Canadian Tulip Festival Getaway Package Available
If you are planning on visiting Ottawa during the Canadian Tulip Festival, check out the package available on the Ottawa Tourism website. In addition to a special rate on Tulip Festival tickets, the package also includes a Rideau Centre savings directory and admission to other area attractions.
» Visit the Ottawa Tourism website: Tulip Celebration Getaway Package
Winterlude 2010: The Urban Cozy Project : February 2010
From Spins & Needles
Inspired by urban art and craft interventions around the world, this February 2010, Spins & Needles + the National Capital Commission (NCC) will transform the Ottawa-Gatineau winter landscape with a large-scale public urban art intervention. This intervention will take place during the annual Winterlude festival, Canada’s capital region winter celebration and one of the largest winter festivals in the world.
The Winterlude Urban Cozy Project, presented by Spins & Needles, will remix warmth, cold, art, craft, music and the city. We’re inviting artists and the public from near and far to create a warm and whimsical urban environment during Winterlude in Canada’s capital city by adding various warm coverings, or cozies, wrapped around trees, lampposts, and other urban elements on festival grounds. The intervention also seeks to play with traditional images and conceptions associated with a country known around the world for it’s cold weather climate.
Details: Winterlude 2010: The Urban Cozy Project : February 2010
PM welcomes the Olympic Flame to Parliament Hill
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today welcomed the Olympic Flame to Parliament Hill as thousands gathered to celebrate the passage of the Olympic Torch Relay through the National Capital Region. He was joined by Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia, John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Michael Chambers, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee, and from the National Capital Commission, Russell Mills, Chair of the Board and Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer.
“I am proud to welcome the Olympic Flame to the National Capital Region,” said the Prime Minister. “The Olympic Torch Relay began its epic journey 44 days ago in Victoria. For the next 62 days it will continue to travel from coast to coast to coast, showcasing our people, our lands, our athletes, our communities and our Canadian spirit.”
The Parliament Hill celebration featured appearances by Canadian Olympians Steve Podborski, Nathalie Lambert and Joé Juneau, who was the final torchbearer on Parliament Hill. The event also showcased performances by Canadian artists Gregory Charles, Asani and Tom Cochrane as well as the annual lighting ceremony of Christmas Lights Across Canada. This year, the Christmas Lights Across Canada program is celebrating its 25th anniversary with more than 350,000 LED lights.
“As the Olympic Flame makes its way across our great country, it is emblematic of the spirit of the Games,” said Prime Minister Harper. “It embodies the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. Those values resonate deeply with our national character.”
On February 12, 2010, the Olympic Flame will make its way to downtown Vancouver to light the Olympic Cauldron before a television audience of 3 billion people worldwide, signalling the start of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Canadians across the country are taking part in the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays to celebrate the arrival of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The 106-day Olympic Torch Relay will visit more than 1,000 communities and places of interest in every province and territory.
For more information on the Government of Canada’s support for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay or the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games visit www.Canada2010.gc.ca.
For more information on Christmas Lights Across Canada, visit www.canadascapital.gc.ca.
NCC INSTALLS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON PARLIAMENT HILL
Preparations are underway for the 25th edition of the National Capital Commission’s (NCC) Christmas Lights Across Canada program. During the next few weeks, the installation of 200,000 LED lights along Confederation Boulevard will be completed, with one tenth of them on Parliament Hill.From December 12, 2009 to January 7, 2010, hundreds of thousands of multicoloured lights will illuminate approximately 70 NCC and partner sites along Confederation Boulevard, including Parliament Hill, national museums, institutions, monuments, embassies and other prominent landmarks. Residents and visitors are invited to join us for the official illumination ceremony on December 12, 2009 on Parliament Hill. This year, the celebration is set to coincide with the arrival of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay in the heart of Canada’s Capital Region.
