In Today’s Edition

→ City committee proposes growing vegetables in the boulevards

→ Wednesday Dining + Drinking update, including a new resto in the Market

→ Deals of the Day on chicken, skiing, and Made in Canada summer womenswear 

→ ⛅ High 12° Low -1° and partly cloudy.  ☀️ 7:07 am 🌛 7:15 pm 

The Poll

Yesterday, we asked ‘What do you think THE OTTAWAN does with the poll data it collects?

35% Selflessly use it to improve the newsletter for readers

1% Nefariously use it to profit for ourselves

49% Publish it once then never think of it ever again

15% If THE OTTAWAN wants to sell ads it needs to know something about its readers

Our effusive friends at NarCity Ottawa’s new story, ‘7 beautiful small towns near Ottawa that will transport you to the heart of Europe’, inspired today’s poll.

FORWARD the ottawan TO A FRIEND

WEDNESDAY DINING + DRINKING UPDATE

• There’s big news from Bread By Us: Owner Jess Carpinone announced that the bakery, which is celebrating 12 years in business this year, has signed a lease on a larger space at 126 Smirle Ave in Wellington Village. Not only will the bread and pastry output be ramped up but the space will also house a customer hangout. “It means SO MUCH to us that we’ll be able to create a space where you can take a load off and linger in the warmth of it all. It feels more important than ever to cultivate spaces of coziness and enjoyment,” Carpinone says. The ownership group will be launching a Kickstarter campaign next week to help usher in Bread By Us' new era.

• New Beer Festival alert: Kanata is getting its own beer festival this September, as Orléans Festivals bring their celebration of local craft breweries to the West side of Ottawa. Mark your calendars for September 19-20 and watch for updates.

• Petit Bill’s Bistro celebrates its 18th anniversary with a special All-You-Can-Eat Fish and Chips meal on Sunday April 18. $34.99 per person, reservations are a must.

• Farmgate Cider’s 3rd annual Blossom Banquet celebrates foraged food and locally produced sparkling ciders on May 8.

• The St Patrick’s Day celebrations continue at Almanac, where you can still order loaves of St. Patrick’s Day Sourdough bread (made with Dominion City Brewing’s Darkest Hour lager, old cheddar, and caramelized onions) and Matcha White Chocolate Cookies, while supplies last.

• People  who like to make a restaurant reservation in Gatineau then not show up may soon receive divine justice* if a new Québec regulation is approved. Restaurants would be permitted to charge a – previously announced – fee to patrons who don’t show or cancel within three hours of the reservation. The proposal is currently in a 45 day consulation period with the public.
• Peter Hum has an interesting opinion of the relatively new French resto in the Holiday Inn & Suites Ottawa Kanata, Chez Lionel. In the ‘high-volume, premium casual category’, the service was ordinary and the food good but uneven. For a hotel restaurant, it’s ‘better than many in Ottawa’. But as a French brasserie in Ottawa, ‘it could well be the best’.
• Ameya Charnalia at Eat the Strip loved the tres leches cake at Luna Crepes & Cafe in Kanata. ‘The marble-topped caramel formed a perfectly gooey crust that adhered delightfully to my beard’.
• Grey’s Social Eatery opens today in the ByWard Market in the former Blue Cactus space. The Eatery promises ‘a stunning venue, blending modern-vintage design with Canadian influences’.

* Martha and Darren once owned a restaurant. They approve of this idea.

STATISTICS OTTAWA

OTTAWANS OF THE DAY

• Tony Caldwell and Ken Warren

• The two Ottawa Citizen journalists have been nominated for a National Newspaper Award for the beautifully written and photographed story, The Ice Swimmer. Winners will be announced April 15.

• Peter Hum in the Ottawa Citizen

QUOTE

• “

• When residents asked for accountability, they were accused of spreading misinformation. When community leaders, business owners and local volunteers — many of whom had welcomed and supported newcomers in the past — expressed concerns, they were painted as intolerant.

• – Former Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament for Nepean Lisa MacLeod expressing frustration on how the City mishandled the sprung structure scheme. MacLeod says that the City ‘dismissed and discredited the voices raising’ concerns then used those same concerns to cancel the programme.

SPORTS

• 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 3 – Montréal Canadiens 6 last night

WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

🏅 Canadian Institute of Planners

• The City is a finalist in the Canadian Awards for Planning Excellence 2025.  The nomination is for ‘Enshrining Healthy Communities and 15-minute Neighbourhoods Through Ottawa’s New Official Plan’ and credits both the City and the Ottawa Board of Health. Winners will be announced in May.
  
  Canadian Institute of Planners

🥕 Boulevard Gardens

• The City’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee will receive a report recommending that residents be allowed to grow food on the public right-of-ways. The report says that residents have the option of using raised beds, but they must be at least 1.5 metres from the roadway.  It goes to the Committee on March 28.
  
  Josh Pringle at CTV

🏫 Ottawa Carleton District School Board

• The Ottawa Carleton District School Board is looking to cut around 150 positions to help reduce a $20 million hole in its budget. The board is proposing to lay off 70 teachers and principals and 79 non-academic positions.
  
