HELLO OTTAWA | ✉️ Please read: Barring any tech issues, this edition of THE OTTAWAN is the final one we are sending out via the US-based Beehiiv. | Starting Monday, we’ll again be using Montréal-based Cyberimpact. | But be wary: any newsletter changing email platforms always results in some people getting their newsletter put in the wrong place, like the promotional folder or even – we can barely whisper the word – spam. | If you don’t see THE OTTAWAN in your email next Monday, look in those those folders and make sure that you move them to your inbox. | And if you do find some strangeness in your delivery, whatever it is, please let us know at ‘hello@theottawan.com’. See you on the other side. | | Dining + Drinking Extra | Aurelius Fine Oils & Balsamic Vinegars is busy with all matters of the heart this February. First, all month they’ll be donating 15% of all Extra Virgin Olive Oil sales to the Ottawa Heart Institute. Second, just in time for February 14, Aurelius has put together a charming Valentine’s Day bundle that will have your foodie True Love swooning: they’ll receive a bottle each of Raspberry Balsamic and Chocolate Balsamic, plus a chocolate bar from Ottawa’s own Stubbe Chocolates. Imagine adding Raspberry Balsamic to a chicken marinade; or creating a glaze with the Chocolate Balsamic that you can drizzle over ice cream; you’ve now got a pretty good idea of how much this gift set makes our little hearts pound. | | Stew Stew Stewdio | Congratulations to Dave O., who was selected by the Martha’s mom’s Choosin’ Hat to win our tickets for tomorrow’s Stew Showdown. Stay tuned for another giveaway next week – a really, really big and lovely giveaway for Valentine’s Day. Be sure to open THE OTTAWAN for your chance to win. (And check your spam or promotions folder if we’re not there) | | In Today’s OTTAWAN | → Kanata has one of Ontario’s highest rents | → What to do in the Capital over the next four days | → 10 places to watch the Super Bowl (other than your couch) | → Deals on coffee, gold and diamond jewellery, and womenswear | → ⛅ High -3° Low -8° and partly cloudy | – Martha and Darren | | STATISTICS OTTAWA | | 13 | The number of properties protected in perpetuity by the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust, now that it has purchased Chatson Woods, 282 acres of of significant ecological value west of Ottawa near Denbigh. After signage and marking is complete, a trail open to public hiking will be announced. | | | | The Millstone |
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| PETAWAWAN OF THE DAY | Major Jessica Guerin | The personnel selection officer with the armed forces serving in Petawawa will be part of Team Canada’s cohort competing at the Invictus Games in Vancouver starting tomorrow. Guerin’s events will be indoor rowing, wheelchair basketball, alpine skiing, and skeleton. | | | | Joy SpearChief-Morris at CBC |
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| | So long as they're committed to driving down the costs of getting homes built, then I think there’s a path forward |
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| – New Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith indicating that the City may still be eligible for Federal housing money. The previous minister had linked funding to development charges, which Ottawa had not committed to freezing. | | | | Elyse Skura at CBC |
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| SPORTS | 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 1 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5, last night | | 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 | |
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| | WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL | Audit Committee
Monday, February 10, 2025 at 9:30 am |
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| Office of the Auditor General – Investigation of the Trillium Line Training Program Office of the Auditor General – Investigation of Building Code Services Office of the Auditor General – 2024 Report on the Fraud and Waste Hotline Office of the Auditor General – 2024 Annual Report and Updated Plan and Priorities
| | Ottawa Police Service Board Finance and Audit Committee
Monday, February 10, 2025 at 3:00 pm |
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| | | Ottawa Board of Health
Monday, February 10, 2025 at 5:00 pm |
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| Update on Neighborhood Health and Wellness Hubs: Progress and Path Forward Emergency Management at Ottawa Public Health – Annual Update Attendance at the Association of Local Public Health Agencies’ (alPHa) Winter Symposium
| | | WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT | ❓ Small Business | ▪️The Ottawa Board of Trade has create a page of resources for local businesses to deal with threatened US tariffs. The 25 per cent tariffs have been paused for 30 days but there is no guarantee that the pause will continue after that date. Board of Trade Business Resources: US Tariffs The Board of Trade and Invest Ottawa are also asking businesses to complete a survey on what is needed to support the local economy. 2025 US Tariff Survey for Ottawa Businesses |
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| 🚧 O Train | ▪️O Trains will not start running between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations until 11 am Sunday. OC Transpo says has to do with systems integration with Line 2. OC Transpo is also reducing the parallel bus service it has been running along Line 2 from four per hour to two per hour, Monday to Saturday. As Line 2 is closed Sundays, busses will continue at the four per hour service. Line 4, the spur from South Keys station to the airport will not have its parallel service cut and will retain four buses per hour all week long. | | | | Ottawa Citizen |
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| 💸 Kanata | ▪️Kanata has one of the highest rents in Ontario. The monthly rental report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation says the average rent in Ottawa went up $49 in January, to $2,214. Kanata, however, has both an average rent of $2,646 but that is also a reduction of $16 from December. Gatineau has an average rent of $1,988 per month. Josh Pringle at CTV |
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| 🛒 Grocery Flyers | ▪️Every week ‘Stromanker’ reads all the grocery flyers and posts the best deals on Ottawa Reddit. He says ‘ground beef is under $4/lb at multiple stores, and some have cheap pineapples’. /Ottawa |
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| | OTTAWA HISTORIC LOGO T-SHIRTS |  | Ottawa Valley Ale |
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| Ottawa Valley Ale T-Shirts | Long forgotten, but Ottawa’s first craft brewery was Ottawa Valley Ale, incorporated in 1985. | 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 | 🆓 Unikkaatuarniq: Stories of the North. The 9th Annual Snow Screen returns with more Indigneous films from the circumpolar North, shown outdoors, one per hour from 6:00 pm to 900 pm at Lansdowne Park. This evening through Sunday. Presented by the Asinabka Festival. ▪️ To mark tomorrow’s opening of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights’ traveling exhibition The Witness Blanket, tonight there will be an artist talk in the Canadian Museum of History’s Grand Hall. Artist Carey Newman (Ha̱yałka̱ng̱a̱me’) and his daughter Adelyn Newman Ting (Kesugilakw) will discus the transformative power of art to heal. ▪️ Mickey Mouse, Belle, Moana, and Tinker Bell are but a few of the characters you’ll see on skates at Disney On Ice: Mickey’s Search Party. Until Sunday February 9 at Canadian Tire Centre. ▪️ Sink into the immersive experience at Art House Café with Jazz in the Dark. The lights will be lower, and you’ll have the option to wear a blindfold as you listen to music by ELK Trio. 🆓 Sing a Sea Shanty returns to Beyond the Pale Brewing 250 City Centre location. No cover, and lots of delicious beer for sale. ▪️ Check out one of the undercurrents shows at Arts Court. ▪️ Queer-owned businesses, skating drag stars, and other performers grab the spotlight in Winter Pride in ByWard Market. ▪️ The home teams face off at the Capital Hoops Classic between U of O Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens. The Arena at TD Place. ▪️ Girls Nite Out brings the best Canadian female comedians to the Shenkman Arts Centre stage. ▪️ The Mayfair Theatre’s David Lynch Tribute Film Festival kicks off with Eraserhead, with additional screenings on February 11 and 13. ▪️ Despite the frigid temperatures, Divertimento Orchestra is calling for Echoes of Joy and Spring at Woodroffe United Church. ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: The Last Showgirl, I’m Still Here, Universal Language, Detour: Ganja & Hess ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Hard Truths, Sing Sing, Eraserhead Gigs ▪️ Kasador, The New Hires, Dart Trees. Rainbow Bistro ▪️ The Beatdown, The Divetones, Taco Bandits. Dominion Tavern ▪️ Factory x Solstice featuring ATROXX, Syvyl, Switches & Stitches. City at Night ▪️ The Ed Lister Group. Night Oat ▪️ Still Water Acoustic. O’Brien’s Roadhouse ▪️ Slo’ Tom & The Handsome Devils. Stray Dog Brewing ▪️ The Bookendz. Beau’s Brewing |
