See the 8 day forecast at the ottawan weather

HELLO OTTAWA

Greetings from Vancouver, where the rain is wet, the grass is green, and the holiday spirit is alive. After a typically underwhelming travel experience (queueing at check-in for 75 minutes, waiting for a delayed flight, finding airport services closed before all the flights have departed, sitting for five hours with our knees at our chests, etc.), we have arrived in the bosom of Darren's family to enjoy Christmas.  While we'll be back for one more pre-Christmas newsletter tomorrow, we wanted to wish you, our lovely readers, a very happy festive season. 

We also wanted to offer you a list of nine gift ideas that can be categorized as Thoughtful And They'll Never Know It Was Last Minute: 

1. Bookbinding 101 Workshop from Possible Worlds, taking place in March 2024. 
2. Feel good beer: sales of Beyond the Pale's Red Rocket Winter Red Ale will support the Help Santa Toy Parade.
3. 2-for-1 tickets to the Ottawa Home & Remodeling Show coming up in January. Use the code 1MONTH to get the discount.
4. A charcuterie, tea, or wine gift box from Working Title kitchen is perfect for your foodie fam
5. The music lover will adore a gift card to Ottawa Jazz Festival
6. A naughty but nice gift like the Leather Plant Harness from Venus Envy could probably be safely opened in front of granny. Probably.
7. Tickets are still available for Angela Hewitt in Recital, at the NAC on January 16. 
8. Plant lovers will dig the Globe Terrarium DIY Kit from Flowers Talk Tivoli. Order online and choose curbside pickup to ensure it goes under the tree. 
9. One for you, one for me: purchase a $50 Gift Card to Broadhead Brewery and recive a $10 coupon for the taproom. Buy a $100 Gift Card and receive a coupon for a free tour and tasting for two.

– Martha and Darren

🎄the ottawan Christmas pages

•  Last minute gift ideas to pick up nearby
•  10 Gifts Under $20
•  10 Made in Canada Christmas Gifts.
•  9 Locally Made Christmas Gifts. Please send your nominations for a locally made item to 'giftguide@theottawan.com'.

TODAY’S LINE UP

•  Food + Drink Update
•  Ottawa Stats
•  City Hall Agenda
•  What Ottawa is Talking About
•  Events
•  Deals of the Day

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FOOD + DRINK UPDATE

•  Ameya Charnalia at Eat the Strip makes the utterly reasonable case that eating the ashta fraisca at dessert shop Labocca Juice on Bank Street is a smart health choice because the raspberry-vanilla ice-cream and ashta drizzled with nuts and honey comes with generous chunks of strawberry and banana.
•  Peter Hum at the Ottawa Citizen reflects on his favourite dishes from 60 Ottawa restaurants over the past year. They are: 
  
  🍴The chicken thigh skewers served at Abby’s Wine Bar
  
  🍴The onion tuile, smoked potatoes, rhubarb jerky, maitake mushrooms, pickled onion, dill, lacto-fermented green tomato brine, and koji broth at Alice
  
  🍴The spread of 40 or so items at Al Halabi Restaurant
  
  🍴The Wild Gaspe halibut at Arlo
  
  🍴The deluxe order of birria tacos and the ribeye carne asada at Aztec Tacos
  
  🍴The rustic but marvelously flavourful jerk chicken served this summer from the Burrell Farm stand
  
  🍴The croquettes de cretons, the ‘hay hen’, and the the Earl Grey brownie with blueberries and milk-foam ice cream at Buvette Daphnée
  
  🍴The juicy, saffron-y chicken kebabs at Cafe Tehran
  
  🍴The eggy spaghetti carbonara and the flatiron steak at Cantina Gia
  
  🍴The corned beef and egg bolobao and breakfast/lunch side-hustle at Gongfu Cafe
  
  🍴Any arepa from Gooney’s
  
  🍴The toothsome grilled shrimp tacos at Hugo Taco
  
  🍴The ramen served at Jinsei Ramen
  
  🍴The tapioca papadum topped with chutneys and onion jam and the shahi tukda at Katha
  
  🍴The ramen served at Kinton Ramen
  
  🍴The signature duck confit at Les Fougères
  
  🍴The scallop macarons and the nasturtium ‘spaghettini’ at Perch
  
  🍴The plethora of pies made in the Roman style and the chocolate maritozzo at Roberto Pizza Romana
  