For more information on the Christmas Lights Across Canada program, members of the public may contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 1 800 465-1867 or visit the NCC’s website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca. TTY (text telephone for the hearing impaired) is available at: 613-239-5090 or toll-free 1 866 661-3530.
NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZED WITH FOUR INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
The National Capital Commission (NCC) has won four awards at the 54th annual International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) Convention & Expo. Winners of the 2009 IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards were announced September 23rd in Indianapolis, Indiana. The prestigious awards recognize outstanding examples of quality and creativity in the promotional programs and materials produced by its 2,000 member festivals and events around the world.”The NCC is thrilled to see its productions, programs and events recognized by the International Festivals and Events Association,” said Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer of the National Capital Commission. “These projects allow Canadians to better understand the importance of their Capital as a gathering place for celebrations, commemorations and learning. Promoting public activities and events in the National Capital Region serves to enrich the cultural and social fabric of Canada, and fosters pride in Canadians.”
The following NCC productions, programs and events were honoured with IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards:
Silver- Grand Pinnacle
for UKiUK: Winterlude Sound & Light Show 2009
The 31st edition of Winterlude, in February 2009, featured an exciting new element never seen before at Canada’s winter celebration: an outdoor sound and light show. Presented in an extraordinary setting at the head of the Rideau Canal, UKiUK took spectators on an emotion-packed journey celebrating Canadian winter through giant images and spectacular lighting effects. The impressive display, projected on the former Union Station of the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada, explored all aspects of Canada’s winter culture, from our winter symbols, traditions and sports, to the ways that winter shapes the Canadian way of life. UKiUK captured the audience’s imagination and instilled a sense of pride in Canada by evoking what unites us as Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
Silver- Best Miscellaneous Multimedia
for “Canada’s Capital Salutes Winter”, Rideau Canal Skateway 2009
As part of the 2009-2010 Canada Pavilion, the NCC’s touring exhibit entitled “Canada’s Capital Salutes Winter” brought the Rideau Canal Skateway, a Capital icon, to Canadians across the country. In partnership with the Capital’s national museums and institutions, the exhibit proudly shared Canadian treasures and iconic sites as seen through a winter lens. Canadians of all ages discovered the Capital though a highly interactive, hands-on experience that allowed them to skate the entire length of the Rideau Canal Skateway in less than 2 minutes.
Showcased in major popular events across Canada since last April, the exhibit continues to delight and connect Canadians with dates announced for Winnipeg, Manitoba in the new year. Visitors to the Royal Winnipeg Winter Fair, can take in “Canada’s Capital Salutes Winter” from March 29th to April 3, 2010.
Silver- Best TV Promotion (ad spot or PSA)
for Genies 2009
For the first time in Genie history, Canada’s Capital was proud to be host region for the annual Genie Awards, recognizing the best in Canadian film. The 2009 awards program was located at the Canada Aviation Museum, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of flight. The National Capital Commission was able to promote Canadian culture in Canada’s Capital Region and showcase Canadian achievement. Being host region for the event provided an opportunity for the NCC not only to celebrate excellence in Canadian cinema, but to showcase the Capital as a national gathering place, and a source of pride and unity for all Canadians.
Bronze- Best Single Magazine Ad Display
for Winterlude 2009
What better place to celebrate winter than in the nation’s capital? Printed at over 500,000 copies, the Outaouais Tourism Brochure allowed the NCC to promote the winter experience in the Capital. The visual integration of NCC winter programs such as Winterlude, UKIUK – the new Sound and Light Show, and the Rideau Canal Skateway, targeted the Montreal and Toronto markets.
For more information about the NCC, members of 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 website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca.
About the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA)
The IFEA is “the premiere association supporting and enabling festival and event professionals worldwide,” and has provided cutting-edge professional development and direction for the festivals and events industry since 1956. The organization officially represents industry-leading members, spanning 40 countries and five continents. They strive to create and maintain “a globally united industry that touches lives in a positive way through celebration”. For more information about the International Festivals and Events Association, visit the website at www.ifea.com.
