The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — aka Will and Kate — were the guests of honour at Ottawa’s Canada Day celebrations in 2011. CREDIT: Central Image Agency

A big part of the celebration is organized by the National Capital Commission, including the noon and evening shows on Parliament Hill, the massive fireworks display and fun, interactive programming in Major’s Hill Park in Ottawa and Jacques-Cartier Park in nearby Gatineau, Québec.

The NCC (as it’s known) has issued a call to artists to create some unique artwork for Major’s Hill Park for this year’s celebration. Check out the details on their website.

They’re looking for something collaborative — meaning a temporary creation that would be built or made by the artist and members of the public as the day progressed; sounds like fun!

The details of Canada Day 2012 won’t be released for a few more weeks but stay tuned — it’ll be a 145th birthday party to remember!

Preston Street (Ottawa's Little Italy) is just one of the neighbourhoods taking part in Jane's Walk Ottawa May 5-6.

This weekend — May 5 and 6 — brings an opportunity for Ottawa residents and visitors alike to discover unique, intimate looks at the Ottawa region. Jane’s Walks are named after Jane Jacobs, a noted urbanist, and this year marks the 5th anniversary of these free strolls in Ottawa.

Start times run from roughly 9:00am to 3:00pm on both Saturday and Sunday and there are walks for every taste. Discover neighbourhoods like Little Italy, New Edinburgh, Vanier, Barrhaven and Manotick, among others. Stroll through Notre Dame Cemetery, the trees of the Arboretum, or you can even learn about edible weeds!

Most walks are presented in English but some are in French — and there’s even a bike tour (new this year).

Best of all — it’s free! See the full schedule here and get walking this weekend!

Acts on the main stage include 2011 Grammy Award Winner for Best New Artist, Esperanza Spalding, who proves that jazz continues to reinvent itself with timeless popularity. Another high energy new young act is American R&B artist Janelle Monáe. Her stunning vocal prowess and smooth dance moves are sure to delight the audience. With catchy songs like “Tightrope” you’re sure to be grooving along with her.

June 25 is a night is dedicated to New Orleans jazz starring Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue. The Grammy-nominated group is sure to get the crowd going with their music fusion of superfunk, jazz, and rock. If you haven’t heard them before, this is one to check out! Shorty is followed by New Orleans living jazz and blues legend Allen Toussaint.

Jazz and blues is stunning music that can pull you into melodic soul of the artist. But maybe you are looking for something more light hearted, if so, June 26 is the night for you! Comedian Steve Martin will take to the stage with the Steep Canyon Rangers for a night of bluegrass and comedy.

When it is time to take a break from the sunshine the Studio and Improv Series right across the street at the National Arts Centre showcases an exceptional line up in intimate venues. The schedule caters to the true jazz connoisseur featuring critically acclaimed performers like The Jack DeJohnette Group and up-and-coming talents like the jazzy improv sounds of IPA.

After the shows at Confederation Park wrap up for the night, the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival keeps your toes tapping with the OLG Late Night Series. Dance the night away with Snarky Puppy and Los Amigos Invisibles plus a host of other hot party bands.

Visit the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival site for the full lineup. Full festival and day passes are available. Book Ottawa Tourism’s Celebration Vacation, Taste of Canada or Rendez-vous for Two package to purchase an exclusive two-day festival pass plus accommodations.

August Schellenberg

“King Lear is perhaps the greatest of all Shakespeare’s dramas.”
–The Telegraph

From May 8-26, 2012, the National Arts Centre English Theatre presents King Lear, set in the Canada of 1608 (the year the play was written) during the Iroquois/Huronia Wars. This version of Shakespeare’s tragedy, directed by Peter Hinton, includes a cast of Aboriginal actors from across Canada and features the renowned Quebec actor August Schellenberg as Lear.

Tickets are available at the NAC box office and online. Or, plan your Ottawa vacation and include this production as part of an Ottawa Tourism getaway package.

Other 2012 productions from the NAC English Theatre include Communion (April 10-21), Sandra Shamas’ WIT’S END III: LOVE LIFE (April 10-14), The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum (Oct 16 – Nov3), thirsty (Nov 5-17), and Pride and Prejudice (Nov 21 – Dec 8).

Get out and party whenever you visit Ottawa!

Ottawa is hopping as the crème-de-la-crème of the Canadian music industry descends on Canada’s capital to celebrate! The JUNO Awards were last hosted in Ottawa in 2003 but the party is bigger and better this time around.

Canadian icon William Shatner will be the host of the awards themselves on Sunday, April 1 but there are plenty of other activities — from a hockey game with musicians and former National Hockey League players to a huge autograph session to a series of concerts in great local clubs — to keep you busy. Or sit down at one of the JUNO pianos located in public places around town and regale passers-by with your talents!

