In Today’s Edition

→ Château Laurier portrait thief pleads guilty

→ St Patrick’s Day good times guide

→ Deals of the Day on beer, swimwear, womenswear, and pie

→ ⛅ High 4° Low -8° and partly cloudy.  ☀️ 7:17 am 🌛 7:08 pm 

The Poll

Yesterday, we asked ‘What should be done about 24 Sussex Drive?’

7% Make it habitable but do no more than the minimal amount of work needed

58%  Renovate the existing building to the most modern and future standards for the Prime Minister’s family, national events, and security

29%  Raze it, start all over, and make something of national pride

7% We don’t need it at all – the Prime Minister can live at Rideau Cottage or somewhere else

0% The City may have some sprung tents around that it no longer needs ...

Just this morning, THE OTTAWAN received an email from Heritage Ottawa promoting their Zoom lecture ‘At Home With The Prime Minister: Ottawa Residences of the Prime Ministers Prior to 1952’.

Before 1952, there was no official residence for the Prime Minister and each had to find their own home. Architectural historian Hagit Hadaya will speak on it March 19, 7:00pm. It’s free but pre-registration is required.

Today’s question (details in What Ottawa is Talking About below):

FORWARD the ottawan TO A FRIEND

STATISTICS OTTAWA

OTTAWAN OF THE DAY

• Shahad Abdulmawjood

• The Carleton University PhD student has developed a method to test when the end of maple syrup season is near, which will be of great assistance to syrup producers. The system involves checking for the amino acids that indicate the best taste.

• Natasha O’Neill at CityNews

QUOTE

• “

• In 10 years Ottawa is going to be one of the best entertainment markets outside Toronto

• – Veteran concert promoter Ken Craig on the strength of the Ottawa music scene, and the recent addition of new venues.
• Lynn Saxberg in the Ottawa Citizen

SPORTS

🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 6 – Boston Bruins 3 last night

WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

🖼️ Churchill Portrait

• The man charged with stealing the Karsh portrait of Winston Churchill from the Château Laurier pleaded guilty in court this morning. Jeffrey Wood stole the portrait in late 2021 or early 2022 which went unnoticed for months as a reproduction was put in its place. It eventually went on auction in London and was purchased by an uninvolved Italian lawyer, who returned it to the Canadian embassy. The portrait now hangs in Zoe’s Lounge at the Château Laurier.
  
  David Fraser and Paul Hunter at CBC

🧹 Clean Sweep

• Registration for Cleaning the Capital opens today. Every spring and fall, teams register to clean public areas of Ottawa. The City takes away the debris, and provides garbage bags and gloves on request. The actual cleaning campaign is April 15 to May 31.
  
  Lesley McKay in Stittsville Central

🌉 Kettle Island Bridge

• The Federal Government has announced professional advisors for a new Kettle Island bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau. Parsons Inc and Stantec Consulting Ltd have been awarded the $10 million contract to design the bridge. It will connect Aviation Parkway in Ottawa with Montée Paiement in Gatineau.
  
  Toula Mazloum at CTV

🚨  Fentanyl Czar

• The Federal fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, met with Ottawa Police Service Wednesday to discuss the trafficking of the drug. The czar position was created in the early days of the tariff dispute when US president Donald Trump claimed Canada was a large source of fentanyl entering the United States. The Canada – US – Mexico trade agreement prohibits enacting tariffs against each other but has a ‘national emergency’ loophole which Trump used as an excuse to enact his tariffs.
  
  Ottawa Police said it is  ‘committed to doing its part—targeting traffickers, working with our partners, and supporting harm reduction efforts to protect our community’. 
  
  Ted Raymond at CTV
  
  ➕ Related Somerset ward councillor Ariel Troster says the new harm reduction programme in Chinatown is an ‘abuse of the system’.

🎧 Better Ottawa Municipal Panel Podcast

• The 613 has dropped a new Better Ottawa Municipal Panel Podcast. Former journalists Joanne Chianello and Jon Willing discuss keeping the City on Twitter, how will recent court decisions affect the Mayor’s desire for the Federal government to pay more in (equivalent) taxes, and how will Wellington Street in front of Parliament be policed?
  
