Skate Safe and wear your helmet during Winterlude
Source: Press Release
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.
NCC Calls Winterlude Opening Weekend “Very Positive”
Phil Gaudreau
CFRA
The National Capital Commission is quite pleased with the first weekend of Winterlude.
Senior Vice President Guy Laflamme tells CFRA News attendance has been excellent. “If I count the number of smiles I have encountered, I think people were extremely pleased and happy with what they experienced.”
Laflamme is chalking some of the success up to changes in Winterlude’s business plan to focus on arts and culture, educational events, and food. “We still have winter outdoor sports, but we have way more arts and culture…culinary gourmet food activities…as well as scientific activities”.
But he admits the weather was also a big factor this weekend. “This was an A+ type of weather report and hopefully we’ll be able to benefit from the same kind of conditions for the next two weekends.”
Laflamme says over 30,000 people took in Friday’s fireworks at Winterlude’s opening ceremonies, and it was a great kickoff to what he believes is the best edition of the winter festival yet. “Winterlude has grown to a level of quality and sophistication unmatched in past editions.”
OTTAWA FASHION WEEK TO HOST CHARITY SHOW IN SUPPORT OF UNICEF CANADA
The Ottawa Fashion Week Board of Directors is pleased to announce this season’s charitable partnership with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Canada. A runway show, titled “Runway for a Better Way” in support of UNICEF will be organized and co-hosted by Ottawa native, Kevin Carroll (www.allaccesswithkevin.com/) on Sunday, February 19th 2012 in the Confederation Ballroom at the Westin Hotel Ottawa (11 Colonel By Drive). The event will feature celebrity models ̶ Gabrielle Miller (Corner Gas/Call Me Fitz), Rosey Edeh (ET Canada), Tré Armstrong (So You Think You Can Dance Canada), Erica Wark (CBC’s Steven and Chris), Leesa Butler (www.f-list.ca), Casie Stewart (www.casiestewart.com), Elizabeth Manley (Olympic Silver Medalist), Gail McInnes (TDot TV), Cory Lee (Degrassi), TL Rader (Professional Ballroom Dancer) and Solange Tuyishime (UNICEF Canada Ambassador) ̶ in designs by Rachel Sin (www.rachelsin.com/) , DeMOYO (www.paidemoyochideya.com/) and Sarah Stevenson (www.sarahstevensondesign.com/) with jewellery by MMCrystal (www.MMCrystal.com).
UNICEF is the world’s leading child-focused humanitarian and development agency. Through innovative programs and advocacy work, they save children’s lives and secure their rights in virtually every country. Their global reach, unparalleled influence on policymakers, and diverse partnerships make them an instrumental force in shaping a world in which no child dies of a preventable cause. UNICEF is entirely supported by voluntary donations and helps all children, regardless of race, religion or politics.
“UNICEF Canada is thrilled to be the charitable beneficiary of Ottawa Fashion Week,” says Susan Larkin, Director of Community Engagement for UNICEF Canada. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the fashion community in Ottawa to show their support of UNICEF’s work delivering life-saving services to children around the world. Our thanks to the organizers, sponsors and participants of Ottawa Fashion Week for helping children survive and thrive.”
$10 from each Sunday and week pass sold will go towards UNICEF and its programming. Tickets are available for purchase online at http://www.ottawafashionweek.ca/consumer.php.
About Ottawa Fashion Week
The Ottawa Fashion Week (OFW) mandate is to provide a platform for national and international designers and artists to showcase their talent. Over the course of seven seasons, OFW has grown into an avenue of expression, creativity and innovation. The pursuit of artistic expression in all its forms is a defining element in the success of Ottawa Fashion Week. The fifth year anniversary season of Ottawa Fashion Week will be presented with support from the National Capital Commission (NCC) as the highlight of the Winterlude festival from February 17th to 19th in the Confederation Ballroom of the Westin Hotel Ottawa (11 Colonel By Drive).
