Hello Ottawa

WEDNESDAY DRINKING + DINING UPDATE

• 🍅 Don’t miss the Annual Tomato Fest at Ottawa Farmers Market (Lansdowne) this Sunday August 23. Stop by for the food demos at 11:00am or 2:00 pm, gather recipes for just-harvested tomatoes, and cast your vote in the Tomato Tasting Contest. (The Glebe)   

  🍽️ Book a special evening at Le Cordon Bleu this Thursday August 20 or next week August 27. You’ll experience contemporary French cuisine designed by Master Chefs and prepared by students (Sandy Hill)  

  🍫The Ottawa Chocolate Show returns Saturday October 24 at Algonquin College's Woodroffe Campus. Meet chocolatiers from across Canada, catch the presentations, do some shopping, and of course, taste the best in Canadian-made chocolate. Bonus: parking is included in your ticket. (Nepean)  

  🚜 Road Trip: Close out the summer with the Farm to Table event at Peabody Farm on Saturday September 5. With live music, a freshly prepared local menu, and good company, this wandering and dining experience will make Labour Day Weekend 2026 one to remember. (Low)

  🆓 The Indian Food Festival of Ottawa 2026 celebrates food and culture with live entertainment, vendors and a Kids Zone. Continues until Sunday at Clark Fields Park (Barrhaven). 

• 🐔 In the Ottawa Citizen, Peter Hum tried out posh new fried chicken joint Kozhi. Is it worth it, Hum asked himself. ‘Yes, I say, after my dinner there last week.’

• Hum also writes that Westboro restaurant Brassica, famous for its banoffee pie, will close after Saturday.

• 🍴 In Apartment 613’s Best Bites column, Kiersten Vuorimaki eats at Casa Verde Latin Kitchen ‘I’m going to have to work my way through this whole menu, as soon as possible’, La La Noodles ‘the Thai Salad was the winner at our table, probably down to the irresistible sauce’, and Chef Ric’s ‘Chef Ric’s serves classic fried egg breakfast and breakfast sandwiches for $5.99 every weekday starting at 7:30am, and all day beginning at 8am on weekends’.

• ✈️ Ottawa Aviation Adventures has combined two things that you didn’t know go together: wine tasting and a scenic flight in a vintage 1940 Waco Aircraft.

STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

• $3,900

• The amount of money that a person was scammed out of after thinking they were renting a downtown parking space.

• The Ottawa Police Service says that 20 people have reported being scammed, possibly by the same person. People believed they were paying for a year's worth of parking in a sublet parking space that was not ultimately available.

• — Josh Pringle at CTV

OTTAWAN OF THE DAY

• Nolan Tucker

• The 17 year-old will premiere his second feature film, the arthouse and French New Wave  inspired Restless in the Dust, at the Mayfair Theatre tomorrow.

• — Kimberly Lemaire at Apartment 613

QUOTE

“

• No, thanks, I’ll take my car

– Mayor of Clarence-Rockland Mario Zanth imagining what the average traveller will say if they find that an Alto high speed rail trip between Montréal and Toronto costs $500.

— ‘Why I’m Fighting Canada’s High-Speed Rail’

SPORTS

⚽ CPL Ottawa Titans vs Vancouver FC

⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans vs Missippi Mud Monsters

Yesterday

⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans 16 vs Missippi Mud Monsters 4

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WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

THE DAILY POLL

Do you visit farmers’ markets? 

🔘 Yes, I love getting farm fresh food

🔘 I like the idea but I find it too expensive

🔘 I’ve never visited one but want to

🔘 I’ve never visited one and never wanted to

🔘 Yes and my favourite one is ... {in the comments}

• 
  Previously in OTTAWAN polls:

• How do you feel about bike lanes? 

  • 43% Bikes lanes are great, keep riders safe, and increase property values

  • 8% Bike lanes impede vehicular traffic

  • 32% Separated bike lanes are great, the lines painted beside the traffic lane are pointless

  • 12% I see far more cars than bikes, bike lanes are a waste of money and time

  • 5% Only vehicles that existed when a street was laid out should be allowed to use it

Commentary

▪️ “I remain amazed at how many cars are parking blocking a bike lane and forcing cyclists into traffic. Segregated bike lanes are the only way around that it can be done using those metal posts, but they must be placed close to each other, to be effective.”