No matter when you visit Ottawa, though, you should explore Ottawa’s thriving live music scene. Here are just a few venues to check out:

• Zaphod Beeblebrox (named after a character in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series) just celebrated its 20th anniversary in March 2012 and shows no signs of stopping! Owner Eugene Haslam consistently books acts before they become famous, including Ben Harper, Alanis Morissette, Ani DiFranco, Our Lady Peace, Jewel, the Dandy Warhols and more! The Rolling Stones filmed their Streets of Love video at the club in 2005.
• Pubs: Ottawa loves its pubs and most of them provide live music, often with no cover charge. The Heart & Crown in the ByWard Market neighbourhood has 7 nights a week of music while Irene’s Pub in the Glebe neighbourhood has a great Thursday night blues jam and Saturday afternoon open stage along with regular weekend shows. D’Arcy McGee’s on Sparks Street has a regular Wednesday Night Kitchen Party.
• The Elmdale Tavern in trendyWellington West neighbourhood takes its live music—and its beer—seriously. There’s something happening almost every night: from rock to folk to alternative to poetry readings to you name it!
• If you’re into blues, it’s worth the walk up the stairs to the Rainbow Bistroin the ByWard Market district. It’s a strange layout (think rustic ski chalet) for a live music club but it somehow works. All the greats have performed here and they continue to program a solid set.
  

  Get your toes tappin' at these great live music venues!

• If DJs are more your thing, head down to Babylon Nightclub on Bank Street for their Friday night and Saturday night Dance Parties. Or nearby Barrymore’s Sunday night Retro 80s parties. In the ByWard Market, try the 21st century soul club that is Mercury Lounge.
• For some live jazz, head to Bank Street’s Café Paradiso or downstairs at Vineyards Wine Bar Bistro in the ByWard Market.
• For something a little edgier, you’re best at Mavericks or Café Dekcuf, both on Rideau Street. Bring your earplugs!

What are YOUR favourite places to hear music in Ottawa? Let us know in the comments below!

BYWARD MARKET NEIGHBOURHOOD

This is patio central. If there’s a stretch of sidewalk available in front of a restaurant, there will be a patio. Some favourites?

Romantic: The back patio at Murray Street Kitchen Wine Charcuterie is a slice of heaven. It’s sheltered from the street with interesting art and it becomes progressively shadier as the summer progresses (grapevines gradually fill in the overhangs). The Black Thorn Café on Clarence Street has a front patio that’s nice, but walk into the cobblestone courtyard and you’ll find their spacious back patio overlooks a sprightly fountain (in summer), some greenspace and the tin façade of a house mounted on the imposing stone walls of the Sussex Drive buildings.

Social: Still romantic but a bit more social are the four restaurants that share the Clarendon Courtyard behind the shops on Sussex Drive between George Street and York Street. Fine dining awaits at the hip Social, the musically diverse Black Tomato, the inventive Courtyard Restaurant and the old-school Italian Mamma Grazzi’s Kitchen.

The Cornerstone's location means it gets lots of sun!

Sunniest: The Cornerstone Bar & Grill is on the southeast corner of Clarence Street and William Street and gets tons of sun. Likewise, the Earl of Sussex patio (Sussex Drive at Murray Street) benefits from a particularly sun-filled location. You can chase the sun through about 5 different outdoor locations at the Heart & Crown pub — the Irish Village complex has an interior courtyard, sidewalk locations on Clarence and Parent and upper and lower decks overlooking Murray Street.

Best People-Watching: The Aulde Dubliner and Pour House at George Street and the William Street Mall give you a great look at the action in the neighbourhood — the Pour House in particular as it’s on the second floor (use it to gauge how long the lineup is at the nearby BeaverTails stand!). At the same corner, you can indulge in pizzas and pastas from The Grand Pizzeria and Bar while watching the world walk by. Meanwhile, Luxe Bistro at the corner of York Street and ByWard Market Square — and the Empire Grill at Clarence and Parent — are both prime people-watching spots, too.

Rooftops: You’ll love the music at the Hard Rock Café on York Street and the views from the roof of Stella Osteria on Clarence Street are impressive, too!

OTHER NEIGHBOURHOODS

Elgin Street is another great nightlife area, and the patio at D’Arcy McGee’s won’t disappoint, with its million-dollar views of the National War Memorial, Fairmont Château Laurier, National Arts Centre and more. Speaking of the National Arts Centre, their Le Café dining room overlooks the Rideau Canal — perfect for a summer’s evening!

Chinatown is not known for its patios, which makes ZenKitchen‘s that much more enticing.

On Preston Street (Ottawa’s Little Italy), you can whet your whistle at another branch of the Heart & Crown or at Pub Italia – yes, an Italian-themed pub!

