The Ottawan Newsletter

Hello Ottawa

In Today’s Edition

→ Air Canada will suspend Ottawa - London flights for the winter

→ Wednesday’s Dining + Drinking update, including Thankgiving ideas

→ Deals of the Day on winter headgear from Olena Zylak and a cute pendant necklace from Pilar Agueci

– Martha and Darren

WEDNESDAY DINING + DRINKING UPDATE

If you bought some bread from any George Weston Limited or Loblaw Companies Limited store this millennium, you’re eligible to have some money sent by Interac to you.
The owner of such supermarkets as Loblaw’s, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, amongst so many others, was sued for fixing the price of bread. Without admitting guilt, the companies agreed to a $500 million payout.
To receive a payment you need to have lived in Canada on December 31, 2021; but you don’t need to provide receipts. The amount seems to be around $25, but that will depend on how many people take up the offer. The deadline to apply is December 12, 2025.
The claims website is canadianbreadsettlement.ca for Ottawa and it quebecbreadsettlement.ca for Gatineau.
🎟️ Harvest: A Feast of Fall is finally here. Grab one of the final remaining tickets to tonight’s event at the Ottawa Art Gallery and savour the flavours from 18 of Ottawa's top chefs.
🐝 🆓 Gees Bees will bee moving into new digs in the ByWard Market this Friday, September 19. Bee at 531A Sussex Drive at 11:00 am for the grand opening. RSVP to bee one of the first inside.
🍞 Saturday (September 20) will be Bread By Us’ final day in its original home at 1065 Wellington St. Bread By Us expects to reopen in early October at its new, larger digs at 126 Smirle Ave.
🍺 Carp’s Ridge Rock Brewing celebrates seven years in business tomorrow, Thursday, September 18 with live music from Colby Drummond, oysters from The Whalesbone Group, spirit samples from Dunrobin Distilleries, and plenty of pints.
🍺 The brand new Kanata Craft Beer Festival will give you access to more than 100 premium craft beers, ciders, and cocktails, and when you get hungry, food trucks will ensure you're fed. The festival is outdoor but under cover. This Friday, September 19 to Saturday night at 373 Leggett Drive.
🍺 Tickets to Spark Beer’s Sparktoberfest are $25 and include a 1L stein, your first lager pour, and lots of fun throughout the day.
🍺 Three more regional Beer Stores are closing on November 16: Alexandria, Cornwall, and Gananoque. Darren has never been inside a Beer Store in his life but he does recall wondering what was going on when Bob and Doug McKenzie went into one in their film Strange Brew.
🥕 VegOttawa is holding three in-person dinner meet-ups for vegans and the vegan-curious. Attendees will pay for their own drinks and food. Pure Kitchen (Kanata) September 27 Greenfields Public House (Barrhaven) September 27, and Wei's Noodle House (Orléans) September 28.

🌎 Hall’s Apple Market, Euphorium Emporium Bakery, and 692 Coffee & Bar are among the food and drink vendors taking part in One World Bazaar’s opening weekend in Manotick.

🥖 Better Up Bakery has opened its new space at 303 Richmond Road.

🫙 We learnt from Edible Ottawa’s Méli-Mélo column that the pulp left over from jam making at Ottawa’s Top Shelf Preserves – which is unrelated to Perth’s Top Shelf Distillers – is being used to flavour some of Prince Edward County’s County Bounty Soda Co.’s pops.
🧆 In Apartment 613, Zachary Resnick looks at 15 years of Town. Says co-owner Lori Wojcik of their signature meatballs. ‘We realized they were the signature item when [we] tried to take them off the menu’.
🍩 In the Ottawa Citizen, Peter Hum’s sweet tooth is sated this week by the massive doughnuts at Bamm’s Snack Shack. They come in flavours like popcorn, jalapeño popper, matcha as well as flavours you would expect, but they are only made Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Thanksgiving

Book it: These are Thanksgiving dinners to leave the house for:

🦃 Brookstreet Hotel (Kanata North)
🦃 Biagio’s traditional turkey dinner is topped by Pumpkin Cheesecake.
🦃 The Albion Rooms start things off with an Oyster Mushroom Tartlet and finish with a classic Pumpkin Pie.

STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

540
The number of buses that OC Transpo required to operate its route design launched in April. At launch, it had only 521 buses.
It now requires only 519 buses to operate its autumn schedule. However, the agency only has 511 available.
Aedan Helmer in the Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA VALLEYIANS OF THE DAY

Abby McMullin and Alecsa Villeneuve
The due are two of the four Eastern Ontario youths awarded $2,500 scholarships each to pursue post-secondary education focused on agriculture.
McMullin (Renfrew county) is currently growing her own herd of purebred Simmental, while Villeneuve (Stormont County) wrote a paper on using genetic selection to reduce the carbon footprint of the Canadian ag sector.
THE OTTAWAN had to look up what purebred Simmentals were. They are a very handsome cattle indeed.
Farmers Forum

QUOTE

This report shows us where we should work more, where we should plant trees. Near retirement homes, near schools, in lower-income neighbourhoods.
– Outaouais Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development Executive Benoit Delage on a report by that Outaouais Integrated Health and Social Services Centre says the ‘climate crisis is the top health threat this century’.

– CBC The Report (In French)

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WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

No more meetings this week

Agenda

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

🛬 Air Canada is ceasing its Ottawa - London flights for the winter. The route to London and Air France’s Paris route are currently the only non-Americas foreign destinations possible to fly direct from Ottawa. The last flight to London will be October 25 but the airline says it will resume again March 30 for the summer trade. – Josh Pringle at CTV

🌊 The Museum of History, the Maison du Citoyen, the Portage 1 and Portage 2 office buildings, the Sheraton Hotel and 3,000 people are still without water after a pipe breakage. The City of Gatineau still has no timeline on when it will be fixed. – The Ottawa Citizen

⚕️ Ottawa’s new medical officer of health says funding issues are making it hard just to maintain services. Dr Trevor Arnason says that the health agency will have a $2.3 million shortfall, which is currently being ameliorated by shuffling funds and staff gapping. – Josh Pringle at CTV

🚨 The trial of a tree trimming supervisor whose employee was electrocuted has begun. A 20 year-old worker was trimming the top of a six metre hedge when his saw came in contact with a power line, resulting in his death. His supervisor at Best Green Hedges is charged with criminal negligence causing death. The Crown says the supervisor failed to warn the worker of the power line. – David Fraser at CBC

THE DAILY POLL

What your your Thanksgiving plans?

I’ll be making the spread

I'm going to friends or family

I'm ordering a pre-made dinner

I’m going to a restaurant

I have no plans at all

Previously in ottawan polls:
We asked, ‘Which critters are the worst?’
- 19% The end of the summer wasps
- 53% The beginning of the summer mosquitoes
- 0% The mid-summer dock spiders
- 28% The various bugs that move into the house once it gets cold
Commentary

▪️ “If I'm sitting outside with a group of people, I will receive multiple bites while everyone else remains bite free.”

▪️ “The stink bugs who invade my chimney as soon as it starts getting cooler.”

▪️ “I’ve been stung twice by wasps, both times in my car, once on my back and once on my butt. They have no boundaries!”

▪️ “I am so afraid of dock spiders, but at least they leave me alone.”

▪️ “Would also like to add in the ‘covoy bugs who intermittently swarm around Parliament hill, emitting a high-pitched, nonsensical screeching sound..’.”

▪️ “All of the above should be added as an option.”

▪️ “The freaking wasps are everywhere this year. Sure making it hard to eat outside.”

▪️ “Ouch!”

▪️ “They are bad this year. I hate it because I love to eat outside in this georgeous weather but the wasps are not welcome dinner guests!”

▪️ “Just got stung by a wasps for the first time in 20 years...”