Ottawa Mayor wants big bang on Canada’s 150th birthday
Postmedia News
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
Winterlude’s Sno-Bus offered Free of Charge: OLG becomes the title sponsor of the Sno-Bus service
The National Capital Commission (NCC) and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced today a new partnership that will provide residents and visitors to Winterlude, access to the Sno-Bus service, FREE OF CHARGE, during Winterlude’s three weekends, February 4-5, 11-12 and 18-19.
“The NCC is pleased to welcome OLG as the title sponsor of Winterlude’s Sno-Bus, and to offer visitors free access to this key service operated by the STO and OC Transpo”, said Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer at the NCC. “This partnership is especially important because it encourages visitors to use public transit, and contributes to reducing Winterlude’s carbon footprint.”
Ms. Lemay was accompanied by Rod Phillips, OLG President & CEO, Yasir Naqvi, Ottawa Centre MPP and Jim Watson, Mayor of the City of Ottawa, at a news conference held today at one of the Sno-Bus stops on Elgin Street.
“The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is proud to be part of Winterlude, a great celebration of winter and to continue our commitment to community partnership by sponsoring the Sno-Bus,” said Rod Phillips, OLG’s President and CEO. “As part of this sponsorship, we are excited that this year, the Sno-Bus will be free for all passengers participating in Winterlude.”
“I want to thank the OLG for sponsoring this great initiative,” added Mayor Watson. “Winterlude is a marquee event in the national capital region and having a free and reliable mode of transportation for residents and visitors makes it that much more enjoyable.”
OC Transpo and the Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO) offer this shuttle service linking Winterlude’s official sites: along Queen Elizabeth Drive and the Rideau Canal Skateway to Dow’s Lake; Rogers Crystal Garden at Confederation Park; and Winterlude’s Snowflake Kingdom, located at Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau. Sno-Bus stops are clearly indicated on Winterlude signs along the way.
About OLG: OLG is proud to work with communities in Ontario and be part of bringing over 200 local events to life each year through our Sponsorship Program. From business events to cultural and music festivals, OLG is an involved and contributing partner in community events and festivals across Ontario. Providing sponsorship support to worthwhile community events is another way that OLG makes life better for people across Ontario.
Nuit Blanche Ottawa appoints curator, makes big steps towards Sept. 22 debut
Peter Simpson, The Ottawa Citizen
Don’t expect Nuit Blanche Ottawa to be Nuit Blanche Toronto, says the newly appointed curator of the annual, one-night festival of contemporary art, to be held in the capital for the first time later this year.
“As a curator I’m not really interested in doing these sensational projects that cost a lot of money, that are really more show than content,” says Stefan St-Laurent, who has been appointed curator of Nuit Blanche Ottawa 2012, to be held Sept. 22.
Nuit Blanche events in other cities, especially Toronto, are perhaps best known for large, richly funded works of art that make use of, for example, the CN Tower, or the space between the twin towers of Toronto’s city hall. The installations are usually commissioned with the hundreds of thousands of dollars given to the festival each year by the City of Toronto or the event’s major sponsor, Scotiabank.
“There will be some works that utilize spectacle as part of its message,” says St-Laurent, who left his job as curator of SAW Gallery last year to focus on freelance curating and creating his own art, “but in general I don’t think it’s very healthy for people to have that expectation of art, that it has to be spectacular, sensational, big, bright, expensive. I think it gives a very skewed view of what the visual arts are like today.”
Rideau Canal Skateway likely to open mid-January
Dan Neutel, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — With the expected return of cold weather Tuesday, the National Capital Commission is predicting the Rideau Canal will be open for skating by mid-month.
“We’re still on target,” said Jasmine Leduc of NCC media relations. “On average the Rideau Canal Skateway opens in the first half of January, weather permitting.”
This will be the 42nd skating season on the canal.
“Last year the skating season opened on Jan. 8, and it closed on March 6,” says Leduc. “Visitors enjoyed 53 days of skating through a 58 day skating season. And it included a beautiful stretch of 40 consecutive days with near ideal skating conditions.
“On average over the past five years, the Rideau Canal Skateway offered 45 skating days during a season that lasted on average 50 days,” says Leduc.
