▪️ As of yesterday, D’Arcy Mcgee’s Kanata location has permanently closed. In an Instagram post the organization said ‘We want to assure you that this decision was not taken lightly. We treasure the shared experiences with you and appreciate your patronage greatly.’ The Ottawa Citizen says the closure was due to $73,000 owed in franchise fees.

▪️ Go all-out with your Halloween decor at Juniper Farm in Wakefield, where you’ll get one pumpkin free for every two you buy. Plus, the farm café has pumpkin-spiced drinks galore. Open Friday from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm and weekends from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

▪️ Visit more than 30 bean-to-bar makers from across the country at The Ottawa Chocolate Show this Saturday.

▪️ Coconut Lagoon chef/owner Joe Thottungal has won a Taste of Canada award for his cookbook My Thali in the regional/cultural cookbook category.

▪️ Polar Ice Vodka has announced a partnership with BeaverTails to create the Cinnamon Sugar Vodka. It will be available in November and December only.

▪️ Peter Hum at the Ottawa Citizen waited five visits before he ordered the shawarma at Allo Beirut whereupon he discovered it was ‘more tasty than your standard Ottawa shawarma’.

▪️ Hum also continues his quest to try every sweet thing in Ottawa by eating a perfect Paris-Brest at Elina Patisserie on Sussex Drive.

▪️ Ottawa shoppers at Metro may have been wondering why the store doesn’t offer its own loyalty cards like the other chains. Fear not, the Moi Rewards programme begins tomorrow and includes Metro’s cheapo brand, Food Basics. The change also means that Metro has dropped Air Miles.

▪️ In Apt 613’s Best Bites column, Kiersten Vuorimaki is joined by Alison Larabie Chase to eat at Paper Tiger Noodle Bar (‘the surprise element was a handful of lightly pickled but still crunchy Lebanese cucumber, which cut through the richness of the other ingredients beautifully’), Smash Daddy (‘I was surprised … at how great the fries are’), and La Pataterie Hulloise (‘I do recommend eating it on site, because I’m not sure you’d be able to close the lid of the container’).

▪️ At Eat the Strip, Ameya Charnalia has thrilled Darren by discovering a terrific Ethiopian resto, Delina's Restaurant and Bar. ‘Each dish was a standout’, says Charnalia. And the total for two was $28.

– The number of Ottawa Police Service vehicles caught by automated speed cameras in the first nine months of 2024. The City is responsible for the fine but it may be placed upon the officer driving the car ‘if warranted’.

- The 92 year-old Alta Vistan has written her first children’s book, The Lightkeeper, inspired by her father’s experience on the day electricity was introduced to h in the early 1900s.

– Rideau-Vanier ward councillor Stéphanie Plante tells of how her life was enriched after she carried a baby as a surrogate for a gay couple in Spain eight years ago.

▪️The City wants you to tell it how Ottawa is to have a diversified and prosperous economy. In particular, it wants ideas on how to save money while improving services. State your ideas here.

▪️A wild turkey has been terrorizing the residents of the Rideauview neighbourhood. The terrible Tom has been pecking at cars and pointing his beak at residents. River Ward ward councillor Riley Brockington advises residents to ‘show dominance’ and ‘open/close an umbrella quickly’.

▪️The Ottawa International Airport is getting new technology that doesn’t require travellers to take electronics out of their bags. Those bottles of 100 ml or less can stay in the bag as well. The new CT X-ray has been added to one security line so far, and Ottawa is only the second airport in Canada to have the technology. The other must be Vancouver, as THE OTTAWAN wasn’t required to remove our laptop last time we were there, and the experience was marginally nicer than usual.

▪️The Shaw Centre has been renamed the Rogers Centre Ottawa in a new 10-year deal between the Ottawa Convention Centre and the telecommunications behemoth. Signs will be changed over the next year. Rogers bought Shaw last year.

▪️The sale of old growth forest next to Gillies Grove in Arnprior is going ahead. The Catholic Oblates of Mary Immaculate bought the land in 1946, selling part of it in 2001 to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. The proposed buyer, Cavanagh Communities, plans to develop the land but promises ‘connectivity’.

▪️ The Diefenbunker welcomes littles for the Toddlers’ Halloween Hunt, today through Friday mornings. Dress code: Halloween costumes.