The New Edinburgh neighbourhood boosts a huge rooftop at the aptly-named New Edinburgh Pub or you could explore some locally brewed beers at the Clocktower Brew Pub (note: the beers are brewed at the location in the Glebe neighbourhood, which also sports a patio).

Speaking of brewpubs, you could also check out the newly opened Mill Street Brewpub just west of downtown near the Canadian War Museum or venture over to the wonderful Brasseurs du temps in Gatineau, Québec.

Wherever you go, you’ll find a welcoming patio! Share your favourites below in the Comments.

Yes, that's the size of a blue whale's heart! Unbelievable! credit-Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008

March Break visitors to the Canadian Museum of Nature this week got a first look at the new exhibit, Whales Tohorā, which runs from March 2 to September 3, 2012. This exhibit is on loan from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Tohorā, means “whale” in Māori, and the Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. Whale-bone treasures, such as weapons and adornments, that the Māori produced reveal the significance of whales to them and reflect the exhibition’s cultural expression of the relationship between the two groups.

Whales Tohorā explores the diversity, biology and adaptation of whales to life in the oceans and also on the human impacts on whales such as the threats of fishing nets, foreign debris, predators and boats. A stunning component of this exhibition is the massive 17.8-metre, fully articulated sperm-whale skeleton that gives a real sense of the sperm whale’s size as the largest toothed predator on the planet!

The exhibition’s Whale Lab is full of interactive science:

• Children can crawl through a life-sized replica of the heart of the largest living creature—the blue whale.
• The extraordinary evolutionary journey of whales from land to the sea is shown by casts of fossil whale ancestors.
• Visitors can tune in to a range of whale sounds and discover how scientists and amateur trackers identify individual whales on their migration through the Pacific Ocean.
• The Whale Lab also features Search and Destroy, an experience that takes visitors to the ocean depths on a hunt for a giant squid, re-created from authentic data and sounds collected from a real sperm whale.

Visitors of any age will find something of interest in this awe inspiring exhibit that explores the undersea world of whales and brings them to life with cultural storytelling, intriguing objects and interactive science.  For more information on the exhibit visit the Canadian Museum of Nature website or, to book your getaway package that includes a visit to the Whales Tohorā exhibit, visit www.ottawatourism.ca.

Miss the show this weekend? Don’t worry models will hit the runways again in September for the Spring/Summer 2013 collections.

Ottawa Fashion Week

Tickets are $45 for Friday and Saturday night and $55 on Sunday night. The Sunday night show includes a charity show with $10 from each ticket going to UNICEF. For those who can’t get enough fashion, the best deal is to buy a weekend pass which is $95 for all three days.

The nights are packed with entertainment. There are two intermissions during which bands will be playing and there is a Marketplace with designers selling jewellery, among them Love Montreal, Sean Ward, and Nova Design. There will also be hair and make-up touchups, cocktails and photo booths!

Slip into your stilettos and come on out for a weekend of fashion and fun!

Check the schedule: http://www.ottawafashionweek.ca/schedule-feb-new.php

Buy tickets: http://ottawafashionweek.ca/consumer.php

I’m not even that great a skater, but the experience is so unique, it makes me feel more graceful than I really am.

At an Ottawa Tourism Christmas party a couple years ago, we held a contest to “rap” about the Rideau Canal. I decided to write this instead, which I’ve updated and recorded here (the text is below as well).

Maybe you’ll be inspired to create your own ode to the ice….

Ode to the Rideau Canal Skateway
by Jantine Van Kregten

I slide, I glide, I wanna fly down the ice of the Rideau Canal
It’s a Canadian dream, this icicle stream that snakes through my city in a sinuous seam

As I lace up my skates, I think of the dates I’ve done this before
Alone or with friends, my experience tends to make me want more!

Push and glide, push and glide
A rhythm emerges and I’m not discouraged when I’m passed by a posse of partying youths
They laugh and they tease, they bob and they weave
Then disappear in the night, wrapped up in the flight
To a tavern or pub, a shawarma or sub

Push and glide, push and glide,
A rhythm develops, a new charm envelops when my favourite old couple comes skating my way
With an impressive grace, hand-in-hand they can trace
Perfect patterns that show how well they both know
The dips and the grooves, the roughs and the smooths.

Push and glide, push and glide
The rhythm’s extending, any misgivings ending as I get in my groove
Looking around me I see, I’m not alone in my glee
From the BeaverTail noshers to the just stand-and-watchers
There’s an active delight in this cold, starry night.

I skate for the bliss—something not to be missed—
Of cold noses and toeses, of cheeks red like roses, of what one supposes
Winter could be.

For my chilly extremities are an excuse for amenities
To be savoured with neighbours, boast of our labours, indulge in the flavours
Of our favourite bistro.

We toast to the night, the warmth and the light…. and when we just might….
Skate it again!