▪️ “We went biking along the parkway on the shared path. Why can’t Ottawa have a separate bike lane along the river like Vancouver??? I had to pass people walking side by side and a lady was trying to pass me! CRAZY!”

▪️ “Biking is better for the environment and for our health. Sadly, unlike Europeans, Canadians are far too car-centric to really support biking.”

▪️ “They’re a no brainer if we allow ourselves to step out of a car centric worldview for a moment.”

▪️ “If people that used bike lanes had to do a driving test to understand the rules of the road then my vote might be different. But 90% of the bikes that I see choose whether they obey traffic or not and that is wrong.”

▪️ “Properly designed bike lanes on streets designed to rein in car speeds save lives. Proven fact, and the safer the roads the more people will bicycle.”

▪️ “Driving on Colonel By or the Queen Elizabeth parkways with the separate bike lanes should be wonderful but most of the time, the bikes are on the road, not using the bike lanes. If there are separate lanes, they should be used or fined for not using them.”

▪️ “They’re nice but in reality a small fraction of bikes use it and only during warmer months so for the most part they impede traffic but mostly on Laurier Ave.”

▪️ “Since bikes seem to prefer the sidewalk, why do we install bike lanes on the roads?”

▪️ “HANDS OFF THE BIKE LANES DOUGGIE.”

▪️ “Separated is the only safe option. I need more than my fingers and toes to count the number of times cars have tried to force me off the road because they wouldn't even let a bike in the gutter.”

▪️ “Bulbouts also impede traffic. Urban traffic speed wasn’t a problem traffic planners made one way streets ubiquitous to speed up traffic.”

▪️ “Paris, another capital city, has been transformed by their laying out bike lanes and bike only streets in the city. The Provincial government is short-sighted and Toronto centric.”

▪️ “Replacing car lanes with bike lanes makes sense if it’s not a high car-traffic road. I like when the lanes are painted green, as idiots don’t realize the difference between a bike lane and a shoulder. You only stop cars by making it easier not to drive.”

▪️ “Feelings are one thing, but all the research says that bike lanes make roads safer for *everyone*, equal or increase business, and improve overall accessibility. Too bad our politicians aren't interested in the research though ...”

▪️ “The Bike Lanes are unusable for most people from November to April so why bother to have them at all?”

▪️ “Bike lanes address almost every problem that a city can have, e.g., reliving congestion by reducing the number of cars on the road, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving fitness and public health, increasing access to businesses, just to name a few.”

▪️ “Bike lanes also have net benefit for drivers. They take cars off the road. Commercial drivers: this is an appeal to you: bikers want the same thing as you (less traffic).”

▪️ “Keep bike lanes.”

▪️ “They are good when there is enough space for them and there is no snow. But I agree that reducing car lanes for bike lanes impedes traffic too much. Busy city streets are no place of a bike when there is snow on the ground.”

▪️ “I was born and raised in the north where bike lanes were mostly non existant. The vehicles ruled the roads and many lost their lives as a result. The road can easily be shared by vehicles and bicycles. Many countries have figured this out. It's a mindset.”

▪️ “We should have bike lanes everywhere, preferably raised or divided from the main road. When there are no bike lanes cyclists either move onto the road, endangering themselves, or onto the sidewalk, endangering pedestrians.”

▪️ “Bike paths a big yes. Bike lanes a definite no.”

▪️ “Why are property values relevant to what is a safety feature that makes a city more livable and inclusive?”

▪️ “The science is clear: bike lanes make cities better and safer, and are good for local businesses. We need way more.”

HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS

Ogilvy’s  T-Shirt Charles Ogilvy Limited began as dry goods shop on Rideau Street in 1897, and ended its reign as Ottawa's greatest department store in 1992. Help support THE OTTAWAN by buying one of our historic logo t-shirts. Shop for t-shirts

THE ROLLING THREE DAY CALENDAR

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✳️ Means change from previous edition

WEDNESDAY

• Sink deep into nostalgia in several regions of the city tonight: First, grab your eyeliner for some of the 80s’ biggest alternative bands: China Crisis, Big Country, The Vapors, and Icicle Works play the Bronson Centre (Centretown). At LeBreton Flats, the Nostalgia Music Festival launches with Black Dog (who perform as Led Zeppelin) and Floydium (playing the music of Pink Floyd). (North of Centretown West).  Or travel to Kanata for Deep Purple and special guests Kansas, at Canadian Tire Centre.  

