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HELLO OTTAWA

The Ottawa Board of Trade has put forward a $500 million plan to revitalize downtown. The 'Downtown Ottawa Action Agenda' has five actions:

•  Prioritize Housing: Streamlining processes to increase downtown residency through higher density and use of public land.
   
•  Invest in the Future: Establishing financial mechanisms for ongoing downtown investment.
   
•  Address Homelessness, Addiction, and Mental Health: Implementing focused programs with multi-level government funding.
   
•  Improve Regional Mobility: Enhancing transit options to make downtown more accessible.
   
•  Position Downtown Nationally and Internationally: Marketing efforts to boost economic activity and enhance downtown's image.

There are other aspects: redevelop Sparks Street as a destination and support the changes at ByWard market as well as create a ‘a business incubation district’ and an arts and culture corridor.

You can read the report here.

– Martha and Darren

STATS

Ottawans of the Day

• EJ Manyeza, Quinn Vanneste, Dexter Dunlop, and Nathaniel Alagakone
• – The four grade 10 boys from All Saints High School in Kanata broke a 21 year-old record for the 4 x 100 metre relay at the the NCSSAA West Conference Championship. The old record was 46.20 seconds, the new one is now 45.83. (Dave Charbonneau at CTV) 

Quote

• “

• I'm trying to maintain public confidence and trust in the system. Here's another issue in the same tunnel

• – River Ward councillor Riley Brockington on the dripping ceiling of the St Laurent O Train station, which was closed for five days. OC Transpo says that part of the ceiling was missed on previous inspections ‘because they never looked for it’. Workers have installed a net over the track and platform to catch any debris. (Elyse Skura at CBC)

Sports

• ⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans 1 – Tri-City ValleyCats 2 yesterday

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CITY HALL AGENDA

What’s going on at City Hall

No more meetings this week

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

📋 Federal Public Employees

•  The Treasury Board is staying firm on the three-days-in-the-office rule but is asking managers to be ‘flexible’ on exemptions. The Treasury Board mandate a return to the office of an extra day per week three weeks ago, months after everyone assumed that the issue was settled. Treasury Board president Anita Anand asks managers, who must come in four days per week, to accommodate ‘public servants who need and require those exemptions’. (Josh Pringle at CTV)

⚕️ Gatineau Health Care

•  The Gatineau health authority has made contingency plans of service closures and delays due to staff shortages. The Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais says that some surgical units at Gatineau, Maniwaki, and Pontiac hospitals may be closed and imaging could be stopped at Gatineau Hospital and moved to Hull Hospital. (Celeste Lecaire at CBC)

🚨 Electric Cars

•  The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is testing an electric car at Rideau Hall but has its complaints pre-prepared. Sargeant Shaun Vickery in the national traffic programmes and operational technologies unit worries that electric cars will have limited range and be unable to charge in rural areas and that high-speeds will deplete the battery. The Mounties are testing two Teslas, one at Rideau Hall and the other on Vancouver Island. (Catharine Tunney at CBC)

🚲 Multi-Use Pathway

•  The City and the Federal Government are blaming each other for the lack of repair on Hunt Club and Fallowfield bike path, parallel to Greenbank Road.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it has given permission for the City to use and maintain the path but the City says it won't do anything until the Agency coördinates over future building plans. (Peter Szperling at CTV)

🛒 Shopify

•  The Chief Executive Officer of local mom and pop business, Shopify, has been appointed to a committee to advise Facebook’s leadership. Tobi Lütke, who now lives in Toronto, joins the CEO of Stripe, a technology investor, and the former CEO GitHub to keep the leaders of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, abreast of what’s hip in tech. (Canadian Press)

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MORE FROM THE OTTAWAN

• 🍺 Our Ottawa-Gatineau Craft Brewery Map

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• 🏆 The Best Of Ottawa Awards 2023

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• 🎧 Best Podcasts from Ottawa

EVENTS

Is there an event we should know about?
Please use our easy event submission form

Today

•  Road Trip: there’s a new joint in Arnprior, ON that ticks both the beer and ice cream boxes. 55 John St. K7S 2R1 houses both Mallards Milk Bar (head there for tasty dairy and vegan options of the cold stuff) and Switzer’s House of Beer (prepare for a rotating list of beers and wines to sample from around the province and beyond). Open Thursdays through Sundays.

•  Bid until June 5 on gifts, decor, footwear, and more at the Parkdale United Church’s online auction.

•  There are still single tickets for Six, the touring edition of the hit Broadway musical.

