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HELLO OTTAWA

Ottawa will play host to its first full-distance Ironman event in 2025.

The Ironman Canada Triathlon will be held Aug 3, 2025 with a 3.8 km two-loop swim in the Ottawa River at Britannia Beach, a 180 km bike race along Kichi Zibi Mikan, the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, Laurier Avenue, Nicholas Street, Sussex Drive, and the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway, and finally a marathon which starts at Parliament Hill, travels along Wellington Street to Colonel By Drive alongside the Rideau Canal, and back up the Queen Elizabeth Driveway to Parliament Hill.

Contemplating this activity has sent your ottawan correspondents back to bed.

– Martha and Darren

WEDNESDAY FOOD + DRINK UPDATE

•  Little Victories’ new location at Queen St. has opened, and it’s a pink dream of a café (we’re talking calm rose, as opposed as Barbie fuchsia - not that there’s anything wrong with fuchsia).
•  Merrickville has Canada’s only brewery and glassworks, and if you want to know more, Gather Brewery and Glassworks is doing Happy Hour on Fridays from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm. 635 St. Lawrence St. Merrickville.
•  Farmgate Cider has launched Not a Still-Life Session Cider, a new tipple full of tart cranberry and sweet apple flavours (3.4% abv). Also, while we don’t like to judge a cider by the look of its can, we will say that the label design is gorgeous. $20 for a four pack.
•  Inflation is putting a cramp in many a vacationer's longer distance travel plans, and our region’s culinary tourism businesses are all the happier for it. Read about seven food-focused staycation ideas in the Ottawa Business Journal in places like Smiths Falls, Kingston, the Ontario Highlands, and Kawartha, which has its own – brace yourself – Butter Tart Tour.
•  Jojo Coco chocolate pairings are both educational and delicious. Chocolate With…Tea might be the one of a kind Mother’s Day gift you’ve been searching for. If tea isn’t your thing, try Chocolate With… Cheese.
•  PSA: Spark Beer & Pizza will be opening for lunch on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays starting April 26.
•  We’ve never heard of Vancouver breakfast chain Yolks, but they have opened their first Ottawa location in the Glebe. Of note, parent company Happy Belly also owns a cereal company called Holy Crap.
•  Tim Horton’s is testing new plastic free, fibre hot beverage lids in Ottawa and Gatineau for the next six weeks. A previous test of a different type of lid failed in Prince Edward Island after patrons complained that they could taste the lid.
•  Have too much invasive garlic in your garden? Just eat it. ‘Mustard garlic is poisonous to smaller animals such as rabbits and goats. However, it is harmless to humans, who can eat the entire plant from roots to leaves’ says the CBC and not us and we’re not accepting any liabilty if you get sick eating your weeds.
•  Ottawa ByLaw believes there are 13 illegal hookah bars operating in the city. Banned because of no-smoking rules, the operators say it is part of their cultural identity.
•  In its Q&A with Stuntman Stu, Ottawa Business Journal discovers that the broadcaster’s favourite restaurant is Golden Palace.
•  Ameya Charnalia at Eat the Strip tests out the takeout-only Sushi 29 in Blackburn Hamlet. He found that the $48 40-piece tray was not only enough for two people, but enough for a meal the next day.
•  Apartment 613’s Best Bites columnists Amanda Armstrong and Kiersten Vuorimaki ate at Blue Nile (‘bursting with a symphony of flavours’), Edinburger (‘It was delicious and messy, like a very good burger should be’) and Siam Bistro (‘The serving size was generous, especially with the added jasmine rice, and there were leftovers for the perfect lunch the next day’).
•  Peter Hum at the Ottawa Citizen thinks that the fare at Turkish Anatolian Restaurant will have the ‘more deluxe restaurants looking over their shoulder’.

OTTAWA STATS

Ottawan-to-be of the Day

• Dr. Wisdom Tettey
• – In a fine example of nominative determinism, Carleton University has selected the University of Toronto's vice-president Dr. Wisdom Tettey as its 17th president and vice-chancellor. Dr Wisdom will start his appointment Jan 1, 2025. (Carleton University)

Quote

• “

• You are prone to underestimate the costs and overestimate the benefits of a project under consideration, even when you have considerable experience that past projects do not live up to expectations.

• – Professor of Project Management at the University of Ottawa, Lavagnon Ika, who has three recommendations to make Lansdowne 2.0 succeed: don’t settle for ‘first is best’, do your benchmarking transparently, and reclaim oversight and learn from past failures in terms of citizen engagement. (Ottawa Citizen)

Sports

• 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 3 – Boston Bruins 1 last night

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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 Budget

The Federal budget announced yesterday has some ramifications for Federal public employees and for the City at large. 

