Hello Ottawa
In Today’s Edition
→ Via Rail is cancelling the early morning train from Ottawa to Toronto to ‘better align service with passenger demand’
→ Tomorrow the Ottawa Jazz Orchestra pays tribute to Dave Brubeck on the NAC’s Fourth Stage.
→ Deals of the Day: Workers’ History Museum and Bytown Fire Brigade Historical Society calendars and tickets to the Ottawa Fall Home Show
– Martha and Darren
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WEDNESDAY DRINKING AND DINING UPDATE
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🍾 It’s Aurelius’ 8th Anniversary Celebration all week, culminating in the event on Friday (September 18), where in addition to great deals on fine olive oils and balsamic vinegars, there will be free snacks and bubbles. (Wellington West, Kanata, The Glebe)
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🥖 Confident bread bakers should sign up for the Almanac Grains Bread Rally on Sunday, September 27. It’s simple: bake a loaf of sourdough, yeasted, or enriched bread, drop it off, and wait to see how it stacks up against other Ottawa bakers’. Entries are $5 each, with no limit on the number of loaves/entries per baker. Category winners will be announced that evening.
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🎃 Saunders Farm’s Pumpkinfest begins Saturday September 26, launching fall activities, puppet shows, mazes, hayrides, and more than one opportunity to stop and savour the food and drink. Sit down at the MacIntosh’s CiderHouse or walk around with a treat from the Snack Shack; grab a hot bevy from the Steaming Cauldron, try some chicken tenders from What the Cluck? (Munster)
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🍖 Peter Hum of the Ottawa Citizen has had a hankering for barbecue. Two new meat-heavy restos have opened that he liked, Junior & the Kid BBQ on Beechwood Avenue and Chainsmoker Urban BBQ Kanata.
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🍛 The splashy modern Indian resto Ek Bar on Preston Street will close at the end of September. The Toronto-based owner blames the closure on the fact that he wasn’t in Ottawa to be hands-on.
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🐔 Barrhaven could be getting its own Chick-fil-A, the fourth in the city.
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🍺 Stray Dog Brewery says Canada’s tariff on American-manufactured beer cans is hitting its bottom line. The company, which used to pay 19¢ per can but now pays 23.6¢, goes through 3,000 every two to three weeks.
Oktoberfest
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🥨 Dominion City Brewing Co starts celebrating in the taproom on Tuesday September 22, but the big party on October 2–4 will be at Bar Lakeside. Seasonal beer, German food, fun and games are all to be expected. (NCC Summer Zone on Dow’s Lake)
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🥨 Spark Beer’s Sparktoberfest will have DJs, two brand-new beers (a German Pils and a classic festbier), Nat’s Pretzels, and a stein holding contest. Dress up. Saturday October 3.
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🥨 Road Trip: Perth Beer is celebrating on Saturday September 26 with a party from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm. There will be a stein holding competition, food vendors, and cold beer. Free.
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STATISTICS OTTAWA
NUMBER
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17,000
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The number of fruit and nut trees on City of Ottawa property, most of which are not being harvested. Hidden Harvest, a group of volunteers who pick fruit and donate it, spent today at the small orchard at Lansdowne Park.
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— Kimberley Fowler at CTV
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OTTAWANS OF THE DAY
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Private Alfred Wheeler Armstrong, Lance Corporal Clayton Adam Bradley, Private Robert Lorne Falls, Gunner Charles Frederick Gorman, Private Samuel Grayson, Private Samuel Helem, Private Allan Peter Hick, Corporal Frederick Gorman Hicks, Private John Robison Padget, Private Claude Potter, Gunner Matthew Herbert Scott, Sapper Hubert Stamp, Private Percy Edward Vaughan, Flight Sergeant George Ernest Percy Birtch, Sub Lieutenant (Acting) Arthur Gordon Byshe, Pilot Officer Leonard Cornelius Driscoll, Private Eugene Foubert, Lance Corporal Ray Stuart Graham, Private Eldred Leonard Johnston, Sergeant Edward John Yost Menzie, Gunner Philip Ryan, Pilot Officer Thomas Albert Kidd Watterson
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These twenty-two names are of residents of Manotick who died serving Canada in the First and Second World Wars. While Manotick has a cenotaph honouring those who fell, it had never listed any names.
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A team of locals, with the help of genealogists, have compiled the names in time for the dedication that will be held on September 26.
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— Lynn Saxberg in the Ottawa Citizen
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QUOTE
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It turns out that democracy is a visceral experience. Actually having sovereignty and agency, having a safe place to have your voice heard. The topic might be trivial, but the experience is powerful
– Michael Louis Johnson, who founded D‑cide on the B‑Side in Toronto, an event where patrons bring in their own vinyl records, communally listen to the A-Side and vote on whether to listen to the B-Side.
The Ottawa edition of D‑cide on the B‑Side takes place every Wednesday at Henry Arlington’s Centre For Peak Performance on Laurel Street.
— John Sloat at Apartment 613
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SPORTS
⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans at New York Boulders
Yesterday
⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans 6 at New York Boulders 0
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PLEASE SUPPORT THE OTTAWAN
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WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL
No meetings tomorrow
Meetings and Agendas
Whose flag is flying at City Hall today? Mexico, Papua New Guinea
City Hall flies the flags of embassies and high commissions on their national days.
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WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT
🚂 Via Rail is cancelling the early morning train from Ottawa to Toronto to ‘better align service with passenger demand’. Train 641, which departs at 4:13 am and arrives at 8:48 am, will be cancelled as of October 25. The earliest train to Toronto will now be Train 41, which leaves at 4:56 am and arrives at 9:47 am. – Josh Pringle at CTV
🧺 Former Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas executive is the new interim chief executive of the ByWard Market District Authority. Michelle Groulx took over, on a temporary basis, as of September 14. Groulx most recently was a candidate for Kitchissippi ward councillor but dropped out citing ‘unforeseen circumstances’. The previous chief executive of the Authority left after six months on the job. – Nathan Fung at CBC
🗳️ Ottawa Civic Election
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THE DAILY POLL
How often do you take Via Rail from Ottawa?
Commentary
▪️ “I live in a mixed income affordable housing complex; lately the only people who can afford the skyrocking market rate rental units work for the federal government. These individuals would have previously been able to afford homes in this city. For shame.”
▪️ “Those items affect everyone every day and are thus the most important municipal factors.”
▪️ “LRT, buses ...”
▪️ “Social services (including addictions and housing, daycare, recreation), fostering community and third spaces, reliable and cheaper public transit (from taxes), active transportation infrastructure that isn’t paint, etc. A city for humans, not cars.”
▪️ “I would like to say all of the above but personally for me it’s traffic. I have had three accidents in less than 2 years. All were not my fault. One rear end collision and two sideswiped. All were because of distracted drivers.”
▪️ “I wanted to put homelessness and crime. We need more police officers. Especially on the streets for the crazy drivers and of course downtown in the market!”
▪️ “Ottawa needs more buses to reverse changes made in New Ways to Bus. I now have only one bus option, when in the past I had 2. The south bus transitway should offer more routes and more frequent buses.”
▪️ “Homelessness (systemic failure to facilitate a tier 1 survival need) vs bungled transit (widespread impact and distrust) is a difficult choice to make.”
▪️ “Transit must be fixed!!!”
▪️ “Driving has become very dangerous with ridiculous chances drivers are taking to get to their destinations.”
▪️ “Definitely homelessness and addictions and affordability issues which lead to homelessness. This issue needs to be addressed.”
▪️ “Mismanagement. One glaring example is decision to spend $420M on new Lansdowne facilities to appease OSEG’s investors. Imagine the impact money could have had on transit, potholes, etc.”
▪️ “Anything that supports active transit. Bike lanes, maintaining them and MUPs (most are NCC, I know) and encouraging walking, biking, skiing and skating in the winter. As a person who uses a mobility device, well-maintained sidewalks and MUPs are key.”
▪️ “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m getting pretty tired of hitting 2-6 inch deep potholes. Can’t the city properly repair the potholes?”
▪️ “Transit and infrastructure are the most pressing issue for sure: taxes kept at an unsustainably low level, too much money spent on facilitating the least efficient mode of transportation (cars), and here we are!”
▪️ “I chose taxes but crime & safety are also high on the list. What I’d like to see is our taxpayers money not being wasted on stupid things like parades, O Train overtures, snowplows plowing nothing, paving transit ways before roadways that are used far more.”
▪️ “It goes with homeless.”
▪️ “I think affordability is a general, but key issue overall. Finding reasonably priced housing is becoming increasingly difficult. This must change. Transit is also a nightmare.”
▪️ “Health systems; more doctors and nurses. Shorter waiting time in emergency and more specialists.”
▪️ “Transit!!”
▪️ “Address homelessness and you address a big chunk of crime and public safety issues.”
▪️ “Public transit and infrastructure. The city needs to focus on fixing the basics with a REALISTIC budget.”
▪️ “There are a lot of issues, but with the 4-or-5-day RTO, traffic and transit are on everybody’s mind at least twice a day if they’re working stiffs. The rest of us feel it when we drag ourselves out, like we’re the crypt keeper.”
▪️ “I think ‘current leadership’ nicely summarizes everything.”
▪️ “All of the above!!!”
▪️ “And drug abuse.”
▪️ “Actually—the climate emergency, but dealing with public/active transit would help with that, so it was my selection.”
▪️ “Of course, a competent OCTranspo would help the traffic problem.”
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HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS
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Ogilvy’s T-Shirt
Charles Ogilvy Limited began as a 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.
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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
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Harvest: A Feast of Fall is finally here. Taste bites from some of Ottawa’s top chefs and beverage brands, mingle with other foodies, and enjoy the gorgeous surroundings of the Ottawa Art Gallery. Harvest: A Feast of Fall benefits the vital work that YouTurn Youth Support Services provides for at-risk youth in Ottawa. (Downtown)
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Come From Away presented by Suzart Productions continues at l’École secondaire publique De La Salle and the Centre d’excellence artistique de l’Ontario.
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Compulsive harmonizers, take note of the drop-in choir that avoids the tedious audition process. Bronwyn’s Big Bad Beautiful Choir will take anyone with a desire to sing four or five songs in two- and sometimes three-part harmony, all in one evening. Red Bird. (Old Ottawa South)
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The new NAC Orchestra season launches with a performance by Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone, who will perform Rachmaninoff’s devilish Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Second performance tomorrow. (Downtown)
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Today at the Wheelchair Basketball World Championships, catch the Classification and quarter-final games (Women) at a location to be confirmed.
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CityFolk gets underway at the Festival Grounds at the RA Centre with Alabama Shakes headlining. (Billings Bridge)
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Expect a movie and a whole lot more at the Reign-Bow Queer Cinema screening of To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. LIVE on Elgin.
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Asinabka Festival continues at Arts Court. (Downtown)
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🆓 End the workday with Jonathan, who will play Beatles hits at the Robo Lounge from 5:00 pm.
Cinema
Gigs
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Tinariwen. Bronson Centre Music Theatre
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Hirs Collective, Crisis Party, Koffin Byrth. House of TARG
THURSDAY
Cinema
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ByTowne Cinema: The Samurai and the Prisoner, Ciné-Club d’Ottawa — Le faux-monnayeur: L’affaire Bojarski
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Mayfair Theatre: The Salt Path, 40 Years of Fuckin’ Up, Tony
Gigs
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Opal In Sky, Filth, Feels Like Home. The 27 Club
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The 20th Century Boys. Rainbow Bistro
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Halfway to St. Paddy’s Day. The Barley Mow (Merivale)
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Vancamp, Jessica Pearson and the East Wind. Akoustik (Vanier)
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Supersonic Hearts Band. Manor Lounge
FRIDAY
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Richmond Fair's first full day of country fun includes agricultural demos, home craft displays, the midway, and the demolition derby.
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See sky-high performances by aircraft as the Opening Night of Aero Gatineau Ottawa takes off at Gatineau Airport. Canadian Forces Snowbirds, vintage aircraft, and Canadian Forces Skyhawks will perform.
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Yowfest, Ottawa’s multicultural urban music festival brings two days of Urban French, International, and Urban English sounds to the capital. Continues tomorrow at the Hellenic Event Centre (Carleton Heights / Rideauview)
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Manor Park’s Rock the Block is a community party with a pie-baking contest, a free movie screening, local vendors, and food and drink.
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The Main Event in Old Ottawa East entertains the kids with a Movie & Pizza Party from 6:00 pm, followed by Family Movie Night at 8:00 pm (Springhurst Park, Old Ottawa East).
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End another busy week with a visit to the weekly Gloucester Night Market.
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Third Eye Blind headlines CityFolk Festival. (Billings Bridge / Riverside South)
Cinema
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ByTowne Cinema: Restoration: Le Notti Bianche, Reading Lolita in Tehran, Rédemptions, Drawn In: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
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Mayfair Theatre: Tony, The Samurai and the Prisoner, The Room
Gigs
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Kate and Konah + Leighton. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa
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UB40. History Ottawa
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80s Dance Party with DJ Remi Royal and The Start. House of TARG
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Jon Q Public, Broken by Friday, Audio Visceral, Heavy Lies. Avant Garde Bar
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Joe McLeod & The Public Service Duo. Red Bird
JUST ANNOUNCED
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Black Tie Bingo has raised more than $700,000 in support of Bruyère Health since 2014, and it’s your turn to be part of the excitement at Infinity Convention Centre on Thursday November 5. Immerse yourself in glamour for the cocktail reception, gourmet dinner, auction, live performances, and of course, the friendly competition of bingo. (Uplands / Gloucester)
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DEALS OF THE DAY
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The Workers’ History Museum and Bytown Fire Brigade Historical Society partnered for the 2027 calendar honouring firefighters. The calendar is now available for $15 each, or $12 each for six or more. Contact treasurer@workershistorymuseum.ca to purchase.
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BUT, ONE MORE THING ...
The finalists for the 2026 Ottawa Book Awards have been announced.
Ottawa Book Awards: Fiction
• Sanita Fejzić, Refugee Mouth (Frontenac House Poetry)
• Rebecca Hirsch Garcia, Other Evolutions: A Novel (ECW Press)
• Ben Ladouceur, I Remember Lights (Book*hug Press)
• Margo LaPierre, Ajar (Guernica Editions)
• Carolyn Ramzy, Taslīm: We Are the Prophets, Poems on a Coptic Girlhood (Mawenzi House Publishers Ltd)
Ottawa Book Awards: Non-Fiction
• Mark Bourrie, Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre (Biblioasis)
• Madelaine Drohan, He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin’s Failure to Annex Canada (Dundurn Press)
• Jan Grabowski, Whitewash: Poland and the Jews (University of Toronto Press)
• Kathleen Lippa, Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada’s North (Dundurn Press)
• Nataliia Stepaniuk, Lives Altered by War: Civilian Volunteering amidst the Donbas War in Ukraine (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
Prix du livre d’Ottawa — Fiction
• Martine Batanian, Les filles sont à leur mère (Éditions Marchand de feuilles)
• Maeva Guedjeu, Des silences et des murmures (Éditions L’Interligne)
• Lisa L’Heureux, Parmi les monstres (Éditions Les Cygnes)
• Sarah Migneron, Maman bleue (Éditions Prise de parole)
• Blaise Ndala, L’équation avant la nuit (Mémoire d’encrier)
Descriptions of the books and author bios are on the City’s webpage. Winners will be announced Saturday, November 14, at 7:00 pm at Arts Court.
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RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL
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THE END
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THE OTTAWAN is written and edited every weekday by Martha and Darren.
Is there something that Ottawa should know about? Email us at hello@theottawan.com. We read every single email.
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