•  Help Stroked Ego celebrate 14 years in business with a visit to the store’s sale event. It’s a one day affair with a Photo Booth, drinks, and snacks. 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm at 131 Bank St. K1P 5N7

•  The winning designs of the NCC Urban Design Challenge 2024 will be unveiled at the NCC Urbanism Lab. This Student Ideas Competition for the National Capital Region drew entries from across the country, with teams from Queen’s University (First Place), Laurentian University's McEwen School of Architecture (Second Place) and University of British Columbia (Honourable mention / Most thought provoking) taking the top spots. 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at 40 Elgin St., room 202, or watch live on YouTube (you must register to see the livestream).

•  ByTowne Cinema: Nostalghia (Restoration), I Don’t Know Who You Are with Panel Discussion, I Saw The TV Glow.

•  Mayfair Theatre: Irena’s Vow, Wicked Little Letters, Le Cercle Rouge.
  
  Gigs

•  Talk Dirty to Me: An Evening of Sin, Burlesque, Drag, & Variety Show. Rainbow Bistro

•  Kentucky and D.B. Cohen. Overflow Brewing

•  Switched-On Synths: Local Noise Vol. 1 with Sam Aleums, Day of Niagara, Annie Socoria. House of TARG

•  Release the Bats! Café Dekcuf

•  Karaoke. Atomic Rooster

•  Maude Audet with Paper Beat Scissors. National Arts Centre

•  The Desert Echo Duo. Montgomery Scotch Lounge

•  Irene’s Blues Sessions with Guest Host Vince Halfhide. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  Flora Luna. LIVE on Elgin

•  Kate Weekes. Red Bird

Tomorrow

•  Artist Scott Ferguson shows 20 new works at Avant-Garde Bar, alongside soundscapes and interactive lighting. 147 Besserer St. K1N 6A7.

•  Get sticky at Kanata RibFest and Poutine, today through Sunday May 26 at Community Hub, 400 March Road. K2K 3H4

•  There are still single tickets for Six, the touring edition of the hit Broadway musical.

•  The Ottawa Kennel Club’s 137th annual show gets underway at Richmond Agricultural Society this weekend. Watch as the different breeds are put through Rally, Obedience, and Scent Detection trials. It’s free admission but you’ll pay $5 for parking, with all parking fees donated to the Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind. 6107 Perth Street, Richmond K0A 2Z0

•  It’s also free to attend the Open House at the Gatineau Preservation Campus, where works by Canadian artists are preserved. Learn how documents, manuscripts, books and digital files are preserved and stored in the state-of-the-art Preservation Storage Facility. Today and tomorrow from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at 625 Bd du Carr, Gatineau J8T 8L8.

•  Fundraiser Weekend has arrived at Art House Café, and the entire building will come alive with live music and DJs, art, an auction, and raffles. It’s all in aid of revamping the layout, adding an accessible washroom, and creating more space for performers. Visit all weekend for music, an Afternoon DJ Party and Vintage 1920s Casino Night (Saturday May 25) and art fun (Sunday May 26). 555 Somerset St. West K1R 5K1.

•  Have a chill evening at Queers & Beers featuring OK Naledi and DJ Ju!ce at Overflow Brewing Co. $12 in advance or $15 at the door. 2477 Kaladar Ave, Ottawa, ON K1V 8B9

•  ByTowne Cinema: Wildcat, Kanaal, DeGrassi Tour: School’s Out! (VIP), DeGrassi Tour: School’s Out! (General Admission)

•  Mayfair Theatre: Wicked Little Letters, The Promised Land, Aggro Dr1ft, Big Shark

  Gigs

•  Danny Rebel and the KGB, Oscillaotrs, Beautiful Sabotage. House of TARG

•  Life Size Men with the Atomic Tempunauts. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  KG Jay “Seven” EP release performance. LIVE on Elgin

•  For the King of Detours Tour. Avant-Garde

•  The Longest Johns. Bronson Centre

•  Mama’s Broke. Red Bird

•  Ghostly Kisses. Club SAW

•  The Barrow Gang. Atomic Rooster

•  The Tony D. Band. Rainbow Bistro

•  The Bow Street Runners. Montgomery Scotch Lounge

Saturday

•  Odawa Native Friendship Centre kicks off the season with the 45th Annual Traditional Powwow, today and tomorrow at the Canadian Police College, 1 Sandridge Road. K1K 2X5. Free to attend.

  Road Trips:

•  The Arnprior & District Humane Society is fundraising with a Yard Sale. Buy cool stuff and help the animals.

•  Each year on the final Saturday in May, Smiths Falls welcomes visitors to Porchfest. It’s a community-led event from 2:00 pm to 6:30 pm along a short route and it’s best to wear shoes that you can both walk and dance in.

•  Road Trip- um, Walk Trip. Friends of the Watershed in Perth, ON are giving a free guided tour along the Tay River and Canal between Last Duel Park and the park next to the Rainbow Bridge at the top of Mill Street. Grab the map, walk the route, and chat with local experts along the way. You’ll learn about shoreline naturalisation, invertebrates that live in the local waters, and watershed conservation. You’ll also hear about wetlands and habitat diversity. 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm in Perth.

•  Toronto-based Courage Cookies was started by Chelsea Hearty and Ian Moores, a pair of Ottawa-born friends, back in the darkest, early-pandemic days of 2020. This weekend they’re bringing their success back home by opening their new location at 1130 Wellington West. But this isn’t just a feel good story about locals done good: a portion of the overall revenue of each cookie is donated to a worthy organization (determined by the recipient’s good will, credentials, transparency, effectiveness, and whether or not they have minimal administrative fees). So far, Courage Cookies has donated more than $100,000, which is significantly more than their modest original goal of $10K. Check them out from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

•  Get sticky at Kanata RibFest and Poutine. Community Hub, 400 March Road K2K 3H4.

•  You can watch the Monster trucks at Canadian Tire Centre, but don’t stop there. Buy a Pit Pass to meet the star drivers of champs like Overkill Evolution, Bounty Hunter, and Rat Nasty.

•  Those whose favourite fur friends have long ears and very strong hind legs should hop on over to Bunnypalooza for activities, pet portraits and more.11:00 am to 4:00 pm at Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre 102 Greenview Ave K2B 5Z6

•  Listen to experimental sounds at Drone Day, a global celebration of the ambient genre of music that sustains notes, sounds or tones. This show is a special collaboration between Debaser and Carleton University Art Gallery. Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper St. K2P 0G8

•  This weekend marks 50 years of Ottawa marathon weekends. Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is today and tomorrow. 

•  Great Glebe Garage Sale is this Saturday (May 25) and CTV has a helpful prep list to read before you go.

•  Related: If there’s a corner of your garden that’s crying out for a native species tree, be sure to visit Ecology Ottawa at the Great Glebe Garage Sale. The grassroots organization will be giving away White Spruce, Red Pine, White Cedar, Balsam Poplar, and Pussy Willow. RSVP to help them plan for the giveaway. 166 Glebe Avenue between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm.

•  There are still single tickets for Six, the touring edition of the hit Broadway musical.

•  Lesbian events group Les Go celebrates its second birthday with DJs and live performances. Queen St. Fare, 170 Queen St. K1P 5E1

•  ByTowne Cinema: Howl’s Moving Castle (English dubbed), Wildcat, Nostalghia (Restoration), Civil War

•  Mayfair Theatre: Wicked Little Letters, The Promised Land, The Big Lebowski, Saturday Night Sinema

  Gigs

•  Hemlock Hotel. Orléans Brewing Co

•  SH-BOOM with Ash Ravens. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  All Ages Rock Show: Stand Still, Montclair, Mile End, Qwan. Rainbow Bistro

•  Arret obligatoire with Val d’Avalon, Wassim, Jessy Lindsay. LIVE on Elgin

•  Ottawa Psychfest 2024: Simply Saucer, Sky Furrows, Technicolor Blood, TBWNIS. House of TARG

•  The Barrow Gang. Atomic Rooster

•  Daniel Champagne. Red Bird

Just Announced / Now Booking

• Orléans Brewing Co’s first annual Golf Tournament will raise funds for ALS Canada. Monday June 10 at Pine View Golf Course.

• There are only a couple of weeks to go until Ottawa Italian Week takes over Preston St and environs for 11 days of walking tours, food and wine workshops, art, an outdoor mass, a disco party, and the bike race on the festival’s final Sunday. You’ll need to book your place in the workshops now before they sell out.

• Grand Illusionists Ted & Marion Outerbridge present their new family show Outerbridge Magic - Mysteries of the Keyhole House, a show that promises to amaze and thrill audiences of all ages. The show was inspired by renovations on the pair's Ottawa Valley house, and their discovery that they’re sharing the space with the ghost of a long ago owner. If you’ve ever heard whispers in the attic, this is the show for you.

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DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

One for the Moneyball fans, this video captures a meeting of the Amateur Scouts – they are scouting amateurs, they are not non-professional scouts themselves – of the Ottawa Senators as they prepare for next month's National Hockey Leagure Draft in Las Vegas. 

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

Comment of the week: ‘I have to smile every time you mention the Choosin’ Hat. Makes my day.’

THE END

the ottawan is written and edited every working weekday by Martha and Darren.

Is there something that Ottawa should know about? Email to us at hello@theottawan.com. We read every single comment. 

We’ll see you tomorrow.

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