See the 8 day forecast at the ottawan weather

HELLO OTTAWA

Good news. After much hand wringing, the Rideau Canal Skateway opened to skaters yesterday and avoided a closure for the second year in a row.

Meanwhile, up at Muskrat Lake in Cobden, the annual ice fishing derby to be held on the first weekend in February has been cancelled due to lack of ice. Mussie, the prehistoric creature in the lake, can breathe a sigh of relief for another year.

– Martha and Darren

VALENTINE’S DAY GREETING CARDS

When you can’t find the words to express your feelings, a well chosen card can help. There’s no need to buy mass a produced greeting when there are so many locally- and Canadian-made options out there.

1. The sharp graphics come with a food focus at Cara Bare Designs (Ottawa)
    
2. Ritual & Fern cards use designs of coffee, plants, and food to deliver messages of love (Ottawa)
    
3. Lori Langille’s lush fine art cards, post cards, and prints might possibly bring the onset of swooning (Ottawa)
    
4. The cards by Wilde Juniper Art are cheerful, mostly water colour greetings with a lot of heart (Ottawa)
    
5. The Love Ur Guts card by Party Mountain Paper company says it all, really (Hamilton)
    
6. Those who prefer a more understated declaration of love might choose the You’ll Do greeting by Badger & Burke (Vancouver)
    
7. You’ll find cute puns and cosy graphics for days at Pedaller Designs (Calgary)
    
8. Keep it real with Carolyndraws cards - ‘Wanna Hang Out Zero Feet Apart?’ (Toronto)
    
9. Make your own card at the Ottawa School of Art’s Letterpress Valentine’s Day Card Intro workshop on February 3.
    
10. You can also hand craft a greeting card at Hintonburg Public House’s Valentine’s Day Card Collage Workshop on Thursday, February 8. Make as many cards as you wish at $8 a pop. All materials will be provided.

TODAY’S LINE UP

•  Valentine Cards
•  Ottawa Stats
•  City Hall Agenda
•  What Ottawa is Talking About
•  Events
•  Deals of the Day

FORWARD the ottawan TO A FRIEND

OTTAWA HISTORIC LOGO T-SHIRTS

BUY A HISTORIC LOGO T-SHIRT

OTTAWA STATS

Sports

• 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 5 – Philadelphia Flyers 3 last night

CITY HALL AGENDA

What’s going on at City Hall
 

No meetings tomorrow.

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

🌉 Alexandra Bridge

•  Newly released documents show that a thorough structural assessment had not been performed. The documents show discussions that the Federal government ‘never’ considered rehabiltating the 123-year-old icon and were set on rebuilding it for traffic. (Guy Quenneville at CBC)

🛏️ Shelters

•  The disused Federal office building, the Graham Spry, will be used as an emergency overnight shelter. The existing shelter at the Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre in Britannia has seen its 25 beds consistently overwhelmed and is not equipped with showers. The Graham Spry building has space for 45 beds, and does come with showers. (Celeste Decaire at CBC)

💥 University of Ottawa

•  The University of Ottawa doctor suspended for social media posts over the Israel – Hamas war has been reinstated. Dr. Yipeng Ge was alleged to have posted messages that were considered antisemetic. Ge says that he will not be returning. (Rebecca Zandbergen at CBC)

📚 Awesome Authors

•  Wannabee authors and illustrators aged 9 – 18 are invited to enter the Awesome Authors Youth Writing contest. Run by the Ottawa Public Library, the contest is looking for entrants in seven categories: short story, poetry, comic, nouvelle, poésie, bande dessinée, and book cover. The deadline for entries is February 24. Besides being aged 9 – 18, entrants will need to possess an Ottawa Libray card. (Leslie McKay in Stittsville Central) (The rules)

🚨 Ottawa Police Service

•  Former Ottawa police union president Matt Skof has third charge added. Skof, president of the Ottawa Police Association between 2011 and 2022, has a new charge that he disclosed personal information and contravened the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. His other two charges are breach of trust and obstruction of justice and all relate to a 2017 taped conversation discussing an alleged undercover police operation. (Aedan Helmer in the Ottawa Citizen)

🛻 Convoy News

•  The trial of Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber will not return until March.   (Aedan Helmer in the Ottawa Citizen)

THE OTTAWAN T-SHIRT

BUY AN OTTAWAN 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

•  DJs, musicians and aspiring audio technicians should book a place at Live Sound 101 with music producer and professor Ted Bourque, at Club SAW on Monday night January 22. Tickets are just $15 for members of the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, and $20 for non-members.

