❤️ This Valentine’s Day, celebrate your love for Ottawa!

The entries keep on coming in. People love Ottawa. And you still have until tomorrow to enter our heart-stopping giveaway:

• Three bags of Bridgehead’s delicious, Ottawa-roasted coffee
   
• A $25 gift card and gorgeous heart-shaped Ottawa magnet from Maker House 
   
• A gift basket from Bottega Nicastro, full of tantalizing Italian treats and pantry items
   
• Two 200ml bottles of yummy Balsamic Vinegar and Stubbe chocolates from Aurelius Fine Olive Oils & Balsamic Vinegars
   
• A Personal Valentine's Day greeting from Martha and Darren

The value of this giveaway is more than $200 beautiful Canadian dollars.

How do you get a chance to win? 

Simple: send an email with the subject line LOVE OTTAWA to valentine@theottawan.com by 11:59 pm on Thursday February 13 and your name will go into the random draw from Martha’s Mom’s Choosin’ Hat. 

We’ll announce the winner in THE OTTAWAN on Friday February 14.

Oh, one more thing: you must live in Ottawa* to win, because Martha and Darren will hand deliver the prize to you this weekend.

Good Luck!

* As usual, our definition of ‘living in Ottawa’ is malleable. Gatineau is definitely in, as are the various attractive little towns that surround the Capital. Kingston and Cornwall are right out. If Martha’s mom draws a name, and they live in, say, Vankleek Hill, the decision on whether that is within the bounds is really going to depend on the weather and how late we were up the night before. 

In Today’s Edition

→ Algonquin College considers axing 16 per cent of its programmes 

→ Expect trolls, tears, twists, puppets, projection, dance, and drama tomorrow at Dreamscapes

→ Made in Canada Deals of the Day: beds and chairs

→ ⛅ High -8° Low -17° and partly cloudy but Environment Canada has issued a Winter Storm Warning. Expect 30cm to 40 cm, starting this evening.

Parking bans will be in effect on many streets Thursday, and OC Transpo will be cutting back on bus service. The O Train should run a normal schedule. 

– Martha and Darren

WEDNESDAY DINING + DRINKING UPDATE

Last minute Valentine’s Day plans

• Stop by Top Shelf Preserves from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on Valentine’s Day to experience Little Jo Berry’s cookies, plus take an extra 20% off sodas, seltzers, and other non-alcoholic drinks. 
• Yugirolls will be serving up Ottawa’s best vegan Chinese food from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Dominion City Brewing on Friday.
• Enjoy a classic “dinner and dancing” evening just like your grandparents used to do. Southside Tap and Grill is offering two entrées, two drinks, and two desserts for $46.99, and you’ll even get the chance to win a gift card from the Adult Fun Superstore.
  
  THE OTTAWAN has a round-up of our Valentine’s Day suggestions from the past week at our website.
   

Other Drinking and Dining news

•  If Family Day (Monday February 17) has you stumped, Cupcake Lounge just might have the answer:  Bring the kids for a cookie decorating sesh.  
• Birch Bark Coffee Company announced the launch of the Birch Bark Coffee Foundation Fund, which will directly contribute to charities that support seven amazing Indigenous charities. You can help by purchasing coffee or by donating. 
• Peter Hum in the Ottawa Citizen loves Wednesday tapas night at Brassica in Westboro. ‘[T]he highest praise, I think, is that these dishes elicited immediate, gut-level kudos before my critic’s analytical brain could even think of kicking in’.
• But back chasing the sugar dragon, Hum finds the Valentine’s tarts are to his liking at Tartelette Bakery.
• At Eat the Strip, Ameya Charnalia finds a strip mall restaurant straight out of Central Casting: between a cell phone repair shop and a make-your-own wine space. Polka Delicatessen sells deli sarnies at $6.
• In the Ottawa Business Journal, Jordan Pizzuti lays out his top ten items from last week’s 25th annual Taste in the Glebe event.  They are: Northern Pearl Oyster – Pelican Seafood Market & Grill, Baby Shrimp Toast – Thr33’s co, Rum Ball – Stella Luna Gelato Cafe, Rigatoni Alla Vodka with Venison Bolognese – Aiana Restaurant Collective, Parm Wheel Cacio E Pepe – Cantina Gia, Potato & Leek Soup with Baby Shrimp – Le Poisson Bleu, Brisket and Ribs – Lexington Smokehouse & Bar, Coconut Strawberry Pistachio Tart – Tartelette Pastry & Cafe, California Bowl – Paradise Poke, and Whipped Ricotta Dip – Joey Lansdowne.
• In Apartment 613’s Best Bites column, Kiersten Vuorimaki, Alison Larabie Chase, and Hannah Manning ate at Aperitivo (‘We dipped and swirled and scraped up every last bit, and I would have eaten more of it’), Fairouz Café(‘I have since fallen in love with the cozy dining area and gorgeous back patio’, and Heartbreakers Pizza (‘ It’s got to be one of the best pizzas in town, whether you take it out, or enjoy it in’).