  Better Ottawa Municipal Panel podcast

HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS

THE ROLLING THREE DAY CALENDAR

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

✳️ Means change from previous edition

FRIDAY

It’s Pi Day!

• ✳️  It’s also Lucky Friday at Dominion City Brewing; the taproom will stay open late for great beer, live music, and food from Le Poisson Bleu.
   
• Tonight’s IFFO screenings: One Day (Canada, 2024), Memories of a Burning Body (Costa Rica, Spain, 2024), Two of Hearts (Canada, 2024), The Milssile (Finland, 2024), Zoé (Canada, 2024), and Honeymoon (Ukraine, 2024) 

• 
  🆓 Bring your donation pile to Zoe’s Corner for the second annual Clothing Swap. Today from 12:00 - 3:00 pm and again on Saturday (March 15) from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. 5460 Canotek Raod Unit 103.

• Perform or be a spectator as Urban Legends Poetry Collective brings a Pay What You Decide Poetry Slam to the Arts Court Atelier.

• Today at Gladstone Theatre Presents! Winter Music Festival, experience an evening with Mimi O’Bonswain.

• It’s not inconceivable: the ByTowne Cinema is screening Rob Reiner’s Princess Bride at 1:00 pm.

• Tonight’s feature cocktail at the Calabogie Brewing Kanata taproom is the Lucky Charms Radler, so you can guess the theme. Reservations encouraged.

• The St Patrick’s Day weekend starts tonight at Heart & Crown ByWard Market.

• Road Trip: Cold Bear Brewing in Arnprior kicks off its St Patrick’s Day weekend of festivities with a Peaky Blinders Party. Dress as your favourite character from the show, and get ready for Irish karaoke, a photo booth, and more shenanigans.

• The Sober Lunar Eclipse Glow Walk will take participants along trails in Torbolton Forest (Constance Bay).

• Students from the Sue Healey School of Irish Dance will kick off Moose McGuire’s Orléans St Patrick’s Day programming at 5:30 pm today.

• ByTowne Cinema: Klassic Kids: The Princess Bride, No Other Land, The Way, My Way, The King of Comedy
   

• Mayfair Theatre: Flow, A Complete Unknown, Universal Language, Bonnie and Clyde

  Gigs

• Cadence Weapon. National Arts Centre

• Dance Mix 2000. House of TARG

• Groove Society. Poa Tiki Bar

• 90s-Now Pop Alt Rock Music Dance Party. LIVE on Elgin

• James LeClaire. Art House Café

• Friday Night Laughs. Nuvo Lounge 295

SATURDAY

• Big news for local coffee lovers in Kanata: Equator Coffee Roasters opens its newest location next door to Indigo at Kanata Centrum at 7:30 am this morning. The first 50 customers will receive a wee gift with their purchase.

• Road Trip: Visit Covered Bridge Brewing’s new digs in Kinburn for live music, great snacks from the food truck, and good times in the cutest village West of Ottawa.

• Enjoy a free horse-drawn wagon ride outside the Heart & Crown in ByWard Market. 67 Clarence St from noon til 4:00 pm.

• The final performance in The Gladstone Presents! A Wintertime Music Festival, Latin Rhythms Celebration, is a matinée show presented in partnership with Axé World Fest.

• Almonte welcomes Seedy Saturday, where you can trade and buy seeds and listen to speakers with inspiring ideas for your garden.

• Bring your own house plant(s) to Anina’s Cafe for the Plant Swap, which is celebrating the start of Horticultural Therapy Week.

• The flowers might not be popping up yet in gardens but you can get an eyeful of blossoms and other elements of the natural world at Urban Art Collective’s new show “botanics: artwork by Emilie Darlington.” The Vernissage runs 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm today.

• Donations to the Ottawa Food Bank are welcome at the Brass Monkey’s St. Paddy’s Day Kitchen Party with members of Evil Creek, Bassett & The Hound, and others.

• First up on IFFO’s schedule today is Buses Don’t Stop Here Anymore, a short film about Ottawa’s late, lamented Greyhound bus station. More shorts and features screen throughout the late afternoon and evening.