•  Around 5,000 Federal public employee positions will be removed through attrition.
•  The National Arts Centre will receive $45 million over three years. 
•  The Ottawa Police Service will receive $50 million, over five years, to enhance policing in the Parliamentary precinct.
•  As part of a general plan to offload unneeded office space, the Federal government plans to convert the National Defence Medical Centre near Ottawa’s General Hospital into civilian housing.
•  Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has some ideas for the to-be-vacated Federal properties: ‘Maybe we can have a new park downtown, maybe we can have other attractions downtown and, maybe, we can have a conversation about a downtown arena’.

🐡 Grand Theft Fish

•  Thousands of dollars of tropical fish were stolen from a restaurant in Beachburg, an hour northwest of Ottawa. The owner of the Beachburg Family Restaurant believes the thief was seeking a valuable discus fish – Symphysodon in the common parlance of ichthyologists – which she once kept but no longer has. Instead, the thief took the remaining fish, valued in the thousands, plus fish food and cash. (Joseph Tunney at CBC)

❄️ The Name Again is Mr Plow

•  Rideau-Jock ward councillor David Brown is proposing the City partner with private operators for rural snow plowing. Brown argues that rural roads are plowed much later by City crews. Brown is expected to bring it up at today’s City Council meeting. (CBC)

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• 🏆 The Best Of Ottawa Awards 2023

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EVENTS

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Please use our easy event submission form

Today

It’s National Canadian Film Day. Watch a Canadian film!

• 🎞️ The Cumberland Branch of the Ottawa Public Library will be showing films to celebrate.
  
  🎞️ Digital Arts Resource Centre presents Rustic Oracle at 11:00am, 1:00 pm, and 3:00 pm.
  
  🎞️ Catch The Wanted 18 at The Workers Museum, presented by Films4Falasteen
  
  🎞️ OPL’s Elmvale Acres branch will screen Hey, Viktor!
  
  🎞️ At OPL’s HAzeldean branch, watch A Bear Named Winnie
  
  🎞️ North Gloucester OPL branch screens L’arracheuse de temps
  
  🎞️ Watch Score: A Hockey Musical (2010) at the St. Laurent OPL branch
  
  See the full list of screenings at National Canadian Film Day
   

•  Jazz Vespers are back at Knox Church with The Wailin' Hues Jazz Trio including musicians Aswin Aristama (piano), Owen Stanton-Kennedy (percussion) and Jean Pierre Lafleur(trumpet/flugelhorn). In addition to music, poetry and other readings will focus on the theme of "Creation Care”. 7:00 pm at 120 Lisgar St.

•  House of TARG’s 10th anniversary is a massive 24 hour arcade and TARGathon with free play, sessions for all ages, a ‘B4 School‘ games and cereal event early Thursday morning, and much more. Food energy to be provided by a special, limited edition 10 Year Anniversary TARG BEER, coffee by The Artery Community Roasters, and late night eats by Mean Jean Mama Royale’s chili dogs. These guys really know how to throw a birthday party.

•  Québec brand Mini Tipi will appear on the French Canadian version of Dragon’s Den tonight. Tune in to ICI Radio-Canada at 8:00 pm to see the founders pitch Dans l’œil du Dragon.

•  Enjoy an evening of poetry and discussion at Perfect Books with writers Julie Paul and Anita Lahey.

•  Ottawa Little Theatre’s production of Grand Horizons continues until Saturday.

•  Enjoy a free lunch time concert with Soprano Whitney Sloan and pianist Fabian Tousignant at Doors Open for Music Southminster. In person or virtual viewing.

•  Learn about Walkable Ottawa’s plan for its new 15-Minute Neighbourhoods programme and how you can help. Meet at Equator Coffee (412 Churchill Ave North) ofrom 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm.

•  ByTowne Cinema: La chimera, Free- National Canadian Film Day: Donald Shebib’s Goin’ Down the Road, Wicked Little Letters

•  Mayfair Theatre: The Old Oak, The Taste of Things, Enter the Clones of Bruce

  Gigs

•  Jazz Nite with Wayne Eagles. Queen St. Fare

•  2024 “Road to Memphis” Solo/Duo - Local Blues Challenge. Overflo Brewing Company

•  Trivia night with DJ Geoff Paquet. Spark Beer & Pizza

•  Pretty Good Band with Special Guests Zeelle & Baby Richman. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  Why Wednesday. The 27 Club

•  Ottawa Musicians Mixer. LIVE on Elgin

•  Wind Rose, Xandria, Lycanthro. The Brass Monkey

•  Rare Groove Wednesdays. Atomic Rooster

•  April Game Dev Show’N’Chill. Avant-Garde Bar

Tomorrow

•  New Opera Lyra Composer-in-Residence Andrew Ager’s new interpretation of The Great Gatsby premieres on Thursday April 19 and Friday April 20 at Southminster United Church.
   