  Kate Porter at CBC
  
  ➕ Related Josh Pringle at CTV has identified all the specialized programmes proposed to be cut by the Board and all the schools that will see their grade structure changed.

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

WEDNESDAY

• ✳️  Lauren Gunderson’s play Silent Sky tells the story of previously overshadowed female scientists at the forefront of early 20th Century astronomy. The Three Sisters Theatre Company’s production runs at the Gladstone theatre until March 29.

• 🆓 This afternoon’s Doors Open for Music at Southminster concert is music for Dueling Harps.

• Level One Gaming Pub hosts Gaming for Charity, where you and your crew can choose form 300 board games and 1000 video games, eat and drink well, and support Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services. $16

• Art House’s Music Trivia starts at 7:00 pm.

• IFFO presents Canadian Masters: Clement Virgo, with a screening of his most recent work, Brother.

• The Greely Players mount a six performance run of Grease at the Greely Community Centre.

• Questionable Behaviour Trivia leads the shenanigans at Overflow Brewing.

• The Peter Hum trio plays the Jazz Jams at Night Oat.

• ByTowne Cinema: I’m Still Here, Detour: Daisies, No Other Land

• Mayfair Theatre: Universal Language, A Complete Unknown, The Quick and the Dead
  
  
  Gigs

• The Space Between, Fear, 1000jules. LIVE on Elgin

• Not Your Momma’s Mixtape. The Brass Monkey

• Trivia night at local craft breweries: Brew Revolution, Brocken Stick Brewing, Stray Dog Brewing Co.

THURSDAY

• ✳️  The Secret to Good Tea is a "vibrant, intimate, and cheeky family portrait based on playwright Rosanna Deerchild—host of CBC’s Unreserved—and her own mother". The show runs until March 29 at National Arts Centre’s Babs Asper Theatre.

• Gigspace welcomes Sad Girl Café - A Women’s Open Mic to Ottawa’s most intimate venue.

• Combining comedy and fashion is either a genius move or a car crash, but you’ll only know for sure if you get a ticket for Fits & Bits: A Runway Stand-up Show at Laugh Lounge.

• Give your hips a fun workout at the Social and Dance Lesson at Bailemos Bachata. $10.

• Grease continues at the Greely Community Centre.

• Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) was the first film from Canada ever to screen at Cannes, which, considering its student production team and minuscule budget, is a kind of Canuck Cinderella story. IFFO presents Ottawa’s first screening of the 4K restoration print. Other screenings: the Canadian short Gender Reveal and Toxic, a feature from Lithuania.

• Ottawa Home and Garden Show blooms (sorry) at EY Centre. If you plan to attend after 4:00 pm the entry price of $14 is slashed in half; but you must purchase your ticket in advance.

• Kids of all ages will enjoy the first-ever Fraggle Rock “Back to the Rock” live show at Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe.

• ByTowne Cinema: No Other Land, Soundtrack to a Coup d’état, Detour: Party Girl

• Mayfair Theatre: A Complete Unknown, Universal Language, Lost Highway

  Gigs

• Where’s Mike. The Brass Monkey

• Seum, Rötual, Congregation of Savagery. House of TARG

• Maggie Bough. Red Bird

FRIDAY

• At IFFO, shorts and features from Canada, England, and Spain are screened.

• New band Elbows Up plays all the Canadian rock music hits at Overflow Brewing. Tickets for Tribute to Canadian Music are just $20.

• 🆓 The pre-show chat before tonight’s performance of The Secret to Good Tea features a conversation between the playwright Rosanna Deerchild and the NAC’s Indigenous Theatre’s Artistic Director Kevin Loring.

• 🆓 Mason’s Apron play East Coast music at Broadway Bar & Grill, 1896 Prince of Wales Dr.

• Direct from Seville, catch Flamenco at Bar Robo. "Experience the passion, rhythm, and soul of authentic flamenco as Lia Grainger brings the spirit of Seville to life! Renowned for her powerful performances and deep connection to the traditions of flamenco, Lia delivers an unforgettable evening of music, dance, and storytelling."

• Artists, musicians, and arts lovers are welcome to hang out at the first Digital Arts Resource Centre Social Club of the year.

• Get inspiration for all your spaces at the Ottawa Home & Garden Show.

• The Underground plays the best of the 80s at the Prescott’s New Wave Dance Party.

• ByTowne Cinema: Can I Get a Witness? Santosh, IFFO 2025: Bridge the Gap, The Penguin Lessons, Drunken Cinema: Leprechaun

• Mayfair Theatre: Nickel Boys, No Other Land, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

  Gigs

• 80s Dance Party. House of TARG

• Sébastien Léger. City at Night

• Cara Q. Carleton Tavern

• Jack and the Backburners. Art House Café

• Sleep Late, Post-Rough, The Dwindles. LIVE on Elgin

• Jelly Roll. Canadian Tire Centre

• Devon Cole Two Shades Blonder tour. SAW Centre

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

• Get ready for a fusion of Flamenco and Celtic sounds next Wednesday (March 26) when guitarist Kyler Makenzie plays Bar Robo.

DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

THE END