STATISTICS OTTAWA

GATINOISE OF THE DAY

• Ciara Antoski 
• The model has reclaimed her Guinness world record for the deepest underwater model photoshoot after a 50 metre session in Florida.
• Antonski and photographer Steve Haining previously set the record in 2021 at Fathom Five National Marine Park in Tobermory with 6.4 metres but were surpassed in 2023 by a 40 metre photoshoot.
• This shoot, on the wreck of the Hydro Atlantic, was beyond the ‘no-decompression’ limit, requiring model and photographer to pause on their way back up to avoid getting ‘the bends’.
• Yes, there is a photo.
• Chris Knight in the National Post

QUOTE

• “

• This is not by any stretch of the imagination our responsibility. This is the responsibility of the provincial government.

• – Mississauga mayor Carolyn Parrish on her city’s refusal to contribute to the construction cost of a new hospital, and suggests Ottawa follow their lead.
• Ontario is seeking $150 million from the City as a contribution for the new Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital.
• Kate Porter at CBC

WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

🎓 Algonquin College

•  Algonquin College is considering cancelling 37 programmes. Amongst other programmes, cancellation would hit the Faculty of Creative Arts and Media, School of Business and Hospitality, and Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence. Algonquin offers 235 programmes in total. The college blames a downturn in revenue due to the reduction of international students mandated by the Federal government.
  
  David Fraser, Emma Weller, and Gabrielle Huston at CBC

⚽ Atlético Ottawa

•  Atlético Ottawa has revealed its primary kit for 2025. This one is entitled ‘Homage to El Doblete’ kit, inspired by the jerseys worn by parent organization Atlético de Madrid when they won ‘El Doblete’, the two championships of the league and cup in 1995.
  
  The kit sponsor again is Maple Lodge Farms, which donates food for every jersey sold.
  
  Canadian Premier League

🛡️ Harvard University

• The students’ newspaper at Harvard, The Crimson, has noticed that two of its alumni are vying for the Federal Liberal party leadership. Normally THE OTTAWAN does not concern itself with Federal politics and politicians unless they cross the invisible line into City politics but Mark Carney is an actual resident of Ottawa, so there is a tenuous hook.
  
  The Crimson notes that as a student, Carney was the only one to notice Pierre Trudeau on an unofficial campus visit, with a ‘Good afternoon, Prime Minister Trudeau’.
  
  The other alumnus, Toronto member of Parliament Chrystia Freeland regularly gave her roommates quizzes on the ten provinces.
  
  Avi W Burstein and Abigail S Gurstein in the Harvard Crimson

HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS

THE ROLLING THREE DAY CALENDAR

Is there an event we should know about?
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TODAY

• Night Oat’s new Trivial Matters is three brain-teasing rounds (general knowledge, music and other media, and a surprise round) for teams of two to six people. Will you win the inaugural event? 

• 🆓 YMCA presents Black Resistance, an in-person event celebrating the rich heritage, achievements, and contributions of the Black community. 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at 180 Argyle Ave, 2nd Floor. 

• Bring your gently used but unwanted clothes to House of TARG’s Community Clothing Swap #11. 