▪️ “100% the worst.”

▪️ “I live on the 5th, no mosquitoes ever, come fall those wasps are atrocious. Like thousands. Can’t sit out anymore. Grrrrr.”

▪️ “Mosquitoes are the worst anytime, anywhere!”

▪️ “August and September is definitely wasp season. Hate it!”

HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS

Talisman Motor Inn T-Shirt

The Beachcomber Room tiki bar at the Talisman Motor Inn was where Ottawa swingers could be found in the early 60s

Help support the ottawan by buying one of our historic logo t-shirts.

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THE ROLLING THREE DAY CALENDAR

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

✳️ Means change from previous edition

WEDNESDAY

Ottawa is joining the ranks of North American cities that will hold The Summer I Turned Pretty season finale watch parties. The venue is Boston Pizza, 521 Hunt Club Road; the time is 6:30 pm.
Hardcore salsa bachata dancers, bring your cash entry fee to Pure Havana for three hours of social dancing (no workshop).
Ottawa jazz saxophonist Peter Woods brings a smooth vibe to Wednesday Night Swings at Bar Robo.
What will likely be the final Akoustik Summer Music Series concert in Vanier will feature Sophie D'Orleans and Beau Nectar. St. Charles Market, 135 Barrette St.
ByTowne Cinema: Honey Don’t! Friedas Fall - Swiss Embassy Screening. A Better Tomorrow II
Mayfair Theatre: The Naked Gun, Paper City, Relay

Gigs
Mélissa Ouimet. National Arts Centre
Night Oat Jam Session with Peter Hum Trio. Night Oat
Big Sis. Club SAW
Girls to the Front wth Jamie Anderson, Alanna J. Brown, and host Kristine St. Pierre. Irene’s Pub
Korn. Canadian Tire Centre

THURSDAY

The 2025 edition of One World Bazaar opens in Manotick.
Urban Art Collective continues the Hintonburg Night Market, where you can find art, locally crafted products, and something delicious to eat.
As the store celebrates its birthday, the first 10 customers through the door at Aurelius will receive a goodie bag worth $36.
Liverpudlian sibling dance party enthusiasts Big Sis play Club SAW. https://admitone.com/events/big-sis-ottawa-10060954
Atlético Ottawa take on Vancouver FC in the Canadian Championship Semifinals.
Talented improvisers will create and perform a brand new musical using suggestions from audience members, right before your eyes. Red Bird from 8:00 pm.
🎺 Road Trip: Take a drive to Metcalfe for a groovy little outdoor gig in Victoria Park featuring The Fuse, a young R&B-Rock band with its own five-piece horn section.
ByTowne Cinema: Free Screening: Tempête, À bicyclette (Ride Away!), Ciné-Club d'Ottawa - Prodigieuses, Ciné-Club d'Ottawa - Vingt Dieux
Mayfair Theatre: Naked Ambition, Malevych

Gigs
Gabriel Iglesias: The 1976 Tour. Canadian Tire Centre
Van Joe, BOSS_KEY, Piss The Bed, Jesse Dangerously. House of TARG
Brazilian Jazz. Night Oat

FRIDAY

The Quilt Walk is back today through Sunday at 2477 Huntley Road in Stittsville. If you’re unfamiliar, it's Mad About Patchwork’s outdoor pathway lined with 200 quilts in a dazzling collection of colours and patterns.
Performed by the Odessa Orchestra & Friends and the Nairobi Chamber Chorus, conducted by Grammy-nominated Matt Dunkley, and curated by the composer himself, The World of Hans Zimmer brings the music of the movies to life. Canadian Tire Centre.
The Lionyls release their new EP ‘Leona’ at the Gladstone Theatre tonight, supported by The New Hires and Loch Nisse Monster.
The Ottawa Wine Auction in support of Music & Beyond will be led by guest auctioneer Stephen Ranger. Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, Woodside Hall, from 6:30 pm.
ByTowne Cinema: Peak Everything (Amour apocalypse), The History of Sound, Deconstructing Abbey Road with Scott Freiman, Drunken Cinema: Mean Girls
Mayfair Theatre: Splitsville, Riefenstahl, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Gigs
Close Enough. No Go Coffee Co (Osgoode)
I’m in Love Indie Dance Pop. The 27 Club
80s Dance Party with DJ Remi Royale and One Vision. House of TARG
Pimienta. Art House
The Bush Pilots, Ken Dirschl. Irene’s Pub
Sussex. Rainbow Bistro

