6th Annual Tortaboyz Block Party Cookout Returns Home to Little Italy

Ottawa Festival Network
35 minutes ago
3 min read

Free, food-first cultural festival launches the Diaspora Cultural Collective and brings together diasporic talent from Ottawa, Montreal and beyond

OTTAWA, ON — August 21, 2026 — The Tortaboyz Block Party Cookout returns for its sixth year on Saturday, August 29, transforming the Adult High School parking lot at 301 Preston Street into an 11-hour celebration of food, music and diaspora culture.

Running from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m., the free event marks a return home to Little Italy—the neighbourhood where Tortaboyz grew from a food truck into one of Ottawa’s most recognizable independent restaurants and cultural gathering spaces.

The Cookout brings together 20 carefully selected food vendors curated by Tortaboyz founders Lucho Guerra and Moudy Hussein, alongside a full day of live performances, DJs and cultural programming curated by longtime Ottawa artist, cultural producer and creative director Sergio Guerra, also known as Cheko7even. Click here to see a list of curated vendors.

“At the Cookout, food is not a sideshow—it is part of the main performance,” says Guerra. “The people cooking, the artists onstage and the communities gathering around them are all telling connected stories. We want people to experience the cultures represented here through taste, sound, movement and celebration.”

This year’s Cookout will also serve as the public launch of the Diaspora Cultural Collective, a new non-profit organization founded by Lucho Guerra, Moudy Hussein and Sergio Guerra. Building on years of collaborative cultural production, the organization will create inclusive public experiences rooted in food, music, art and community while prioritizing the voices and creative expressions of diasporic communities.

The 2026 musical program is headlined by Afroteo, a high-energy party collective whose Latin and African roots have made them a powerful force on the dance floor. The lineup also features Nigerian-Ottawa artist Banggz, an electric emerging performer blending Afrobeats and hip-hop; fast-rising Montreal DJ Kay B; hip-hop performers J Chinnasz and Nycky Ghost; and Murderith and Xhunco, bringing the latin energy to the Cookout.

Additional performances and activations include homerown legends DJ Magnificent, DJ Marbel, DJ Karyen and a dance activation by Flow Latino.

Now in its sixth year, the Tortaboyz Block Party Cookout has grown from a neighbourhood gathering into one of Ottawa’s most distinctive independent culinary and cultural events. Its food-first approach brings together chefs, artists, vendors and audiences from across the city while creating space for cultural exchange, local talent and unapologetic expressions of diaspora identity.

This year’s Cookout remains independently produced and self-funded. Organizers are inviting media outlets, community partners and cultural organizations to support the event by helping amplify it through interviews, editorial coverage, community calendar listings and social-media sharing.

EVENT DETAILS

6th Annual Tortaboyz Block Party Cookout

Saturday, August 29, 2026

12 p.m.–11 p.m.

Adult High School Parking Lot

301 Preston Street, Ottawa

Free admission

ABOUT TORTABOYZ

Founded by childhood friends Lucho Guerra and Moudy Hussein, Tortaboyz began as a food truck in 2021 before growing into a full-service restaurant and cultural hub in Ottawa’s Little Italy. Built independently and rooted in the experiences of immigrant families, Tortaboyz brings Latin, Arab and wider diasporic influences together through food, music, art and community programming.

ABOUT THE DIASPORA CULTURAL COLLECTIVE

The Diaspora Cultural Collective is a new non-profit organization founded by Lucho Guerra, Moudy Hussein and Sergio Guerra. The Collective produces inclusive cultural experiences rooted in food, music, art and community, creating platforms where diasporic artists, entrepreneurs and cultural workers can tell their own stories, build meaningful connections and reach wider audiences.