See the 8 day forecast at the ottawan weather

Membership status:  Change your status

HELLO OTTAWA

A new announcement from the City is a classic ‘praise sandwich’*, in which unpalatable news is slipped in after the good bit. 

The good news is the COVID-derived system of needing appointments to use the various City Client Service Centres has ended. It’s all walk-in service now.

The bad news is the Kanata Client Service Centre on Terry Fox Drive is closing permanently on June 28. Kanata residents can go a little further west to the West Carleton Client Service Centre in Carp if they like. As long as it is a Wednesday, as that is the only day that it is open.

Click here to see all four three centres open daily, and the three open one day per week.

– Martha and Darren

* Most people call it a different kind of sandwich, but we’re trying to stay out of your spam folder.

STATS

Ottawan of the Day

• Mary Taggart
• – The editor-in-chief and publisher of Ottawa at Home magazine is hanging up her pen after 15 years. Taggart bought the magazine from the publishing company coöwned by mayor Mark Sutcliffe. (Editor’s Note) 

Quote 

• “

• A lot of us were surprised you could move it whole, over that distance, in one piece, without it falling apart

• – Kitchissippi ward councillor Jeff Leiper on the successful move of the 90-year-old heritage ‘cottage’ gas station from its home at the corner of Island Park Drive and Richmond Road, to a temporary perch across the street. A nine-storey, 103-unit residential development will be built on its former site, after which the station will be moved back as part of the decor. (Marlo Glass in the Ottawa Citizen)

FORWARD the ottawan TO A FRIEND

PLEASE SUPPORT THE OTTAWAN

CITY HALL AGENDA

What’s going on at City Hall

No meetings tomorrow.

📋 Meetings and agenda

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

💰 Hooray for Carlingwood 

•  The new owners of Carlingwood Shopping Centre plan to build a residential development on the site. The purchase price was not stated, but the new owners say that proximately to a new O Train station, numerous bus routes, and the Queensway make it ‘a prime location for much-needed incremental residential density’. While existing leases will be honoured, any development would take place years in the future. (David Sali in the Ottawa Business Journal)
  
  ➕Related The Hudson’s Bay Company is worried that a heritage designation will make it harder for it to tear down its heritage-worthy facade for development. The built heritage committee has recommended that the facade on Rideau Street be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. While the Bay has been there since the 70s, the store was built in 1929 for the Freiman department store.

🥓 Breakfast with the Mayor

•  Seniors who would like to have breakfast with mayor Mark Sutcliffe can now try to get on the list. The Canada Day breakfast with the Mayor will be on Monday, July 1 from 8:00 am to 10:30 am in the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park. Tickets are first-come, first-served, with a limit of two.
  
  However, you have a second chance if you are celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary in 2024, as VIP tickets are available. (Details for ticket list)

⛑️ Meech Lake

•  Summer must be around the corner, as Meech Lake beach is closed due to a blue-green algae bloom. The National Capital Commission has closed the beach until it is deemed safe. Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, can cause gastrointestinal irritation. (Marlo Glass in the Ottawa Citizen)
  
  ➕Related The nicest swimming hole in Ottawa has reopened for the summer. The NCC River House’s pool in the Ottawa River has lifeguards on duty 7:00 am to 7:00 pm daily. 

🐝 Giant Hornets

•  The giant hornets around Ottawa right now are not murder hornets.  European hornets are not particularly new to Ottawa, having been imported 170 years ago, but they usually live in the woods. Unlike the northern giant hornets – the ‘murder hornets’ – the European hornets are not dangerous to bee hives, or people for that matter. (Faith Greco at CBC)

🧭 Missing Woman

•  The North Bay and Ottawa Police services are seeking information on a woman who went missing five years ago. Tara Sculptor, who would be 39 years-old now, was last seen in 2019 buying a ticket to North Bay from Ottawa. It is believed she may have gotten off the bus between Petawawa and North Bay. Anyone with information is asked to Ottawa Police at 613 236 1222. (BayToday)

OTTAWA HISTORIC LOGO T-SHIRTS

BUY A HISTORIC LOGO T-SHIRT

MORE FROM THE OTTAWAN

• 🍺 Our Ottawa-Gatineau Craft Brewery Map

•  

• 🏆 The Best Of Ottawa Awards 2023

•  

• 🎧 Best Podcasts from Ottawa

EVENTS

Is there an event we should know about?
Please use our easy event submission form

Today

•  Stitch, Hook and Knit is a new program hosted by Old Ottawa East CAG (Community Activities Group) that wants to be a place where we can gather, socialize, and craft together! Bring your machines, hooks and needles, yarn and thread, and craft with us. There is no instructor in this workshop. Learning is in the doing and the sharing among participants. Tuesday June 4 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Old Town Hall Community Centre, 61 Main Street, K1S 1B3. 

•  Did you find a strange looking mushroom on a hike? Bring it to Quinn's Ale House (1070 Bank St K1S 3X3 in Old Ottawa South) and members of the Ottawa Mushroom Society will help you identify it. The Open To All Mushroom Social runs from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 

•  🆓 The Tuesday Night Movie screening at the OPL Main Branch auditorium is Night Crawler with Jake Gyllenhaal. For mature audiences. 