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

🆓 See the six finalists for the 2025 Sobey Art Award in an exhibition at National Gallery of Canada. Thursday October 2 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
The Purple Tie Gala for Cornerstone Housing for Women is nearly sold out. It’s a glamourous affair with a full seated dinner, auction, and live music. Saturday October 4 at the Delta Hotel Ballroom.
It’s not just a line from old movies – you can buy tickets to the Policeman’s Ball. The 14th Annual Ottawa Police Gala is now selling tickets for their event Saturday, November 8 at the Rogers Centre Ottawa. Ticket holders will ‘enjoy a gourmet dinner, live music, ceremonies recognizing Ottawa Police members, and silent and live auctions with one-of-a-kind items and experiences’. Only $250.

MADE IN CANADA DEALS OF THE DAY

Despite the current warm temperatures, colder weather is coming. Get 15% off the new collection of winter headgear at Olena Zylak. Remember: they're called ‘Glorious Canadian Knits’ for a reason, and of course they're Made in Canada. The sale ends today.

Mark a milestone with a Montréal-made, solid sterling silver letter charm pendant necklace from Pilar Agueci. The charm and chain (in your choice of 16" or 18" length) are currently priced $75.20 + tax (regular price $94.00)

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

The 2025 Ottawa Book Awards finalists have been announced. Celebrating books published in the past year by Ottawa residents, each finalist receives $1,000 with winners receiving $7,500.
And by ‘Ottawa residents’, the awards mean it. None of this ‘living in the Capital region’ nonsense – the organizers will be looking for the author’s Canada Revenue Agency Notice of Assessment if there is any question. (Really, it’s in the rules).
English Fiction

📚 Manahil Bandukwala, Heliotropia (Brick Books) 

📚 Nina Berkhout, This Bright Dust (Goose Lane Editions) 

📚 Paul Carlucci, The Voyageur (Swift Press) 

📚 rob mclennan, On Beauty (University of Alberta Press) 

📚 Chuqiao Yang, The Last to the Party (Goose Lane Editions) 

English Non-fiction  

📚 Denise Chong, Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur’s journey through betrayal, tyranny and abuse (Penguin Random House Canada) 
📚 Tim Cook, The Good Allies: How Canada and the United States Fought Together to Defeat Fascism during the Second World War (Penguin Random House Canada) 
📚 Katherine Leyton, Motherlike (Second Story Press) 
📚 Misty Pratt, All In Her Head: How Gender Bias Harms Women's Mental Health (Greystone Books) 
📚 Ian Smillie, Under Development: A journey without maps (Practical Action Publishing) 
Prix du livre d’Ottawa 
📚 Margaret Michèle Cook, La lumière de minuit (Éditions Malaïka) 
📚 Emmanuelle Erny, Charlotte au pays des mots (Les Éditions L’Interligne) 
📚 Monia Mazigh, Histoires de racines (Les Éditions David) 
📚 Claire Ménard-Roussy, Un lourd prix à payer (Les Éditions David) 
 Winners will be announced at a gala at Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe, Saturday, November 15 at 7:00 pm.
Write-ups of each book are pubished on the Awards website, and every book is currently available at the Ottawa Public Library.

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the ottawan is written and edited every working weekday by Martha and Darren.

Is there something that Ottawa should know about? Email to us at hello@theottawan.com. We read every single comment.

Wednesday, 17 September 2025

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