The key to good ice is cold weather with no snow. Snow acts as a thermal blanket preventing the ice from thickening.
“We’re hoping that the mild weather this past weekend had very little impact on the ice,” said Leduc. “We’re hoping that the cold weather will return shortly and that we’ll be able to resume our flooding operations.”
Roll out the sidewalks: Horizon 2067 aims to give Ottawa more pizzazz
Kathryn Blaze Carlson, The National Post
When The New York Times profiled Ottawa in its Travel section four years ago, the newspaper went in with a dig: “Ottawa has always had image problems.”
More than 150 years have passed since Ottawa was chosen over Montreal, Quebec City, Kingston and Toronto as Canada’s capital — at the time the Queen’s representative said it marked an “exile to wilderness.” Today, the city is still challenging its reputation as a sleepy, overly civilized government town. Just this summer, the city’s own tourism office launched an online advertising campaign to assure Canadians and tourists that “we don’t roll up our sidewalks at 5 o’clock.”
Ottawa Tourism’s target audience probably included the creators of Facebook groups such as “Ottawa = Boring,” “Ottawa Sucks” and “Ottawa is the most boringest city on earth,” or the writer who defined Ottawa in the online Urban Dictionary as: “Home of the federal government and a great place if you want a job that doesn’t require you to do any work. Sadly lacking in variety in entertainment, although it is home to a quality NHL team, the Ottawa Senators, as well as the Ottawa 67’s OHL team.”
Read more on the National Post website: Roll out the sidewalks
Christmas Trees Light Up the Capital Region’s Official Residences
[Source: NCC press release]
Canada’s Capital Region – Once again this year, the National Capital Commission (NCC) received beautiful natural Canadian trees donated by the Canadian Christmas Tree Growers Association (CCTGA) to adorn the official residences in Canada’s Capital Region during the holiday season.
The NCC installed the trees at all six official residences under its responsibility: Rideau Hall, the historic home and workplace of the governor general of Canada; 24 Sussex Drive, official residence of the prime minister of Canada; Stornoway, official residence of the leader of the Opposition; the Farm at Kingsmere, residence of the speaker of the House of Commons; Harrington Lake, summer residence of the prime minister as well as 7 Rideau Gate, Canada’s official “guest house.”
The trees, ranging from 3 to 3.6 metres (10 to 12 feet) in height, are Canadian-grown Fraser firs from eastern Canada. The Christmas trees were installed and decorated earlier in December, and are a wonderful addition to the official residences’ seasonal decorations.
The NCC is proud of its six year tradition of collaboration with the CCTGA who provides beautiful, natural Canadian trees for the state areas of the official residences this holiday season.
The NCC is the federal crown corporation mandated to manage Canada’s six official residences in the Capital Region. The NCC is responsible for long-term planning and capital works implementation, property management, curatorial and interior design services, grounds maintenance and floral services.
For more information, the public can contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 613-239-5090 (TTY), 1-800-465-1867 (toll-free) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY), or visit the NCC’s website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca/places-to-visit/official-residences.
Winterlude 2012 will remember the War of 1812
Alicja Siekierska, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — Feb. 3 will mark the start of Winterlude 2012, the 34th edition the city’s popular three-week long winter festival.
The National Capital Commission unveiled new details about the annual winter extravaganza Tuesday, which will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 as well as the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Coast Guard. There will be various activities honouring the anniversaries throughout the festival.
The NCC will work with more than 50 programming partners — more than ever before — to bring a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities to the event.
NCC CEO Marie Lemay says the increase in partnerships will not only make for a “bigger and better” Winterlude, but it will also bring more community involvement.
“We want the community to take ownership so it’s not just the NCC’s Winterlude,” says Lemay. “Community groups have really taken part in it, building it and taking ownership of it. So it’s everybody’s Winterlude.”
One of the new partners is the Ottawa Jazz Festival, which will launch the first annual Winter Jazz Festival with a series of concerts Feb. 2 to 4, most at the NAC’s Fourth Stage.
Read more on the Ottawa Citizen website: Winterlude 2012 will remember the War of 1812