•  Controlled Damage, the story of Viola Desmond, opens at National Arts Centre’s Babs Asper Theatre. The Neptune Theatre and National Arts Centre co-production runs until February 22. 

• Break up the week with a glamorous cocktail party for a good cause. Snowball: A Cool Winter’s Eve, is raising funds for the Snowsuit Fund. 

• There are only five chances left to see Elevator Theatre Company’s Late Company at the Gladstone Theatre. 

• Members of the National Capital Region YMCA are invited to register for Celebrate Black Resistance, featuring performances, an art exhibition by OBÁSOLÁ, and special guests. 

• Timothy Chooi draws inspiration from Winterlude and Valentine’s Day as he performs music for violin and strings in Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra’s Treasures and Delights of the Violin Repertoire.

• 🆓 Historical Society of Ottawa presents Black History in Ottawa Streets, a virtual presentation featuring Jean-Marie Guerrier, Vice-President of Black History Ottawa. 

• ByTowne Cinema: I’m Still Here, The Last Showgirl, Universal Language

• Mayfair Theatre: Hard Truths, Sing Sing, Pulp Fiction

  
  Gigs

• Jazz Nite with Peter Woods. Bar Robo

• Open Mic Night. Atomic Rooster

• Moonfruits. Richcraft Theatre

• Decapitated, Incantation, Darkest Hour, and Exmortus. Overflow Brewing

• Open Mic. Pour Boy

• Kellie Loder. National Arts Centre

• Jazz Nite with Peter Woods. Bar Robo

TOMORROW

• Ghost Rooster Collective, a group of five local disabled artists, bring a film screening, an artist Q&A, and performance together at Club SAW (6:30 pm to 830 pm).They say: “Expect trolls, tears, twists, puppets, projection, dance, drama and more as we share Dreamscapes for the first time publicly.” 

• In advance of Have a Heart Day tomorrow (see Friday’s event listing) the Caring Society will be holding a virtual panel discussion “My Voice Matters: Changing the world Through Child and Youth Activism!” In the film, “Young people who participated in the Caring Society’s social justice-based reconciliation campaigns in elementary and secondary school look back on how their experiences of standing up for equity for First Nations children impacted them." To access the event, which runs from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, please join using this Zoom link: (no registration necessary)

• Climate Change Ottawa is bringing its first ever speed-dating for progressives evening to Rainbow Bistro. Meet cool people and then dance the night away. 
   

• And now for a something completely different: Nick Adema Quartet will be playing live to accompany the Ottawa Charge vs Minnesota Frost game, which will be playing on the big screen at Bar Robo (170 Queen St). “Music for a Silent Hockey Game” is presented by Ottawa Jazzfest and Bar Robo and starts at 7:00 pm. Donations for Ottawa Food Bank appreciated. 

• FREE Emerging scholars present their research in Stitching Our Stories Together: Journeys Into Indigenous Social Work at Octopus Books 7:00 pm to 8:00pm.

• Bring your current reading material to Silent Book Club for a spell of “quiet camaraderie.” The event is a haven for introverts and people who just want a bit of silence while they spend time with others. Before and after the allotted reading time you’re welcome to mingle and chat - that is, if you want to. 7:00 pm at Anina’s Café.

• Five premium wines, antipasti, the company of other food and wine lovers: tick all the boxes at Bottega Nicastro’s Intimate Evening with Giulia Negri’s Wines . $115 per person. 

• For a supernatural twist on Shakespeare’s Scottish play, check out Dead Unicorn Ink’s production of Foul Play at undercurrents festival (Arts Court). 

• The Calabogie Brewing Kanata taproom will be lively with Music Bingo. Bring your squad, your love, or yourself. Free, but you should reserve your place. 

• The EveryPerson Café (139 Bank St.) is holding its first-ever Open Mic tonight.

• The Naughty Night Market isn’t just about shopping (although there will be plenty of that). You can expect pole dancers, erotic art, a guest appearance by Ottawa shop Venus Envy, and other saucy surprises. Plus karaoke after 8:00 pm. Next Door Market & Event Space from 5:00 pm. 955 Gladstone Ave. 