  🍴The next-level doner kebabs and chicken kebabs at Turkish Kebab House
  
  🍴The Shanghai-style wonton soup at Yi Rho Pan Fried Buns
  
  🍴The plate of dry-aged, nose-to-tail local sturgeon with sturgeon garum and sturgeon liver that Alex Bimm, chef of Le Poisson Bleu, served in September at Ottawa’s edition of the Canada’s Great Kitchen Party competition

OTTAWA STATS

CITY HALL AGENDA

What’s going on at City Hall
 

Nothing more until the new year.

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

🚌 Ottawa Carleton District School Board

•  The Ottawa Carleton District School Board has sanctioned trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth for violating its code of conduct. In a near unanimous vote – trustee Justine Bell voted no – the Board barred Kaplan-Myrth from the next Board meeting and from sitting on any committees for three months. The Integrity Commission had previously found that the trustee had disrespected and intimidated other trustees in person and on social media. Afterwards on Twitter, Kaplan-Myrth accused the board of ‘Capitulating to the very people — convoy adjacent anti-vaxxers and white supremacists — who have harassed me for a year and called for my resignation’.  (Joanne Laucius in the Ottawa Citizen)
  
  ➕ Related Nili Kaplan-Myrth has now asked for a leave of absence from the Ottawa Carleton District School Board and for an investigation against the Board by the Ministry of Education.

🚌 Ottawa Student Transportation Authority

• The former manager of the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority is suing for dismissing her in ‘bad faith’ plus damages. Vicky Kyriaco has filed a statement of claim for $800,000 for the dismissal and damaging her ‘health, career, and reputation’. Kyriaco argues that the apology the Authority made for leaving thousands of kids without bus service while she was general manager ‘left the public with the impression that [she] had been identified as the culprit’. Kyiaco argues that the Authority ignored her warnings of a funding deficit and its impact on contractors. (Avanthika Anand at CBC)

💸 Arnprior Aerospace

•  Arnprior Aerospace, the largest employer in the eponymous city, is closing after 60 years. Between 1960 and 2005, the company was owned by Boeing, which until recently was its largest customer. Arnprior Aerospace currently has 71 employees, at its peak it employed 900. (Giacomo Panico at CBC)

💰 McNab/Braeside

•  Next door to Arnprior is McNab/Braeside, where the mayor has had his pay suspended for 60 days by council. An outside lawyer’s report found that the mayor had been ‘dishonest, false and misleading’ and had ‘made threats and behaved in an aggressive manner towards the Complainant’. In this case, the Complainant was the town itself. The mayor has disagreed with the report and has asked for a review by the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman. (Ted Raymond at CTV)

🌪️ Air Quality

•  Ecology Ottawa would like the City to continue funding a community air quality monitoring station. The Breathe Easy project has been collecting air quality samples from from 46 volunteer monitoring stations across Ottawa. Analysing the collections costs $10,000 to $20,000 per year. Breathe Easy’s last report, in 2021, showed South Vanier/Heron, Lowertown, and the ByWard Market had the highest levels of air pollution. (Olivia Grandy in Capital Current) (Breathe Easy)

🏒 Women’s Professional Hockey League

•  Ottawa’s Women’s Professional Hockey League team is looking for ways to offer more tickets to its inaugural match. The Jan 2 meetup against Montréal has sold ot the Arena at TD Place. Any announcements of ticket availability will be made on the team’s Threads feed. (Ted Raymond at CTV)

🪧 Public Service Alliance of Canada

•  Bank of Canada security officers have voted to strike. The Public Service Alliance of Canada says the wage offer made to the 57 officers was below that set by the Treasury Board, that increased solo shifts are unsafe, and there has been too much contracting out of work. (William Eltherington at CTV)

😤 Chelsea

•  Chelsea has issued a boil water advisory due to an emergency repair of the water system. The town advises boiling water for one minute – and that includes for pets as well. There is no indication when the advisory will be lifted. (Ottawa Citizen)

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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

• The hip hop artist Justin “J Morris” Gunderson’s ninth annual Hip Hop Food Drive is raising money for food banks in Ottawa, Halifax, London, Kingston, Toronto, Gatineau, Saskatoon, Calgary, and Vancouver, but it’s also an incredible show featuring Zoo Legacy, Miss McLeod, Hevve, Cult Classicko, VSN, J.V, Concreterose Ladon, Circabeatz, and a freestyle circle from Cap City Cyphers. It’s all going down at Rainbow Bistro on Thursday night December 21. Tickets for the show are $10 with a non-perishable food donation or $15 without, and if you can’t make it to the gig, you can still donate to the cause.

