HELLO OTTAWA | Welcome to the dozens of new readers who joined us over our holiday break. You probably forgot that you even signed up. To bring you up to speed, our goal at THE OTTAWAN is to give you a brief update on what’s happening in Ottawa and area: things like what’s happening at City Hall, the opening of new restaurants and venues (and the sad closure of beloved hot spots), interesting events happening across the city and experiences for which it’s worth making a day trip. Think of us (we’re Darren and Martha, btw) as an overly-enthusiastic couple that you are meeting for coffee with at, say, Mellos on Merivale. Darren will rant about the O Train or the next Lansdowne 2.0 hearing until Martha has had enough, grabs you by the collar, and shouts ‘there’s a new euchre night in town, people!’ Also, we post days-old sport scores. On that note, if you have an event that people should know about, please use our improved submission form: https://calendar.theottawan.com/new/ If you know of something that you think that the people of Ottawa, Gatineau, and a surrounding bailiwick of variable size should be aware of, please send an email to us at hello@theottawan.com. We read every letter. If you are new, thank you for signing up. If you an OTTAWAN OG, thank you for staying with us. Happy 2025, everyone. |
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| → Ravenous Wakefield goats | → Play unlimited arcade games at House of TARG tomorrow night | → The O Train rides again | → ☁️ High -8° Low -12° and partly cloudy | – Martha and Darren | | STATISTICS OTTAWA | | 30 | The thickness of the ice, in centimetres, that the Rideau Canal Skateway must achieve before it can be opened to the public. Carleton University civil and environmental engineering professor Shawn Kenny, who has been hired by the National Capital Commission to measure the ice thickness, says the trends are leaning that way so far this year. | | | | Dylan Dyson at CTV |
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| OTTAWAN OF THE DAY | Karoly Sziladi | The violinist celebrated 55 years with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in December. Sziladi was one of the founding members of the orchestra and played at its 1969 inaugural concert. | | | | NAC |
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| QUOTE | | ❝ | | | The goats adore them. They eat them like piranhas. They attack it, they make funny sounds ... it’s absolutely lovely to watch them, they really lose their minds |
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| – Jennifer Madore who, with Pierre Faucher, collects Christmas trees every year to give to a Wakefield goat farm. One tree donator said ‘[t]he droppings go back to the ground. That’s a pretty damn good example of circular economy’. | | | | Campbell MacDiarmid at CBC |
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| SPORTS | 🏒 PWHL Ottawa Sceptres 2 – Toronto 1, last Tuesday | 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 0 – St Louis Blues 4, last Friday | 🥍 NLL Ottawa Black Bears 5 – San Diego Seals, last Saturday | | PLEASE SUPPORT THE OTTAWAN | THE OTTAWAN was launched in 2020 as the daily answer to the questions: What’s going on? What should I do? Where is somewhere good to eat? | Please consider joining the many other readers with a monthly, annual, or one-time donation to keep THE OTTAWAN on its mission. | All annual or one-time donations over $60 get a free OTTAWAN or historic logo t-shirt of their choice. |
| Membership levels | ✅ $5 mo / Technically Beautiful | ✅ $10 mo / ByTowner | ✅ $20 mo / City that Fun Remembered | ✅ $25 mo / Truly OTT | ✅ Or make a one-time donation | | Join Us |
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| | WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL | No meetings until January 13. | Agenda | | WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT | 🚊 O Train | ▪️Two years late, the O Train Line 2 from Bayview Station to Limebank Station in Riverside South has officially opened. Additionally, Line 4, which runs from South Keys station to the airport, is also open. The only New Year’s resolution that THE OTTAWAN feels confident about is we’re going to give this a test ride as soon as possible. | | | | Kate Porter at CBC |
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| 🌬️ Idleness | ▪️The City’s new rules for idling cars are now in effect. Fines for being caught idling start at $500. When the temperature is between 0° and 27°: maximum idle time is three minutes per hour When the temperature is less than 0° or higher than 27°: maximum idle time is 10 minutes per hour If the vehicle is empty: maximum idle time is one minute per hour. | | | | Andrea Bennett at CityNews |
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| ➕ Related It’s a new provincial law, not City, but drivers are now only required to report collisions that cause at least $5,000 worth of damage. This is an increase from $2,000. Drivers must still report a collision where someone was hurt, regardless of property damage. | 🎸Ottawa Nightlife | | 🏠 Houses | ▪️The New York Times has published its ‘10 Most Popular International Listings of 2024’ of which three are in the Mont-Tremblant area. Sure, it’s a 90 minute commute, but that’s going to be the same for Brockville, or if you leave during rush hour on the Queensway, for Stittsville. Pics are included in the story, of course. | | | | Michael Kaminer in the New York Times |
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| | OTTAWA HISTORIC LOGO T-SHIRTS |  | Club Zinc |
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| Club Zinc | For underground Ottawa of 80s, Club Zinc was a short, dark light. | Help support THE OTTAWAN by buying one of our historic logo t-shirts. | |
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| | THE ROLLING 3 DAY CALENDAR | Is there an event we should know about?