• Collect your person and join jazz vocalist Betty Ann Bryanton and her band at Festival Japan restaurant (149 Kent St) for The Journey of Love: Dinner & Live Music. 

• Late Company continues at the Gladstone Theatre. 

• ByTowne Cinema: Universal Language, Ciné-Club D’Ottawa: Dis-moi pourquoi ces choses sont si belles, Interactive! Twilight Eclipse.

• Mayfair Theatre: Hard Truths, Sing Sing, Eraserhead 

  Gigs

• Duckhouse Backwash, Georgie Winchester. Avant Garde Bar

• Quote the Raven. Red Bird

• Bodysnatchers (Radiohead tribute). House of TARG

• Art of the Duo with Tim Bedner and Magnus Paulson. GigSpace

• Thursday Blues Session with guest host Alanna Sterling. Irene’s Pub
   

FRIDAY

• Have a Heart Day is a child and youth-led reconciliation event that brings together Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the opportunity to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are. The First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada (Caring Society for short) produced a short document explaining the background of Have a Heart Day, the origins of its official ambassador the Spirit Bear, and Ideas for how to mark the day - including making your own Snow Bear outside. 
   

• This could be the wettest Winterlude activity ever. Take the Centretown Plungethis weekend and help support Centre 507 and the Centretown Community Health Centre. Choose a time slot (tonight’s time slots are between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. 

• 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. 

• Get down - seriously, get down! - to Rainbow Bistro for the Valentine’s Party a Disco/Soul event with The Electric Company disco band. 70s outfits are de rigueur, mon cheri. 

• If you awoke with a start at 3:00 am because you’ve realized you didn’t buy flowers for someone, don’t despair. Visit Morning Owl Parkdale, where you’ll find Côté Fleurs’ handy Valentine’s Day Pop-up Shop at Morning Owl Parkdale 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. 

• Road Trip: If you’ve exhausted all that Winterlude has to offer, Almonte’s Winter Fest will keep you occupied.  Many shops and businesses will be offering specials, but be sure to stop by Hummingbird Chocolate’s hot chocolate bar, or Cheerfully Made where they’ll be giving away a branded tee or hoodie with every purchase (while supplies last). 

• It’s the deadline to vote in the Capital Music Awards. 

• FREE Sparks Street’s Winterlude activities include a photo exhibit detailing the history of the Canadian flag.

• FREE In Confederation Park, the Lumen Eira will dazzle you with the light and sound show.

• Whether or not you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, a swing lesson would be fun, right? You don’t need any previous experience when the Ottawa Swing Dance Society is in charge. $25 per person. 

• If a recent heartbreak has you thinking “Down with love” a trip to Yuk Yuk’s might be the fastest way to recovery. On Friday night (February 14) catch the return of Tinder Tales, a delightful merging of storytelling and comedy, as real-life dating stories take centre stage. 

• Art Battle returns to Overflow Brewing. 

• The Canadian Museum of History is holding a webinar for teachers who want to learn more about incorporating the history and contributions of the Black Canadian community into lesson plans. 

• Get $50 off matching tattoos at Ottawa Ink Inc. 

• Undercurrents festival continues at Arts Court with, among other shows, Dead Unicorn Ink’s supernatural twist on Shakespeare’s Macbeth at undercurrents festival.

• ByTowne Cinema: Flow, Vermiglio, Valentine’s Day: Amélie, 2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animated 

• Mayfair Theatre: Nickel Boys, Casablanca, Wild at Heart 
  
  Gigs

• The Flying Hibachis. Moose McGuire’s Huntclub

• Valentine’s Day Love Boat with DJ Remi Royale. House of TARG

• The Brothership, The Extensions. Irene’s Pub

• Undergang, Mephitic Corpse, Gland, HPV. Dominon Tavern

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

•  VegOttawa Association reached out to let us know that VegFest will return on July 5, after an absence of five years. On Saturday July 5. More details to follow, but you can expect a full day of food, people, and information about the plant-based lifestyle. 

DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

THE END