The Ottawan Newsletter

Hello Ottawa

In Today’s Edition

→ Watch a video on the 'insane engineering' of the Parliament Buildings renovations

→ Listen to an eerie Halloween soundtrack by the NAC Orchestra tomorrow

→ The Deal of the Day is on womenswear from Katrin LeBlonde

Best of Ottawa 2026

It’s Best of Ottawa Award season, and we need your assistance in the nomination round for Dining, Drinking, Shops & Services, Culture, Media, and People & Places.

🏵️ Despite the name, businesses, organizations, and persons across the entire Ottawa Valley or the Outaouais are eligible for nomination

🏵️ Unless they are headquartered in the Capital region, chains are disqualified from nomination

🏵️ You can nominate yourself or your business. (We have an image that you can use on social media here to help drum up support)

Nominations are open until Sunday November 2. Voting begins November 3.

Make your nominations here

And please, pass that link around. The more nominations, the better.

– Martha and Darren

STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

20%
The increase in the number of calls to Ottawa paramedics for overdoses since the closure of the supervised consumption site at the Somerset West Community Health Centre in March.
Ted Raymond at CTV

OTTAWAN OF THE DAY

Sam Laprade
The broadcaster was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Volunteer Ottawa at its 14th annual gala last Thursday.
Laprade has been ‘volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa, the Children’s Aid Foundation of Ottawa, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and Caldwell Family Centre’, among many other organizations.
Kevin Tencarre at Rogers TV

QUOTE

“
They can work very well as a history piece or Christmas movie, but it can also double for New York, Boston and Philadelphia
– Ottawa film commissioner Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos, commenting on why film companies have chosen Ottawa for their movies. Pechels de Saint Sardos says 2025 will be a ‘record year’ for film production.
Davis Legree in Compass Ottawa

OTTAWAN OF THE DAY

🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 7 – Boston Bruins 2, yesterday

PLEASE SUPPORT THE OTTAWAN

the ottawan was launched in 2020 as the daily answer to the questions: What’s going on? What should I do? Where is somewhere good to eat?

Please consider joining the many other readers with a monthly, annual, or one-time donation to keep the ottawan on its mission.

All annual or one-time donations over $60 include an ottawan or historic logo t-shirt of their choice.

Membership levels

✅ $5 mo / Technically Beautiful

✅ $10 mo / ByTowner

✅ $20 mo / City that Fun Remembered

✅ $25 mo / Truly ott

✅ Or make a one-time donation

Join Us

WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

Finance and Corporate Services Committee
Wednesday, October 29 at 9:30 am

2025 Lansdowne Annual Report
Economic Impact of Lansdowne 2.0 Redevelopment
Lansdowne Partnership Plan Agreements - Amendments Related to the Lansdowne 2.0 Project
Lansdowne 2.0 Redevelopment and Authorization to Proceed with Legal Close and Implementation Plan

Agenda

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

🐻 The City wants your opinion on the Bear Brook watershed. The Bear Brook watershed covers 488 square kilometres of urban area, farmland, forests, and wetlands in east Ottawa and Prescott-Russell. It’s also home to 78,000 people.

The question is, of course, development versus conservation. The South Nation Conservation Authority has details here or take a look at this interactive story map.

There is also an open house November 13 at the Bear Brook Community Centre (8720 Russell Road) at 6 pm. – City of Ottawa

🎧 The Better Ottawa Municipal Panel podcast takes on Lansdowne 2.0. This week, the trio discuss what Lansdowne 2.0 is really all about, the Mayor’s unusual Monday press conference, Council's saying no to extending the decision date, what the report says, and what the Mayor didn’t tell us. – The 613

🔨 Big construction YouTube channel The B1M has taken on the Parliament building renovations. They describe it as the ‘insane engineering behind Canada's biggest ever building upgrade’ and the video does make that case. – The B1M

THE DAILY POLL

The fact that Sarah McLachlan, in town tonight, released Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30 years ago makes me feel ...?

Previously in ottawan polls:
We asked, ‘Will Atlético Ottawa win the Canadian Premier League final?’
Commentary

▪️ “¡Vamos Atleti!”

▪️ “¡Sam Salter for the winning goal!”

▪️ “¡About time!”

HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS

Newbridge Networks T-Shirt

Newbridge Networks was founded by Welsh-Canadian entrepreneur Sir Terry Matthews in 1986.

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

MONDAY

Sarah McLachlan brings the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30th Anniversary Tour to Canadian Tire Centre.
Meet representatives from Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library, City of Ottawa’s Rain Ready Ottawa program, and Canadensis as well as a skilled young native tree grower, at the Mini Eco Fair before Ottawa Horticultural Society’s Speaker Series event on Zoom. 6:45 pm.
🆓 Representatives from Scientific Investigation of Paranormal Activity Canada lift the curtain on investigations of the unexplained at the Ottawa Public Library Rideau branch.
ByTowne Cinema: Blue Moon, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Mayfair Theatre: Parental Consent, Ballad of A Small Player, The Exorcist, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Gigs
Questionable Behaviour trivia. Overflow Brewing
LEX 13’s hipster honky tonk. Avant-Garde Bar
Katherine & Nicholas. Night Oat
Foreigner. TD Place

WEDNESDAY

National Arts Centre Orchestra plays an eerie Halloween soundtrack in Monster Mixtape. Costumes are encouraged.
Ottawa Little Theatre’s production of Turn of the Screw is a grown-up horror story on stage. Wednesdays through Sundays until November 15.
After the Jays game, sing your heart out at Rock Star Scaryoke at the Heart & Crown ByWard Market.
ByTowne Cinema: Blue Moon, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Mayfair Theatre: Köln 75, Ballad of A Small Player, The Exorcist

Gigs
All-You-Can-Play Wednesday. Ottawa Pinball Arcade
Taproom Trivia. Stray Dog Brewing Co
Trivia Night. Brew Revolution

THURSDAY

Try some trivia tonight:

The Haunted Halloween Trivia night at Brew Revolution will support Holly's Haven Wildlife Rescue.
Do You Know Your Slashers from Your Scream Queens? Bring that expertise, as well as your best squad, to Head Office Ottawa for Horror Movie Trivia Night.
Questionable Behaviour Trivia will turn up at Royal Oak Stittsville at 7:00 pm.

A Capital Mystery is the new anthology of stories set in Ottawa. Listen as three of the collection's mystery and crime writers read at Indigo Pinecrest, then stay for the Q&A and book signing.
The chills continue at Ottawa Little Theatre’s Turn of the Screw.
It’s the second performance of National Arts Centre Orchestra’s Monster Mixtape: an evening of eerie Halloween movie soundtrack music. Costumes encouraged.
If the words ‘Eastern Ontario's Most Terrifying Halloween Attraction’ make your hair stand on end, you'd better not book the 33rd annual Cannamore Orchard Acres of Terror experience tonight.
You’ve seen the movie, now it's time to immerse yourself in Richard O'Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, presented by ToToToo Theatre. Audience participation is of course encouraged.
Get spooked by live actors at the Richmond Haunted House: Devils Night. All the scares are in aid of the Richmond Food Bank. Continues tomorrow.
ByTowne Cinema: Blue Moon, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Hausu
Mayfair Theatre: Ballad of a Small Player, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Gigs
GreenWing, Futura Free, Bella Donna & Princess Unlucky. House of TARG
Picnic by the Motorway. Night Oat
Sarah McCoy. National Arts Centre
Lennie Gallant. Red Bird

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

🆓 Creative kids aged eight through 13 and their adults are invited to the Kids Illustration Workshop & Book Talk with Clayton Hanmer. Almonte Branch Library, November 15.

MADE IN CANADA DEAL OF THE DAY

Save 15% off regular priced items at Katrin LeBlond

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

Sure, the Blue Jays in the World Series is of some academic interest but Lesley McKay in the Stittsville Central has a true homer: the history of the Stittsville Lumbermen, who were all the craze in the 1950s.

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

What did you think of today’s ottawan?

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great

⭐⭐⭐ Satisfactory

⭐ Needs Improvement

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.

Tuesday, 28 October 2025

View Online | Sign Up | Shop