• 🆓 There’s no cover for the ByTown Sea Shanty Collective show at Beyond the Pale Brewing Co. You’ll want to get there early though, as it’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend and the shanties will be Irish-leaning.

• East Coast Experience and guest Irish Millie promise a St Patrick’s Day experience at the Bronson Centre.

• Broadway Bar & Grill will celebrate St. Patrick's Day with green cocktails and live music from the Lewis Boys.

• The jazz is injected with blues, funk, afro, latin, hip hop and other styles at Art House’s Tour of Jazz: Courage4.

• ByTowne Cinema: IFFO screening (Buses Don’t Stop Here Anymore, Grand Tour), The Way, My Way, No Other Land, Detour: Daises

• Mayfair Theatre: Flow, A Complete Unknown, Lost Highway, Saturday Night Sinema
  
  Gigs
   

• Maggots: A Tribute to Sliipkknot. Overflow Brewing

• The Wooden Nickels. Stray Dog Brewing Company

• The Barrow Gang. Carleton Tavern

• Barrelhouse: Tribute to the Allman Brothers. Rainbow Bistro

• Funk nite with Smelloship and Mecca of Stank. House of TARG

• Marc-Anthony Sinagoga: Family Style (comedy). Gladstone Theatre

SUNDAY

• Now in its 30th year, the Ottawa Nostalgia & Collectible Show brings more than 50 dealers under the Nepean Sportsplex roof, selling everything from old advertising to sports and stamp cards and ephemera. You can also expect Jazz records, antique and vintage toys, fishing gear, service station items, and lots more. $8 to enter, or free after 2:00 pm (but at that point the pickings will be slim).

• Spend some time with legendary broadcaster, writer, blogger and speaker Alan Cross at Stray Dog Brewing Company.

• SAW Gallery screens the award-winning documentary Mrs. Robinson, about Ireland’s first female president. Mary Robinson will join the event via Zoom following the screening, for a Q&A.

• Enjoy $6 pints of house lager at Brigid’s Well.

• The Hunks & Punks Irish Trio perform at Rainbow Bistro’s St. Patrick’s Sunday Stomp. Tickets are going fast.

• IFFO screenings today include shorts and features from Canada, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Italy.

• Need a new headshot but low on funds? Try the Pay What You Can Portraits at the Grove Studio & Community Art Hub. Understandably, the time slots are filling up fast.

• The Bytowne Cinema will be screening 2025 Oscar winning best documentary film No Other Land, directed by Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham. The film shows the alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.

• ByTowne Cinema: The Way, My Way, Detour: Portrait of a Lady On Fire, IFFO 2025: Before They Joined Us Arzé, Universal Language

• Mayfair Theatre: Magician Impossible: Amazing Magic Live On Stage! Wicked, Nosferatu

MONDAY 🍀 St. Patrick’s Day

• They’re calling it Ottawa’s Official St. Patrick’s Day Mega Party and Berlin Nightclub has limited free tickets

• Pour House above the Aulde Dubliner pub has live entertainment starting at 11:00 am.

• Head to the Laff for lively tunes featuring fiddler Dana Arrowsmith.

• Meanwhile, at D’Arcy MaGees on Sparks St, the live music starts at 1:00pm.

• Moose McGuire’s offers 25% off food for seniors, along with live music from noon.

• Brigid’s Well is promising live music and ‘the best pint of Guinness in Ottawa’.

• Royal Oak Orléans celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with Guinness and Harp Irish Lager on tap and an authentic Irish food menu.

• The Barley Mow in Kanata has live music from 5:00 pm to 8:00pm.

• This month’s theme at Naked Boys Reading is ‘Books Tech Bros Don’t Understand.’

• Road Trip: Bring your fave LP to the Vinyl Night at Cold Bear Brewing in Arnprior.

• ByTowne Cinema: I’m Still Here, The Way, My Way, Universal Language

• Mayfair Theatre: Wicked, A Complete Unknown, Nosferatu, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

  Gigs

• Grumpy Old Men. Carleton Tavern

• Karaoke Mondaze. Atomic Rooster

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

• The 5th Ottawa Black Film Festival gets underway on March 28, with screenings at Library and Archives Canada.

DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

THE END