Please use our easy event submission form | TODAY | Happy 12th Day of Christmas (Did you find 12 drummers drumming at the foot of your bed this morning?). It’s also Epiphany, aka the day when Martha has to take down all the pretty Christmas decorations. Some call it Little Christmas or Three Kings’ Day. Whatever today is for you, even if it’s just the first Monday of 2025, we hope it’s transcendent for you. ▪️ Today is your deadline to sign up for Almanac Grains’ January bread and baking subscription, which starts this Thursday January 9. $105 gets you four weeks of bakery bundles that include a loaf and baked treats. ▪️ There’s still (limited) availability at Camp Fortune’s Learn to Ski and Learn to Snowboard programmes. The deadline to register is 9:00 pm on Wednesday (January 8). ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Vermiglio, Babygirl ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Anora, Maria, Heretic Gigs The 5-Star Monday Band. The Laff |
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| TOMORROW | ▪️ Pay just $12.50 for unlimited play all night at House of TARG’s Tuesday Arcade. Includes all games, from pinball machines to arcade classics. You’ll find deals on cocktails and pierogies while you’re there. ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Vermiglio, Babygirl. A Real Pain ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Maria, Anora, Heretic Gigs ▪️ Open Mic Night. LIVE on Elgin ▪️ Trivia Tuesday: Irene’s Pub, Broadhead Brewing, Moose McGuire’s |
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| WEDNESDAY | 🆓 Ottawa Bad Movie Nights are back with a curated film series at Ottawa Public Library’s Main Branch. Tonight, catch the exquisitely campy Barbarella (1968) with Jane Fonda and a host of straight-faced costars. ▪️ Have a happy hump day with the Karaoke Party at the Prescott. ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: The Sacrifice, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, Babygirl ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Anora, Maria, 2001: A Space Odyssey Gigs ▪️ Bluegrass Wednesdays with the Dusty Drifters. Red Bird ($20) ▪️ Jazz Nite with Jahmeema. Bar Robo ▪️ Eden Moore’s Drag Me to 2025 ▪️ The Prime Rib Big Band. Irene’s Pub |
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| JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING | ▪️ The National Arts Centre and OrKidstra join forces for Notes of Love, a side-by-side concert on Valentine’s Day (February 14). General admission tickets are $30 or you can make a proper night of it and become a Community Builder for $120. You’ll enjoy a VIP reception beforehand with food, drinks, and the chance to chat with some of the stars of the evening. ▪️ Take pride once again in your old furniture with the beginner Recovering Your Chair Seats workshop at Recreated Designs on February 8. |
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| | DEALS OF THE DAY |  | Company of Adventurers |
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|  | Piggy Market |
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| When you pick up your lunch at The Piggy Market there’s no tax. Available Monday through Saturday from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, the lunch menu offers sandwiches, ramen, soup, and Jamaican Patties. 400 Winston Ave, K2A 1Y5 |
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| | BUT, ONE MORE THING … | | | | DAILY QUALITY CONTROL | What did you think of today’s OTTAWAN? | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great ⭐⭐⭐ Satisfactory ⭐ Needs Improvement |
| Comment of the week: ‘I like the variety of topics that are covered in a succinct way. Focus on city council concerns is interesting and much needed’ |
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