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| TOMORROW | ▪️ The Canadian Museum of History hosts The Witness Blanket, a thought-provoking travelling exhibition from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Through this compelling art installation, visitors are invited to bear witness to the stories of Survivors, reflect on the legacy of the Indian residential school system, and consider their own role in reconciliation. The exhibition will run until May 5. 🆓 The free screenings continue from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Snow Screen Unikkaatuarniq, Lansdowne Park. ▪️ Mickey Mouse, Belle, Moana, and Tinker Bell are but a few of the characters you’ll see on the ice at Disney On Ice: Mickey’s Search Party. Until Sunday February 9 at Canadian Tire Centre. ▪️ Visit the Lüx at Spark Street’s urban sugar shack for tunes and amazing lights. 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm ▪️ Dominion City Brewing Co’s Beer Garden on the Skateway near the Canal Ritz could not be more Ottawa: it’s skate in, skate out (but you can also walk to it from the Fifth Ave entrance); it’s a perfect rest stop after a long skate; and you can enjoy seltzer, cold beer, or the newly popular, 400 year-old tradition of fire-poked beer. The pop-up Beer Garden is open Thursdays through Sundays while the ice holds. 🆓 Enjoy more Snow Screen Unikkaaqtuarniq screenings outside the Horticulture Building and Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park. ▪️ Your kids can design their own bank notes at the Bank of Canada Museum this weekend. Also: learn all about Viola Desmond, the face of the $10 bill. ▪️ undercurrents continues at Arts Court. ▪️ Art House Café’s big 8th anniversary weekend really heats up with The Greatest Party of All Time. Dress like your fave sleb for your chance to win a vodka shot. ▪️ The Sparks Street Traditional Tea & Bannock Sampling continues, alongside art in ice carvings by Jessica Somers. ▪️ This is the final 613Flea before Valentine’s Day. Don’t miss the chance to pick up something as unique as your True Love. 🆓 The 11th annual Great Canadian Kilt Skate will coincide with the first-ever kilt skate to take place in Scotland. Ottawans only have to travel to the Lansdowne Park Skating Court to take part. Kilts are not required. ▪️ Take the kids (ages 3-7) to the Lil’ Breeze Obstacle Course and then warm up with a free hot chocolate. 350 Laurier St Gatineau J8X 3W9 🆓 How about a little outdoor yoga? Happiness Habits 613 are holding the first ever SNOWGA 1 on the great lawn, er, snow at Lansdowne Park. 11:00 am to 11:45 am. It’s going ahead whtere there’s snow or shine so dress for the outdoors. It’s free but you must register. ▪️ If you want to meet new people, check out the Massive Social at 3 Brewers (Sparks and Bank). ▪️ Urban Art Collective’s Not Your Typical Valentine’s Day Market (28 Booth St at Zibi) brings local vendors of all things LOVE together, with the aim of making this your best Valentine’s Day. ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: I’m Still Here, Universal Language, Eraserhead ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Flow, Sing Sing, Pulp Fiction, Saturday Night Sinema Gigs ▪️ Sharlee single release party. LIVE on Elgin ▪️ Moondoggy, Touch Grass, Joe Zappala, DJ Groovy Bob. House of TARG ▪️ AnjChito. Night Oat ▪️ Whiskey River Fever (Zach Bryan tribute). Bar Robo |
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| SUNDAY | ▪️ Kitty Yoga Class. What else do you need to know? ▪️ Drop in to Stories from the Black Diaspora, part of OPL’s family storytelling program. From 2:00 pm at the Nepean Centrepointe branch. ▪️ Ottawa Symphony Orchestra plays Berlioz, alongside music by other composers. ▪️ Support up-and-coming comics at the Stand-Up Comedy Showcase. Absolute Comedy (Little Italy) from 8:00 pm. 