• If you haven’t had your fill of seasonal lights, visit the Holiday Fairy Lights attraction at Elmhurst Forest in the Queensway Terrace North neighbourhood. The trees will be a-twinkling from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm from tonight (December 21) to Boxing Day (December 26). Enter the park off Alpine Ave, halfway between Elmhurst and Henley Streets.

• Farmgate Cider welcomes singers of all abilities to the barn for some carolling tonight (December 21) from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Your $15 ticket will include one mulled cider, snacks, lyric sheets, and a jolly good time.

• Music and Beyond presents a Christmas concert with soprano Karina Gauvin, the Caelis Academy Ensemble and more than 30 performers, all of whom will mark the Winter Solstice with music from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

• There’s lots of Christmas-y activity to experience at Saunders Farm’s A Country Christmas but this weekend is your final chance to do so. Choose from day or night experiences today through Saturday.

• The Magic of Lights continues at Wesley Clover Parks.
  
  
  Gigs

• Franki, Still Youth. LIVE on Elgin

• Big Wreck, Texas King, Vilivant. Bronson Centre Music Theatre

• Un vrai Noël en famille with Natalie Choquette. National Arts Centre Azrieli Studio

Tomorrow

• You can still purchase single tickets to 9th Hour Theatre Company's production of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, playing at Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe. The remaining performances on Saturday are sold out. 

• It's the final chance to shop with the cool vendors at the 613Holiday Night Market at Aberdeen Pavilion. You're bound to find a last-minute yet totally awesome gift for someone on your list - or yourself. 

• There’s lots of Christmas-y activity to experience at Saunders Farm’s A Country Christmas but this weekend is your final chance to do so. Choose from day or night experiences today through Saturday

• Wander the Ottawa Christmas Market for last minute gift ideas, and treat yourself to something delicious. 

• The Magic of Lights continues at Wesley Clover Parks.
  
  
  Gigs

• Winchester Warm, Octoberman. Irene's Pub & Restaurant

• Myhill presents a Holiday Hootenanny. LIVE on Elgin

• Django Libre. Montgomery Scotch Lounge

• Eastbound of Bytown. Brew Revolution

Saturday

•  If you haven’t had your fill of seasonal lights, visit the Holiday Fairy Lights attraction at Elmhurst Forest in the Queensway Terrace North neighbourhood. The trees will be a-twinkling from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm from tonight (December 21) to Boxing Day (December 26). Enter the park off Alpine Ave, halfway between Elmhurst and Henley Streets.

•  There’s lots of Christmas-y activity to experience at Saunders Farm’s A Country Christmas but this weekend is your final chance to do so. Choose from day or night experiences today.

• Wander the Ottawa Christmas Market for last minute gift ideas, and treat yourself to something delicious.

• The Magic of Lights continues at Wesley Clover Parks.
  
  
  Gigs

• Clyde Munson & Friends Holiday Showcase. Irene's Pub & Restaurant

• Rock The Hallsat LIVE! on ElginFeaturing Nebraska, Tick, & Aim To Please. LIVE on Elgin

• Kyle Morris. Montgomery Scotch Lounge

• Dickerson Airplane. Brew Revolution

DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

We are thrilled to bring you the most important story we have had the honour to encapsulate all year: Ottawa’s most popular pet names for 2023.

The compilers also say ‘Tim made the dog names list for the first time this year after Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle. Food cat names are ever popular in Ottawa, including Jellybean, Cheddar, and Cucumber. New dog and cat names in Ottawa this year are Bagheera, Gucci, Magic, Smudge, Garfield, Atara, Junior, Bagel, Caesar, Rudder, Tilly, and Waffle.’

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

THE END

the ottawan is written and edited every work day 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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