•  Settle in for an evening of intrigue as Ottawa Story Tellers bring their season to a close with Stories by Golden Age Crime Queen Margery Allingham, Blackbox Studio, Arts court. Featuring storytellers Gail Anglin, Alaukwu Anozie, and Paul Williamson. $23.
   
•  Imagine listening to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody performed by a string quartet, with only candlelight to illuminate the church in which you’re sitting. A Tribute to Queen is the latest offering by Fever and it’s happening at Knox Presbyterian Church tonight.
   
•  Driving in Palestine: Rehab Nazzal is a solo exhibition of Nazzal’s 10 year project to document her homeland with still images and video, often while in mortal danger. The artist will be in attendance at tonight’s opening reception. SAW Centre, 67 Nicholas St. from 7:00 pm to midnight. Free.
   
•  Art House Café is taken over by Beats & Boards tonight, with games set up at every table.
   

•  ByTowne Cinema: La chimera, Wicked Little Letters, Limbo

•  Mayfair Theatre: The Taste of Things

  Gigs

•  The Power Naps, Better Living Through Chemistry. Overflow Brewing Co.

•  Bingo Thursday. Broadhead Brewery

•  Old Man Luedecke (Matinee..evening show sold out). Red Bird

•  X Ambassadors - Townie: North American Tour. Bronson Centre Theatre

•  Album release with arc, Auchtorok, Paraphonique. Avant-Garde Bar

•  Irish comedian Katie Boyle. Rainbow Bistro

•  Irene’s Thursday Blues Sessions with host Clint Everson. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  Fear, Out by Lucy, Fresh Wax. LIVE on Elgin

•  Dial Up X Pitch with Time Ghost. Dominion Tavern

Friday

•  SPAO Exhibition 19 showcases the work by College Diploma students who have been taught digital, analogue and historic photographic techniques over the course of the two year program. Tonight through May 12.

•  New Opera Lyra Composer-in-Residence Andrew Ager’s new interpretation of The Great Gatsby premieres on April 19 and 20 at Southminster United Church.

•  Internationally renowned Canadian comic Pete Johansson plays Yuk Yuk’s Ottawa West tonight and tomorrow night.

•  Frankly we’re amazed that there are any tickets remaining for Candlelight: A Tribute to Taylor Swift at Knox Presbyterian Church. They won’t last long.

•  There’s more Taylor Swift over at the Bronson Centre: TSwift Dance Party: The Tortured Poets Department is a Swiftie-run event playing hits from all the icon’s eras.

•  Kai Thomas will be signing copies of his bestselling novel In the Upper Country at Octopus Books from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm tonight. 116 Third Ave.

•  Shop for Mother’s Day, for your home, or for yourself: the Manotick Art Associations’ Inspirations Show & Sale takes over Manotick Curling Club tonight through Sunday. Free admission. 5519 South River Drive.

•  The Fify-Five Plus Lifestyle Show features exhibitors and experts to help visitors with home upkeep, health, funeral and memorial planning, and where to spend their leisure dollars. Free admission, no ticket required. EY Centre today and Saturday.

•  ByTowne Cinema: Problemista, Wicked Little Letters, Irena’s Vow, Drunken Cinema: Scooby-Doo

•  Mayfair Theatre: One Life, Remembering Gene Wilder, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

  Gigs

•  Electric Rage III. Rainbow Bistro

•  Chris Cresswell. Arts Court

•  Rick Rangno Trio. Montgomery Scotch Lounge

•  Cloud of Rock. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  Red Light Run, Jordy Jeppsen. Avant-Garde bar

•  Artillery, Vapor, Potential Threat, Infrared. Dominion Tavern

•  Carn Davidson 9. National Arts Centre

•  Shane Prendergast. Red Bird

•  Danilo Audi. Bar Robo
   

Just Announced / Now Booking

• Hurry to book your space at Ottawa City Woodshop’s new series of workshops in May. They always sell out.

• Tickets go on sale for the Volleyball Nations League on Thursday (April 18). Ottawa will host the men’s preliminaries (Week Two) June 4 to 9, 2024 at the Arena at TD Place.

• Learn to care for the windows in your older home with Heritage Ottawa’s upcoming two hour virtual workshop. Windows In Your Old Home: Seeing Your Way Clear will demonstrate how older windows work and how to maintain and repair them. April 25. $50.

• Cranium Conference and Showcase 2024 will connect musicians, artists, and producers in a two day event featuring networking, panels, and a showcase. This year’s event is taking place at the NAC from May 2-4. Free.

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DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

Okay, we bumped this one down from the Food + Drink update for those with sensitive palates. 

Two of Dr Wisdom Tettey’s students at Carleton University are sending crickets into space to see if microgravity makes them suitable to eat for astronauts. Team Insecta says cricket paste tastes ‘a little bit earthy and a little bit nutty, almost’ and if you do make a cricket paste pancake just right, ‘you can't really taste them’.

They have a TikTok as well.

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