•  ByTowne Cinema: La passion de Dodin Bouffant (The Taste of Things), The Great Escaper, Dune: Part Two

•  Mayfair Theatre: Wicked Little Letters, The Promised Lad, Love Lies Bleeding
  
  Gigs

•  Trivia Tuesday. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  Holly Clausius, Salwa, Annie Martel. Avant Garde Bar

•  McGroovy Night. Daniel O'Connell's

•  Life drawing. Art House Café

•  Open Mic. LIVE on Elgin

•  Trivia Night. Pour Boy

Tomorrow

•  Raise a glass of chilled Prosecco at Ottawa Cancer Foundation’s glam Cheers to a Cure, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm tonight at Tavern at the Gallery. Tonight’s even celebrates 20 years of research initiatives and support to Ottawa families facing cancer. Tickets from $134.30.

•  You’ll have a chance to win a PS5 at Nerdy Bingo and Live Auction. The last event sold out, so if you want to meet other geeks and have a great time, time’s running out. $15 per person. Laugh Lounge, 61 York St. K1N 9C7. 

•  🆓 The Walrus Talks focuses on the arts and culture with Canada’s Creative Power, a panel discussion with the leaders from the National Arts Centre, Canada Council for the Arts, CBC/Radio-Canada, and four other national cultural institutions. “Canada is bursting with talent and making waves on the world stage. Why is it important to share stories by Canadian artists and storytellers, not just within our borders but around the globe? What does the future hold for the national cultural institutions that support the country’s creativity? What is their vision for increasing public access, supporting creators, adapting for the future, and facing challenges? Why does Canadian culture matter when there are so many needs competing for our attention and investment?” Free, but you must register. From 7:00 pm at National Gallery of Canada. 

•  ByTowne Cinema: The Great Escaper, Returns to Reason: Four Fiilms by Man Ray, Evil Does Not Exist

•  Mayfair Theatre: The Promised Land, Wicked Little Letters, Red Sun
  
  Gigs

•  Prime Rib Big Band. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  Andre Pettipas. Red Bird

•  The Gladsome Gentlemen. Montgomery Scotch Lounge

•  Open Mic. Pour Boy

•  Jazz Nite with the Rolo Duo. Queen St. Fare

•  Drag me to LIVE! An Evening of Hits From the 90s and 00s. LIVE on Elgin

Thursday

•  Veterans Affairs Canada will host a wreath-laying ceremony to mark 80 years since D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. National War Memorial, Wellington St. 

•  Meet the makers of Blondie Apparel womenswear at Flock Boutique from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, and pick up some Canadian-made basics for your wardrobe. 1275 Wellington St. W., K1Y 3A6

•  Start the weekend now with a visit to Urban Art Collective’s Hintonburg Night Market. Shop locally made goods, relax, and enjoy live entertainment. 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm at 1088 Somerset St W. K1Y 3C6 

•  Gather at Galerie St-Laurent + Hill to see They Came Back at Night, the new series of portraits by Montréal artist Kai McCall. 293 Dalhouse St. K1N 7E5. McCall is inspired by classical painting as well as cinema, and his contemporary subjects often appear to somehow be of the past. Vernissage from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 

•  ByTowne Cinema: Evil Does Not Exist, The Great Escaper, Spirited Away(subtitled) 

•  Mayfair Theatre: Anselm, Civil War, Late Night with the Devil

  Gigs

•  Rory Taillon. The Shed

•  Primary Colours - Jazz in June noon hour concert. MacKay United Church

•  Irene’s Blues Sessions with Luke Ambridge. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  Karaoke Thursdays. Atomic Rooster

•  Kingfisher, Nothing Serious, Pop Culture icons, Halfway There. House of TARG

•  Country Songwriters showcase with Chris Landry, Fraser Wayne, Kevin Schofield. LIVE on Elgin

Just Announced / Now Booking

• Ottawa Chamberfest celebrates turning 30 with heavy hitters like Angela Hewitt, the Canadian Brass, and Danish String Quartet taking centre stage, but there’s so much more. This year’s festival, which runs July 25 - August 8, encompasses artist collaborations, midday concerts, community and education programming, and a late-night Chamberfringe series. Chamberfest has also achieved more than 50% of its 30th Anniversary Campaign to raise $100.000, a critical endeavour in the current environment of reduced government funding. Tickets for the festival are on sale now. 

• You've completed all the puzzles in the house and you need a new challenge. Ottawa Puzzle Swap/Sell is your opportunity to buy, sell, and swap jigsaw puzzles. If you plan to sell, be at the venue on Sunday June 9 at 12:15 pm to set up; otherwise the event starts at 1:00 pm. Trinity United Church (Tait Hall in the basement), 1099 Maitland Ave. K2C 2B8

• Broadway Across Canada presents Disney’s The Lion King for a three-week run at the National Arts Centre October 24 - November 10. Tickets go on sale June 13. 

FORWARD the ottawan TO A FRIEND

DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

In 2021, Montréal commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to write a report on how to recover from the pandemic. PricewaterhouseCoopers didn’t limit it to Montréal – the report was titled ‘The impact of the pandemic on the downtown areas of Canada’s six major cities’ and yes, Ottawa was included.

Bike Ottawa vice-president Dave Robertson is thrilled by the results that Montréal got by acting on its recommendations. ‘On Montréal’s pedestrianized streets, storefront vacancy rates have dropped. For example, pedestrianized Mount Royal Avenue originally had 14.5 per cent vacancy rates, which fell to 5.6 per cent in 2023, whereas average rates sit at 13.1 per cent.’

The full report is here. 

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL