Hello Ottawa

WEDNESDAY DRINKING AND DINING UPDATE

• 🏵️ Congratulations to Antheia, the only Ottawa establishment to be ranked among the top 30 restaurants in the country according to Air Canada.

  🍾 The Orléans Cork and Fork Festival lands at Shenkman Arts Centre on November 6 and 7. But that’s not all. The Culinary Federation Senior Chef Competition, in which six of Ottawa’s top chefs will compete for a spot in the provincial finals in Toronto, will take place concurrently, and includes the Saturday evening admission to Orléans Cork and Fork Festival. There are only 100 tickets to this competition.

  🥖 The Working Title bakery has new hours (it’s staying open until 4:00 pm every day before the venue switches over to cocktails). If you need a sweet fix, bakery items will be 50 per cent off between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm. (Sandy Hill)

  🥧 For some people, the annual creation of the Thanksgiving dessert is a chance to show off superior pie-making skills, wrap oneself in the glow of praise from nearest and dearest, and pour a year’s worth of fresh whipped cream down one’s gullet. For the rest of us, there is Three Tarts bakery, which has injected pumpkin into delicious cookies, pound cakes, pies, and even cheesecakes. If pumpkin’s not your thing, try the Apple Pecan Crumble Pie or the Chocolate Pecan Pie.

  🥞 The first 500 guests to Bytown Museum’s Ottawa 200 day on Saturday September 26 will enjoy a free pancake breakfast, provided by the team at Chef Ric’s.

• 🔪 The chef for the Supreme Court, Yannick La Salle, will represent Ottawa at the 2027 Canadian Culinary Championship. Competing with La Salle in the semi-finals were Ian Carswell of Black Tartan Kitchen in Carleton Place,  Jason Sawision of Stofa, Lizardo Becerra of Raphaël Peruvian Cuisine and Barrio, and Joe Thottungal of  Coconut Lagoon and Thali.

• 🍖 At Eat the Strip, Ameya Charnalia dined at Sinbad Grill and Bakery, an Iraqi kebab shop in the Ottawa Business Park. For $30, Charnalia says the two of them ate ‘until it felt like food was coming out of our ears’.

STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

• 20,000

• The number of extra people the Tewin development in southeast Ottawa could house after city staff agreed that 169 hectares, previously thought undevelopable, were in fact developable. Before this, Tewin was planned to have up to 64,500 residents.

• — Arthur White-Crummey at CBC

OTTAWANS OF THE DAY

• Adam Potera, Conner Taraba, Mabel Philips, and Jack Tremblay-Lessard

• The four engineering students, part of Carleton University’s Planetary Robotics Team, earned first place at the Canadian International Rover Challenge for their Mars rover, ‘Eileen’.

• — Kimberley Johnson at CTV

QUOTE

“

• Blood is thicker than water and let’s just say that his father and his brother got in his kitchen

– Sens owner Michael Andlauer blaming Brady Tkachuk’s father Keith for the former captain’s defection to the Florida Panthers.

— Bruce Garrioch in the Ottawa Citizen

SPORTS

⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans at Evansville Otters

🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs (preseason)

🏒 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators (preseason)

Yesterday

⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans 0 at Evansville Otters 6

PLEASE SUPPORT THE OTTAWAN

WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

THE DAILY POLL

Do you think Trump Avenue should be renamed?

🔘 Yes, it’s embarrassing having a street named after someone who is deliberately wreaking such havoc on Canada

🔘 No, City Council should not be dealing with national and international affairs

🔘 Are we even sure the street was named after Donald Trump?

🔘 If we’re going to rename streets when people go out of favour, we should just number them all instead. Until math goes out of favour.

🔘 If we really wanted to insult the US president, we’d rename Carling to Trump Avenue

• 
  Previously in THE OTTAWAN polls:

• How engaged are you in the Ottawa election?

  • 39% I have an open mind, and have been following the mayoral and my ward candidates with great interest

  • 20% With so much going on in the world, I don’t have the mental capacity to think about it

  • 24% I am excited to throw the incumbents out!

  • 9% I’m excited to give the incumbents another four years!

  • 8% Whoever promises to have the city pick up both paper and cans weekly gets my vote

Commentary

▪️ “Give a councilor with experience a shot at being Mayor.”

▪️ “I will look into platforms before election day and vote, but I have too much going in to get engaged yet.”