• The intimate Robo Lounge welcomes the passion and pageantry of Fin de Fiesta Flamenco.(The Glebe)

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, 125, rue des Malaises 

• Mayfair Theatre: The Invite, The Love Bug, I Want Your Sex  

Gigs

• Ànakwad. Rainbow Bistro

• Jazz Jam with the Peter Hum Trio. Night Oat

• Hip Hop Jam. Red Bird

THURSDAY

• ✳️ Gaze at local cosplayers, throw some shapes on the dance floor, and make your own Pixilation stop-motion animation frame with the help of local animators. It’s all going down at the official Ottawa International Animation Festival Block Party at Metvalfe Plaza (Downtown). Most importantly, you’ll find festival tickets at a 20% discount, for 24 hours only. Mark your calendar for the festival, happening September 22 through 27 at various Ottawa venues. 

• Can’t wait until the weekend to visit a farmers’ market? Head to the Ray Friel Recreation Complex parking lot in Orléans, where you’ll find more than 35 vendors waiting to help you.  

• As Nostalgia Music Festival continues, you'll hear the music of Billy Joel (performed by Still Rock 'n Roll) and Elton John (as Classic Elton plays the hits). 

• If you missed it last weekend you have another chance to experience Ottawa Greek Festival. The second weekend gets underway tonight for authentic cuisine, performances, and tonight, a Multicultural Night. 

• Road trip: Spend the evening in Almonte where Hummingbird Chocolate will be holding a pairing event with Farmgate Cider. You’ll taste some fresh and complex flavours, get a free tour of the chocolate factory, and enjoy a less ordinary Thursday night. 

• The Wallflowers will play History Ottawa’s very first gig tonight. (ByWard Market)   
  
  Here are some pictures and video of the new History Ottawa.
   

• 🆓 The Fantastic Mr Fox screens at Lansdowne Movie Nights. Bring a picnic blanket or chair. 

• 🆓 View the exhibits at National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Museum of History, Canadian Museum of Nature, and Canadian War Museum for free every Thursday night. 

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, The Invite 

• Mayfair Theatre: Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, The Invite, Obsession 

Gigs

• Lynne Hanson. Red Bird

• The Odds, Jimmy Fisher. Overflow Brewing

• The Thymes. The Robo Lounge

FRIDAY

• Summer’s not over yet, and gardens still need upkeep. Luckily, Robert Plante Greenhouses offer Fresh Sod Friday, so there's no excuse for that bare spot. Order by Thursday (August 20) for pick up on Friday. (Navan) 

• Capital Pop-Up Cinema screens the Tom Hanks vehicle Turner & Hooch in the lot outside the Churchhill Seniors Centre. The film starts at 8:30 pm, but arrive early to secure your favourite spot.(Westboro)  

• 🆓 The weekly Skateboard Club is chill, fun, and a good fit for the entire fam. (Carlington)

• Tonight at Nostalgia Music Festival, Madonna X and Abbamania perform all the crowdpleasers and dance floor fillers. 

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Vivalldi et Moi (Primavera), Tony, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma 

• Mayfair Theatre: Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, Two Pianos, The Room 

Gigs

• Mike McKenna Jr with William Steven Hall. Red Bird

• Victor Nesrallal. The Robo Lounge

JUST ANNOUNCED

• The 21st Steel Toes and Stilettos Gala (November 14) supports Habitat for Humanity's work in affordable homeownership. 

• You'll be adorned in a stylish custom bike jersey if you regist3er by August 27 for Beyond the Pale’s 2026 Charity Bike Ride in support of Brain Canada. The $150 registration fee gets you the jersey, a BTP Pint back at the brewery once the ride is finished, a Cheshire Cat Pub beverage and snack during the ride, and a $20 donation to Brain Canada. Go look at the jersey now, and tell us it isn't the coolest. 

DEALS OF THE DAY

Singing Pebble Books is celebrating its 38th birthday with a sale on books (buy two, get two free), in-stock puzzles and jewelry, crystal tumbles and specimens, and 20% off everything else. Starts Friday August 21 and continues through Sunday August 23.

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BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

• Josh Pringle at CTV has found the seven most expensive houses for sale in Ottawa: Stone Ayre - $15,000,000, Delong Drive - $9,999,995, Kanata Rockeries – $5,986,000, Piccadilly Avenue - $5,795,000, Manor Avenue - $5,490,000, Mariposa Avenue - $4,990,000, and Willingdon Road - $4,950,000.

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

THE END

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.