🆓 Enjoy more Snow Screen Unikkaaqtuarniq screenings at Lansdowne Park tonight from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm ▪️ Recreated Designs is crafting this afternoon. Join in and make a Valentine’s Day craft, perfect for ages 6 and up. ▪️ The Wall of H’arts returns to Ottawa’s only Hair Salon and House Plant Store, Fringe and Foliage (1300 Carling Ave). AliCat Art Studiocreates small Heart squares each Valentine’s Day for in person sales and an online auction to benefit Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation. ▪️undercurrents continues at Arts Court. ▪️ Ottawa Human Society’s “Tails of Love” event for kids explores the love that animals give us every day. $5 per child (ages 2-14), and accompanying adults get in for free. 245 West Hunt Club Road. ▪️ Colin Samuels will be playing at No Go Coffee Co.’s Moment of Live Music and Visual Poetry gig. 5488 Osgoode Main Street, Osgoode. ▪️ Get creative at Fabrications’ Valentine’s Day Make and Take session. ▪️ Ottawa 67s vs Flint Firebirds at The Arena at TD Place. ▪️ Join the conversation at the Shipwrecked Souls book launch. R. J. Harlick leads the discussion with author Barbara Fradkin at Irene’s Pub this afternoon. ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Golden Age: His Girl Friday, I’m Still Here, Universal Language, Eraserhead ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Flow, Sing Sing, Hard Truths, Clue Gigs ▪️ Pink Party Cabaret. Rainbow Bistro ▪️ Garnet Rogers. Red Bird ▪️ The Sunday Night Revue. Irene’s Pub ▪️ Sorry Snowman, Loch Nisse Monster, Weekend Goodbye. LIVE on Elgin |
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| MONDAY | 🆓 Join Artists Kyle Vingoe-Cram and GHY Cheung for the reception of their ARTicipate Exhibition "A Rift in the Valley" along with an artist Q/A. LaLande + Doyle Exhibition Space at Shenkman Arts Centre ▪️ The IMDifferent Dance + Cello Performance Event explores what it’s like to feel “different” through live cello music, choreography, and art (tonight and tomorrow night). Presented by the Ottawa Dance Directive, the event happens at allsaints event space. You can order a meal from the on-site Working Title Kitchen. ▪️ The Roller Skating Dance Party benefits the Ottawa Children’s Festival. 6:00 pm to 8:30pm at Skate & Play Roller Skating Center, 1-1101 Baxter Road. ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Universal Language, I’m Still Here, The Last Showgirl ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Sing Sing, Clue, Pulp Fiction Gigs ▪️ Karaoke Mondaze. Atomic Rooster ▪️ Open Mic Night. Art House Café |
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| JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING | ▪️ It’s best to buy your tickets to the International Film Festival of Ottawa now at the Early Bird price, because you’ll pay more starting February 13. The festival hits town March 12 through 23, 2025. ▪️ The 13th Annual Ottawa Grassroots Festival is just around the corner. From April 24 to 27, 2025, the festival will celebrate local music and community at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa and Irene’s Pub. |
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| | DEALS OF THE DAY |  | Equator Coffee |
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|  | Melanie Auld |
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| Save 50% on select solid gold and diamond gem pieces at Melanie Auld. |
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|  | Viens Avec Moi |
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| You have to visit Viens Avec Moi in person to shop the Sample & Closet Sale, today and tomorrow at 797 Bank St. In the Glebe. |
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| | BUT, ONE MORE THING … | 10 Places to watch the Super Bowl 🏈 The Brass Monkey will be screening the Super Bowl from 4:00 pm, offering $6 pints of Pils, free pizza and entertainment at halftime, and more. 🏈 Carleton Tavern 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm. 🏈 Beyond the Pale (City Centre taproom): look for specials on wings, chili, Pilsner, and even wine. From 6:00 pm. 🏈 The Bells Corners-based High Fives Sports Pub will be offering free chili, football squares, prizes, and giveaways. It all starts at 6:30 pm. 🏈 The Mardi Gras theme brings a New Orleans vibe to the Southside Tap and Grill. Cheerleaders, prizes, 50/50 draws are all part of the mix from 1:00 pm. 🏈 Broadway Bar & Grill Central (1896 Prince of Wales Dr) is giving away an 86 inch TV to one lucky winner but you’ve got to buy appetizers or Bud/Bud Light products during the event to get a ballot. You also need to reserve a spot at the event, which starts at 4:00 pm. Call 613-224-7004. 🏈 You could also win a TV at the Moose McGuire’s Tailgate Partystarting at 4:00 pm. For $20 enjoy the All You can Eat buffet. 🏈 Reservations are a must a Wild Wings Orléans. 🏈 On Heron Road, O’Brien’s will have half time pizza, draws, and door prizes. No reservations, so get there early. 🏈 Road Trip: Homestead Pub in Embrun will have food and drink specials as well as prizes. |
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