Discussion Groups Feed

Date: June 1st

Time: 12 PM – 5:30 PM

Location: National Arts Centre, Ottawa – 4th Stage

Registration: free at Empower Arts

For more information, please call: 1-844-985-2787.

The National Arts Centre (NAC) in collaboration with Blurring The Boundaries Arts (BTBA), the Research Centre for Music, Sound, and Society in Canada at Carleton University, the Canadian Accessible Musical Instruments Network, and the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation invites you to Empower Arts 2.0, a public disability arts summit taking place during National Accessibility Week.

Hi members!

I wanted to direct your attention to the recently launched FACTOR Canada 2026–2027 Festival Support Program, aimed at helping Canadian-owned festivals continue presenting and growing events that showcase Canadian artists.

Through the initiative, eligible festivals can receive funding covering up to 50% of total eligible project costs.

Deadline to apply: 5 PM ET, June 11, 2026

Eligible Activities

1. Festivals must occur within Canada. A music festival is defined as a community event that typically features a series of performances by multiple emerging and established artists that occur over a series of consecutive dates.

We're about to hire our first full-time employee. Who would you recommend (or not!)?

We want to have someone who can handle all of the payroll minutia for us completely including T4s, calculation of deductions, and everything else.

thanks for any tips!

A reminder that applications for Ottawa Tourism's Nightlife Tourism Development Fund close tomorrow - March 31, 2026.

Applicant Guide and Application Form can be found here: https://ottawatourism.ca/en/destination-development/funding-programs

The program supports tourism businesses and organizations creating visitor-driven nightlife experiences that take place between 6:00pm - 6:00am and help strengthen Ottawa's nighttime economy.

Hello everyone, happy Monday!

Pride Night is on April 2nd at the Canadian Tire Centre! The Ottawa Senators have invited us to celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community while enjoying all the excitement of live NHL action at an upcoming game. They will be incorporating themes from the Canadian hit show Heated Rivalry with input from the author of the books that delivered the series, Rachel Reid.

We have received a discounted ticket offer, check it out here: Pride Night Offer.

Go Sens Go!

Happening tomorrow: Nightlife Tourism Development Fund Information Session

Ottawa Tourism is launching the Nightlife Tourism Development Fund to support tourism businesses and organizations in creating high-quality nightlife experiences. The Fund aligns with the City’s Nightlife Economy Action Plan by helping bring new and engaging nightlife offerings to life.

This application-based program aims to support activations occurring between 6 p.m. – 6 a.m. that are designed to attract visitors and enhance Ottawa’s nighttime appeal. Priority consideration will be given to nightlife projects and initiatives that demonstrate alignment with a minimum of three (3) of the following areas: 

• Arts

• Culture

Hi Members,

Extreme weather events are becoming an increasingly common and costly challenge for live music events across Canada – particularly for outdoor concerts and festivals.

The Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) is launching a national survey to better understand how climate-related disruptions such as wildfires, floods, storms, and extreme heat are affecting live music operations, planning, finances, and safety.

Your input will directly inform the development of a Climate Contingency Roadmap: a practical, sector-specific suite of tools to help live music operators anticipate, plan for, and respond to climate disruptions.

The survey is confidential and designed to reflect the realities of operators working under tight budgets and growing uncertainty.

Sharing this funding initiative which aims to showcase, across Canada, the richness of talent in contemporary Irish arts and culture.!

Canada-Ireland 180 – Calls for Expressions of Interest

Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland to Canada are seeking expressions of interest from artists, ensembles and cultural organisations to participate in an Irish season of arts and culture in Canada in 2027. 

They are inviting proposals from artists and their representatives, curators, venues and presenters interested in participating in this special programme, including from companies which already have outline plans for work to be presented in Canada in 2027.

Funding for this initiative will be awarded under two strands:

Strand 1: Funding provided by Culture Ireland will support the presentation/touring of work by Irish professional artists usually based in Ireland covering all artforms at Canadian venues, festivals, galleries and institutions. Irish and Canadian organisations (programming touring Irish artists) are both…

Hello Members,

For OFN's 30th anniversary year, the OFN team is putting together a marketing campaign to celebrate and showcase our members and all you bring to this amazing city!

Campaign Concept:  

• A year long (Q2-Q4) series of festival giveaways, spotlighting at least 30 participating member organization to the public on OFN channels through digital and printed materials 

• Think “advent calendar” style format – individuals will interact/subscribe to the overall campaign and be notified of each giveaway and prompted to “opt-in” for the giveaway(s) they’re interested in.