arts & entertainment

As Canadians get ready for Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations, the National Capital Commission (NCC) is preparing the Plan for Canada’s Capital, 2017–2067, the signature planning framework that will shape the vision for the nation’s capital until Canada’s bicentennial in 2067. ...

Rick Chiarelli’s Alcohol-free Family New Year’s Eve will be another huge success going into its 23 rd year thanks to Thales Canada who have signed on to be the event’s title sponsor this year. The annual event invites residents City-wide to enjoy indoor and outdoor fun, including sleigh rides, skating, bouncy castle, games, live music, magic and juggling, and the biggest and best musical fireworks show in Ottawa on New Year’s Eve. ...

The Ottawa Public Library’s 21 st annual Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest is underway. This contest, for aspiring young poets and short story authors, is open to writers between the ages of 9 and 17. They are invited to submit poems and short stories in English or French. ...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/daveyjphoto/15980984748/ _ Instagrammin' by David Johnson. A young girl on the shoulders of her dad takes a photo with an iPhone of the chaos on Sparks St. _ How do you want to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Ottawa? With friends and family? ...

Umov Technologies builds on their original Electric Fat Bike by partnering with BikeBoards to redefine winter sports. The Ottawa start-up will also appear on Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet on December 8, and launch a new crowdfunding campaign in early 2016. ...

The City of Ottawa has extended the deadline to submit an application for the Streetside Spots pilot until February 15, 2016.  Streetside spots are small outdoor spaces created by temporarily re-purposing on-street parking spaces. They contribute to a vibrant and liveable community while sharing the right of way space with pedestrians of all abilities, cyclists and drivers. ...

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, joined by Cheryl Jensen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Algonquin College, Councillors Cloutier and Fleury, co-chairs of the City’s efforts in Ottawa 2017, and Guy Laflamme, Executive Director of the Ottawa 2017 Bureau, today announced a partnership to create hands-on learning opportunities for students as Ottawa prepares to welcome millions of visitors for Canada’s 150 ...

It goes without saying that, with less than 3 weeks to go before Christmas, it is shaping up to be a VERY busy weekend for art and crafts aficionados. The list below is but a selection of events I came across but I have tried to include something for everyone’s taste: from pagan traditions to a Ukrainian Christmas - it’s all here: ...

_ Our crowdsourced list of the best events in Ottawa this week. You can find even more events on our Ottawa Event Calendar . _ ** Until January 7: ** ** Christmas Lights Across Canada ** This season marks the 31st edition of Christmas Lights Across Canada. ...

The official illumination isn’t until Wednesday, December 2 , but we have a sneak peek at the amazing winter lightscape projection show that will be projected onto the Parliament buildings every night from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. from December 2-January 7 . ...