▪️ “hahahahahahaha”

▪️ “None of the above ... I follow it all with great trepidation. But democracy is a privilege even as it is a right, and I take both seriously.”

▪️ “I’d like to see an alternative in my ward, but everything I’ve read so far does nothing for me.”

▪️ “I plan to vote, I have been making an effort to read about the candidates.”

▪️ “The City is crumbling. Any candidate that talks of keeping taxes low should be ashamed. A 10% increase would in average cost around 40$/month. Homeowners can most definitely afford this.”

▪️ “The current incumbents voted to destroy the Experimental Farm by shading it with tall condos and want all our neighborhoods to look like Carlington and Vanier. They have let Byward and downtown become an urban slum. Kick them out — Ottawa deserves better.”

▪️ “We have a chance to either keep what we have or make some changes to improve how our city is run. Please take municipal elections seriously.”

▪️ “Really want my present councillor out and have two very good other candidates, that will unfortunately probably split the vote. As for Mayor I’m so confused. None are perfect. They’ve each got good points, but they’ve each made some bad decisions.”

▪️ “As mundane as it is, the municipal level is the one that impacts us most in our day-to-day living.”

▪️ “Okay maybe not an open mind. There are a few I’d like to see leave.”

▪️ “Mark Sutcliffe makes Jim Watson look exciting, I can’t take another four beige years of his mayorship. I’m voting for Jeff Leiper.”

▪️ “Please please please let this Sutcliffe nightmare end. I’m running out of hilarious and insulting spins on his last name.”

▪️ “Our incumbent Councillor has our vote, he’s a proven workhorse and has made our community a better place to live. At the mayoral level -- we’re listening and watching carefully: who seems will to work the hardest to make things better for Ottawa residents?”

▪️ “I can’t vote (yet), but I do follow what’s going on. Good practice for next year!”

▪️ “I wish more people were engaged with local politics. It has the most dramatic effect on our lives but the turnout is generally mediocre.”

▪️ “We desperately need a better mayor.”

▪️ “I will eagerly vote, both to keep my really good local councillor, and to send the current mayor back to the private sector ;)”

▪️ “Boola boola Pensacola hullabaloo!”

▪️ “I’m not happy with Sutcliffe, but I haven’t had time to research the opponents. I’ll find one to vote for to get rid of Mark.”

▪️ “Current mayor is a disaster Our local councillor is quite good So one to the curb and one keeper :)”

HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS

Nortel T-Shirt Northern Electric was founded in Montréal in 1895, growing into one of the world’s largest and most important telecom companies. Nortel hung up the phone in 2013. Its campus on Carling Avenue became the new home of the Department of National Defence. Help support THE OTTAWAN by buying one of our historic logo T-shirts. Shop for T-shirts

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

• The next Doors Open for Music at Southminster performance will feature music from the mid-twentieth century, as interpreted by the Brown Cashin Duo. (Old Ottawa South)

• Joly and Moonfruits perform at the final Akoustik at St Charles. (Vanier)

• You’re midway through the week. Extend the good feeling with the Happy Hour New Friends Games Night at Beyond the Pale’s George St Taproom (ByWard Market). The same night, check out the Owl-themed animation art show.

• Take an Urban Sketching Tour to Kìwekì Point with Ottawa Architecture Week.

• The 50th anniversary iteration of the Ottawa International Animation Festival launches five days of screenings, talks, and parties with The Animation Conference, an All-Ages Drop-In Workshop about Character Design, the Conference boat cruise, and screenings. Save money with a ticket six-pack.

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Ottawa International Animation Festival screenings

• Mayfair Theatre: Tony, Trail Running Film Festival, The Samurai and the Prisoner 

Gigs

• Celtic Celebration with Nerea the Fiddler. Red Bird

• Taproom Trivia. Stray Dog Brewing Co.

• Dave Plays Elton. The Robo Lounge

• Pavel Stroke, Fishmonger, glowveins. Rainbow Bistro

THURSDAY

• Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg artist and writer Jay Odjick’s new work Odāwā Yesterday: Odāwā Chinàgo will be displayed on the gallery’s Cube façade at Mackenzie King Bridge as part of Ottawa 200 programming Thursday September 24 to Sunday September 27. The animation ‘follows waterways as pathways of movement, trade, and connection, exploring the ways people have travelled to and through this region and the relationships and stories that continue to shape its past, present, and future’. During the same period, a companion projection will light up the National Arts Centre’s Kipnes Lantern.

• The Wabano Centre for Indigenous Health Grand Gathering Space will open its doors to the collaborative performance Walking Through The Fire featuring First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists and Sultans of String.

• Habitat ReStore’s DIY Repairs Workshop will teach you tips and tricks for getting things done around the house. (Stittsville)

• The 50th Ottawa International Animation Festival and The Animation Conference continue.

• TotoToo Theatre opens Alanis Morissette, Glen Ballard, and Diablo Cody’s Jagged Little Pill  musical at Great Canadian Theatre Company.

• The 2026 Carp Fair is a go with agricultural demos, showcases, parades, family activities, a midway, beer gardens, and live entertainment.

• Be at Bank and Waverley at 8:30 pm to see Ottawa-based Japanese taiko drumming ensemble Oto-Wa Taiko perform both traditional and contemporary styles. (Centretown)

• Metcalfe Plaza welcomes Amashowza x ConcepThursday for an evening of indie and alternative anthems. (Centretown)

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Ottawa International Animation Festival screenings

• Mayfair Theatre: The Salt Path, 40 Years of Fuckin’ Up, Tony 

Gigs

• The Friends of Fiddlers Green. Red Bird

• The Floyd Hutchinson Group. The Robo Lounge

• Helena Deland and Hana Stretton. FONO

FRIDAY

• Franco-Ontarian Day 2026 begins with a flag-raising ceremony at Saint Paul University (Old Ottawa East).  uOttawa will host a celebration of Franco-Ontarian culture with author Michèle Vinet from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. (Downtown) Across town, the celebration and activities by Vanier Community Association run from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm.

• Little Jo Berry’s brings the Vegans Who Snack Food and Art festival back to Parkdale Market from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Expect nothing but the most delicious plant-based treats, both sweet and savoury, from more than 60 vendors. Small dogs on leash welcome. (Parkdale)

• The Ottawa Chinatown Mid-Autumn Night Market brings authentic food and performance to Somerset Street West between Bronson Ave and Bell St

• As the Ottawa International Animation Festival continues, the Animation Conference’s Art + Biz Day presents speakers and content about the practical business side to animation professionals (for pass holders only). Elsewhere, the schedule includes Meet the Filmmakers: Short Film Competition 2, a drop-in workshop on moveable sculptures, screenings for animation-curious teens, a feature competition, the Animators’ Picnic at Strathcona Park (which includes pumpkin carving), and lots more. (Various locations)

• The 2026 Carp Fair continues with an antique tractor parade, dairy and goat shows, the Four Horse Hitch Series Finals, plus the usual agricultural demos, showcases, family activities, midway, beer gardens, and live entertainment.

• This weekend sees the return of the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference at the National Arts Centre, featuring workshops, panels, networking, and of course performances.

• Seek clarification with a quick tarot reading at Art House Cafe.

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Ottawa International Animation Festival

• Mayfair Theatre: Late Fame, The History of Concrete, The Rocky Horror Picture Show 

Gigs

• Drag Bingo. Beyond the Pale (ByWard Market)

• Hannibal Buress. Bronson Centre

• Spencer Krug, Elbow Kiss. Rainbow Bistro

• The Ed Lister Group, Patrick Smith. The Robo Lounge

JUST ANNOUNCED

• Road Trip: Take a walk in search of yellow-rumped warblers, white-throated and white-crowned sparrows, thrushes, nuthatches, chickadees, brown creepers, and woodpeckers on the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Birding Walk on Saturday September 26. (Marble Woodlands, Mississippi Mills).

• If traditional carols, songs, and stories make your Christmas-loving heart sing, Ottawassail will utterly transport you. The festive show plays Red Bird on December 18, 19, and 20.

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BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

Ottawa writer Jenna Timmons-Oikawa has won the CBC Nonfiction Prize for Wawa Indian. Timmons-Oikawa will receive $6,000 and a two-week residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. You can read Wawa Indian here. – Daphné Santos-Vieira at CBC

↪ A Capital Mystery Volume 2 has just been published, featuring 21 local mystery writers.

↪ Submissions for the Third Annual Toby Awards for self-published Canadian mystery authors have opened. The Awards are run by ReBound Press in Ashton.

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

THE END

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.