variety and abundance of locally-grown fruits and vegetables. Fresh picked, nutrition-packed, and mouth-watering.”

Read more on the OttawaStart website: This harvest season try choosing local

July 7
Ottawa StoryTellers Story Swap: Open Stage Night
7:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Room 156.
Free admission
Ottawa StoryTellers offers Story Swap, an open stage night, on the first Thursday of every month at Library and Archives Canada (Room 156). This is an opportunity to experience the art of storytelling for the first time or for new storytellers to practice before an audience. The evenings also include stories by experienced tellers so that new tellers can learn the art. People are welcome to come and listen, but anyone wishing to tell a story should register on arrival with the evening’s host, and s/he will be given a time slot. Stories should be no longer than ten minutes and must be told, not read. They may be traditional stories, folk tales, literary stories, or personal stories.

July 7 and July 21
Stories at the Bytown Museum
7pm-8pm
Bytown Museum, 1 Canal Lane Ottawa Ontario K1P 5P6
Ottawa has many stories to tell! The murder of Thomas D’Arcy McGee, the Stoney Monday riots and the fire at the Booth Lumberyard to name a few. The Bytown Museum hosts a Story Series by the Ottawa StoryTellers as part of their free Thursday night programming this summer.
July 7:  Ruthanne Edward and Gail Anglin.
July 21: Ruth Stewart-Verger, Donna Stewart and Kim Kilpatrick

July 12
Live, Love, Laugh
Lisa Virtue, Ruthanne Edward, Katherine Hunt
Stories and Tea
The Tea Party, 119 York St.
7pm-8:45pm
Pay what you can

July 26
Summer Time! Super Tales!
Robert Collins, Christine Joyce
Stories and Tea
The Tea Party, 119 York St.
7pm-8:45pm
Pay what you can

For more information on our programming, visit www.ottawastorytellers.ca

Join the Ottawa Storytellers facebook group to get invites to our events, or follow us on Twitter @ottawastory.

OST programming is supported by the City of Ottawa, the Ontario Arts Council, Heritage Canada and Canada Council for the Arts.

Ottawa’s pride festival will still be held on city hall property despite the construction of an outdoor rink, the city announced Tuesday.

Capital Pride and the City of Ottawa met on Monday to discuss the location of the festival, and people from both groups decided it would go ahead as scheduled. Pride staff had originally been told they would need to find a new location.

“We have had the chance to look at some of the construction plans for the proposed Rink of Dreams and we were able to work out an arrangement with the city where we will be able to use a portion of Marion Dewar Plaza in conjunction with Lisgar Field to host the 26th Capital Pride Festival,” Doug Saunders-Riggins, chair of Capital Pride, said in a statement.

During the past eight years, the Capital Pride parade wound its way toward city hall, finishing with a big festival on the plaza. There had been some concern that rink construction would force organizers to drop some events.

This year’s plan will be released during Capital Pride’s media launch on Tuesday, June 21.