•  Beading with Patsea rocks up to Atomic Rooster from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Beginner beading kits will be available. For more information contact Patsea beadingwithpatsea@gmail.com. 
  
  Gigs

•  Karaoke Mondaze. Atomic Rooster

•  Trivia at Royal Oak Pubs

•  Open Mic. Art House

•  The Monroe Sisters (Blue Grass Mondays). Red Bird

•  Geek Trivia. Level One Gaming Pub
   

Tomorrow

•  Ottawa Chamberfest in collaboration with the uOttawa School of Music presents Œuvres novelles 2024: Works by Emerging Composers. New String Quartets by six young composers will be performed by four musicians, and it’s free (although registration is a must).

•  Gloria, the B-movie that won Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion as well as an Academy Award Nomination for star Gena Rowlands, plays the Mayfair Theatre as part of the John Cassavetes Film Fest.

•  The Women and Climate Ottawa chapter is holding a dinner to chat with others interested in climate issues. There is no cost to attend but you’ll pay for your own dinner and drinks. Pure Kitchen Elgin 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

•  The Workspace Safety 201 workshop from Ottawa Tool Library will leave you feeling confident when using the library’s router, planer, jointer, and table saw. 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm at 877A Boyd Ave. $120.65 per person.
  
  
  Gigs

•  Drum Tao. NAC Southam Hall
   
•  Trivia Tuesday. Irene’s Pub Restaurant
   
•  Karaoke Tuesday. Sonny’s Bar & Grill
   

Wednesday

•  Give your vague business idea a reality check at the Validating Your Business Idea session. Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards, 7 Bayview Station Road. 10:30 am 12:00 pm

•  Take a break with Matinée Café: The Moss Trio featuring members of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra at 2:00 pm, and enjoy coffee and treats after the music ends. $20 per person, Theatre Richcraft Theatre, Shenkman Arts Centre, Orléans.

•  The hits are delivered by the Liesto String Quartet at Candlelight: A Tribute to Queen, Knox Presbyterian Church.

•  Meet artist Fern Burntwood at the Vernissage of his show Patterns of Behaviour at Irene’s Pub Restaurant. Yellow Jacket Avenger and Matt Gagnon will support.

•  The Ottawa Network is meeting at the Prescott for another round of A TON of Demos. Listen as innovators and entrepreneurs pitch the group, then network and enjoy the Prescott’s menu of food and drinks (pay for those separately).

•  Get creative with Ottawa Tool Library's Make a Leather Credit Card Holder workshop.

  
  Gigs

•  Rare Groove Wednesdays. Atomic Rooster

•  Taproom Trivia. Stray Dog Brewing Company

•  Oyster Wednesday. Orléans Brewing

•  The Low Profiles. Montgomery Scotch Lounge

Just Announced

• Early Bird tickets are on sale for the 5th Annual Capital Music Awards on Thursday May 16, 2024. Members pay $15 while non-members can purchase a ticket for $20. This year’s awards include two new categories: Music Educator of the Year and Sound Engineer of the Year.

• Wednesday’s Open House will introduce interested musicians and others to Dollars and Sense, a series of monthly grant writing workshops and one-on-one clinics brought to you by Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, DARC, and The Framework (as well as the City of Ottawa and Ontario Creates). It’s all happening at the Arts Court Loop on the 1st floor, from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. It’s free but you need to RSVP.

• City of OM returns to Lansdowne Park May 31 to June 1.

• Chef’s Paradise will celebrate its 103 birthday this year with a series of events highlighting the trends of the decades. First up: Roaring Twenties Revelry: Sip, Savour and Swing, a 1920s bash with appies, finger foods, and cocktails by The Urban Element. January 27, 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm. Flapper attire encouraged.

• Avril Lavigne will bring her Greatest Hits tour to the Canadian Tire Centre Aug 14. Guests will be Simple Plan and Girlfriends. Pre-sale tickets start Wednesday at 10:00 am with sales to the general public starting Friday at 10:00 am.

DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

Here is a job opening that rarely comes up and is probably one of the coolest positions one could get, at least in the library world. The Library of Parliament is looking for a new Parliamentary Librarian. If you get the job, you’d be the tenth in the Library’s history. 

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL