🗳️ Mayor Mark Sutcliffe begins his campaign for a second term. Unofficially. One hint is the series of social media posts highlighting his accomplishments so far on hiring more police, fewer ‘zero hour’ ambulance events, and increasing the roads budget by 40 per cent. – Charlie Senack in the Kitchissippi Times

🔍 The City wants your opinion on its Community Safety and Well-Being Plan. In this four-year review, the 10 minute survery will ask about violence against women, mental well-being, financial security and poverty reduction, discrimination, and youth social development.

Interestingly, the first question is: ‘Have you heard of Ottawa’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan’. – City of Ottawa    The Survey

🚰 Businesses who use water from the Carp River watershed are being asked to reduce consumption by 20 per cent. Businesses that use more that 50,000  litres of water a day must have a permit from the Province. Private residences are also being asked to conserve water, but it’s voluntary at this point. – Joanne Laucius in the Ottawa Citizen

FRIDAY

• Hamilton has started its run at the NAC. You have until August 17 to see the award-winning musical. 

• The Killaloe Craft & Community Fair, which has been operating each summer for nearly 50 years, is one of the only non-profit, volunteer-run festivals to continue for so long. 

• 🆓 Check out Ottawa International Buskerfest for the best in street entertainment from around the planet. It's all going down on Sparks St and at World Exchange Plaza August today through Sunday. 

• 🆓 Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore runs one of the most feel-good book sales in town. Luckily for us, The ReStore Reads Book Fair is back this Friday (10:00 am to 8:00 pm) through Sunday (9:00 am to 4:00 pm on both weekend days) at the Stittsville location (3 Iber Road). Prices start at $1.

• If you're dashing in to the Pot & Pantry on Elgin St this Friday, be prepared to be distracted by the gorgeous milk-and-plant-based ice cream at the Merry Dairy truck parked outside. 254 Elgin St. From 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. 

• Art house welcomes internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist Lauren Bush and her trio.

• Ottawa reggae legends Aurora’s Reef open the Titans game (6:00 pm to 7:00 pm)..

• 🆓 Capital Pop-Up Cinema screens My Girl at Beechwood Cemetery. 

• If the weather allows, A Company of Fools presents The Comedy of Errors in Raven Park (Carlington) from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

• ByTowne Cinema: To A Land Unknown, My Mother's Wedding, 2025 Cat Video Fest, Detour: The Fly 

• Mayfair Theatre: Sorry, Baby, My Mother’s Wedding, Thief 

  Gigs

• Blingo Night. Pour Boy

• TEETH, Cruel Intent, In Passing. The 27 Club

• Michael Marcagi. Bronson Centre 

• Friday Night Open Mic. Grumpy's Pub & Eatery

• Just Fine, frown line, Guest Room Status, Superstar Crush, Hug Mosh. SAW Centre

• Irish Moutarde, Casual Tragedies, Subtrash. Dominion Tavern

• 80s Dance Party. House of TARG

• Live Music Friday. Broadhead Brewery

SATURDAY

• ✳️ Enjoy brewery tours, tastings, and other special events during Ottawa Craft Beer Week, today through August 17.

• ✳️ Navan Fair presents an early-season 2025 country fair with a ‘Muddy Boots and Country Roots’ themed edition. Expect farm demos and livestock shows, antique tractors, concerts, food, and fun. Oh, and something called the Guinness World Record 50 Horse Hitch.  Until Sunday. 

• If you order your ticket to the Mystical Wise Women Water Lantern Festival in Andrew Haydon Park by Friday August 7, you'll save $5. 

• 🆓 You’ll know what a gat (갓) is if you caught ‘K-pop Demon Hunters’ on Netflix. The Korean Cultural Centre is holding ‘make your own gat’ paper crafting sessions every Saturday throughout August. Materials, instructions, and space to create are provided on site. 

• All sorts of gamer, kitsch, and generally geeky vendors will be in attendance at the Urban Art Collective Comic & Geek Night Market (4:00 pm to 9:00 pm). 

• It’s happening: the 80s return to the Brass Monkey in Chaud Stock 2025. If you rocked at legendary Ottawa venues the Chaud, The British, Barrymore’s, Hoopers, and Roxanne’s in the big hair decade, this is your night. 

• Road Trip: Take a wee day trip just beyond Ottawa’s Western edge to McNab/Braeside, for a good ol' rural time at the Valley Agricultural Festival. 

• 🆓 You’re mistaken if you think the All Things Bookish Market is only about books. You’ll find junk journaling and scrapbook kits, charcuterie cones and other fine food options, more than 20 vendors, and you can take part in the Build Your Own Blind Date With A Book. 55 ByWard Market.  

• 🚗 Road Trip: Equator Coffee’s annual Made with Love Vendors Market returns to Almonte. While you're planning your visit, sign up for a roastery tour. 

• 🆓 Muslimfest brings arts, culture, and entertainment to Cumberland Village Museum. It’s free to attend but you must book a ticket. 

• Craft beer-loving 20-and-30-somethings looking for new friends: Beyond the Pale’s City Centre location has an event just for you. Pints & New Friends 20s-30s Social Mixer is selling fast.  

• It’s Mexico’s turn to light up the sky at the Grands Feux in Gatineau. 

• Enjoy music by John Allaire Trio, wine, drinks, and snacks at the Reds, Whites, & Rhythms: Jabulani Concert Series in Richmond. $19.99 + HST per person.  

• There’s more than just shopping at Tanger Outlets today. Catch the Reptile Extravaganza from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

• Hamilton continues at the NAC. You have until August 17 to see the award-winning musical. 

• Toronto comic Mike Rita arrives at Yuk Yuk’s Ottawa West (at Biagio’s). 

• Weather permitting, A Company of Fools presents The Comedy of Errors in Canadensis Botanical Garden (Experimental Farm) from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. 

• Take a Wild Foraging Walk at Ottawa Farm Fresh. $25 per person. 

• Stretch your body and open your mind with Yoga at the Gallery. $25 + HST. 

• 🆓 Capital Pop-Up Cinema brings Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to Albert Island. You'll get a proper bang for your non-buck: a short film from the NFB and an episode of 'Stittsville on Patrol' will screen before the movie. 

• It’s War Machines Weekend at the Canadian War Museum. See military vehicles roar to life on the demo track behind the museum. It's all included with regular admission.

• ByTowne Cinema: 2025 Cat Video Fest, Restoration: Throne of Blood, My Mother's Wedding, Detour: True Stories 

• Mayfair Theatre:My Mother’s Wedding, Sorry, Baby, Magnolia 

  Gigs

• Little Bones. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa

• Override. Live from the Booth (Sparks St) 

SUNDAY

•  Ottawa Craft Beer Week is here. Today, Bicycle Craft Brewery is offering free  brewery tours and Happy Hour-priced beer, all during the Open House (2:00 pm to 5:00 pm). 

• Hamilton continues with two shows at the NAC. You have until August 17 to see the award-winning musical. 

• 🧄 Road Trip: You'll find more than 10 varieties of the fragrant and bulbous plant at Garlic Nirvana. Do some taste testing, shopping, or learning at a workshop. It’s all going down at Indian Creek Orchard Gardens near Pakenham. 

• It’s A Dog’s Day At the Nepean Night Market, and your pup is invited to wear its cutest costume for the photo booth and parade. Also on site: cookies and local vendors, and meet the good people of local rescues. 

• 🆓 Manordale Park will host the Sunset Singers for a free concert   in support of the FAMSAC food bank. 

• Brainstorm with other scribes at the Writers’ Circle gathering at Art House. Today's topic: Horror vs. Comedy. 

• There are still some gorgeous sunsets to view from the terrace at Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market. The Sunset Sessions run every Sunday from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. 

• Get up and boogie at Discolab, the patio party at Beyond the Pale's City Centre location. 2:00 pm 'til late. 

• It’s your last chance to visit Navan Fair. 

• ByTowne Cinema: My Mother’s Wedding, 2025 Cat Video Fest, Restoration: Throne of Blood, Detour: The Fly   

• Mayfair Theatre: My Mother’s Wedding, The Philadelphia Story, Sorry, Baby, Eddington 

  Gigs 

• The Lemon Bucket Orchestra (15 Years:  A Party. A Tour). Rainbow Bistro

• Maggie’s Wake. Red Bird

• Chris Duarte with the LH Express. Brass Monkey

• Mama Mush. LIVE on Elgin

• The Sunday Night Revue. Irene's Pub

MONDAY

•  🆓 Bowman's Bar & Grill welcomes Trombone Charlotte (aka Toronto musician Charlotte McAfee-Brunner) and her band for a special Musical Monday event (the bar doesn't usually open on Mondays). Expect swing and jazz vibes and very good beer. 

• ByTowne Cinema:  To A Land Unknown, My Mother’s Wedding, 28 Years Later   

• Mayfair Theatre: My Mother’s Wedding, The Philadelphia Story, Thief  

  Gigs

• Karaoke Mondays. Atomic Rooster

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

• There’s a very special dinner on the table at Bottega Nicastro on Tuesday August 12. Dine on a menu that celebrates Sardegna’s elegant and diverse cuisine in Summer in Sardegna. 

• Friday August 15 will mark 50 years since the first Canadian screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which happened right here in Ottawa. That’s right: the Canadian Film Institute screened a weird little indie film on August 15, 1975 that quickly became a worldwide cultural phenom. The documentary Sane Inside Insanity - The Phenomenon of Rocky Horror Picture Show chronicles the evolution of the movie. The screening will also act as a fundraiser for the Canadian Film Institute, which turns 90 this year.