▪️ It’s the most fabulous night of the year for Volunteer Ottawa, as the VOscars 2024 celebrate volunteering in our city.

▪️ The 49th Ottawa Writers Festival launches with a reading of North of Nowhere, “an incomparable first-hand account of the historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada told by Dr. Marie Wilson, one of the commissioners who led it.”

▪️ French chamber group Le Consort Baroque opens Ottawa Chamberfest wth a program of Vivaldi, Corelli, Purcell, and more.

▪️ ByTowne Cinema: The Outrun, Run Lola Run, Conclave: Premiere Screening 

▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Lee, Monster Pool: Chapter 8

Gigs

▪️ Operatic Revelry: Tricksters and Tomfoolery. Rainbow Bistro

▪️ Eerie Elgin Halloween Party. LIVE on Elgin

▪️ Carnifext. The Brass Monkey

▪️ Celtic Celebration featuring The Carroll Sessions. Red Bird

▪️ Watson’s Mill in Manotick becomes a three-storey haunted house, complete with authentically creaky floors.

▪️ Ottawa Writers’ Festival Fall edition continues with Imagined Histories featuring historical fantasy writers Kate Heatfield and J. M. Miro; and Remembered Tomorrows with Suyi Davies Okungowa and Nalo Hopkinson.

▪️ The kids will love Log Farm’s annual Halloween Party, which includes a costume party, loot bags, and regular activities like the wagon rides. Today through Sunday. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

▪️ Road Trip: Check out the latest designs at the Duffield Design FW24 Launch Party in Almonte. Every in-store purchase of FW24 pieces on Thursday will receive a 10% discount.

▪️ If life is throwing too many curveballs your way, perhaps it’s time to seek help from the Philosophy of Stoicism.

▪️ ByTowne Cinema: The Outrun, Ciné-club d’Ottawa: Bonnard, Pierre et Marthe, The Shining

▪️ Mayfair Theatre: A Different Man, MaXXXine – 35mm print!

Gigs

▪️ Nathan Zinck. Avant-Garde Bar

▪️ Lovarra The Singer. Irene’s Pub

▪️ Sorry Snowman. The Rainbow Bistro

▪️ That groovy joint in QC, Motel Chelsea, will be rocking with The Hootenany Revue featuring Carolyn Mark, Jnny Whiteley, Luther Wright, Sam Allison and guests.

▪️ Ottawa Redblacks welcome (ha!) Hamilton Tiger-Cats to the Stadium at TD Place.

▪️ If you’re on the hunt for exclusive, locally made art to make this year’s Christmas giving truly special, you’ll need to visit the Out of the Box Fibre Artists’ Fall Fibre Fling. It’s only on today and tomorrow, so hurry.

▪️ Music to Movement Build by Horizon Ottawa is an evening devoted to Funk music and progressive politics, although the organizers stress that even the a-political will enjoy the event.

▪️ Today’s line up at Ottawa Writers’ Festival starts with a lunchtime chat featuring Richard Van Camp, a presentation with fiction writers David O’Meara, Jenny Haysom and Marissa Stapley, and a Poetry Cabaret.

▪️ Come and watch artist Daniel Martelock in action at Hintonburg Public House. Plus: do a little painting yourself for free.

▪️ Catch the student and teacher performances and do a little social dancing at DQ Ballroom and Fitness Studio’s Halloween Party.

▪️ Wear your best costume to Just Ghoulin’ Around at SAW Centre. It’s all ages, but you’ll need 19+ photo id for drinks.

▪️ Costumes are also welcome at Signal20 - Nightmare on Slater (3rd Annual Edition).

▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Conclave, Dahomey, Interactive: The Twilight Saga New Moon.

▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Lee, The Apprentice, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Gigs

▪️ Lloyd Smiley Trio. Broadway Bar & Grill

▪️ TAXI GIRLS. House of Targ

▪️ Tados. Dominion Tavern

▪️ Fabien. Irene’s Pub

▪️ QI de Abelha. Avant-Garde Bar

▪️ The Escape Society with Dolonia. Rainbow Bistro

▪️ Cevilain. Overflow Brewing Company

▪️ The Jersey Nights (Before Christmas) Show presents hits from Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with added festive classics thrown in. Thursday December 19.

▪️ Release your inner artist with BEING Studio’s Collage Workshop on November 3.