Hello Ottawa

STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

• 4

• The number of years until the proposed Québec City – Ottawa – Toronto  high speed rail service, Alto, begins construction, according to Minister of International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc. 

• The Canadian Press

•  

OTTAWAN OF THE DAY

• Dr Nicholas Fabiano 

• In a British Journal of Sports Medicine article 🔒, the University of Ottawa researcher advocates for psychiatrists to prescribe exercise as a ‘first line’ treatment for patients with depression.

• Elizabeth Paye in the Ottawa Citizen

QUOTE

• [F]ortunately, no one was injured

• –  From a news release issued by the town of Smiths Falls explaining why its arena is closed.

• A puck shot at the net deflected off the crossbar, hit the sprinkler system on the ceiling, and triggered the fire suspression system, which caused water damage to the ice and to the arena. (Could happen to anyone, really.)

•  – Ted Raymond at CTV

• 

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  WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

  Ottawa Board of Health
  Monday, September 15 at 5:00 pm

  • Chair of the Board of Health verbal report
  • Medical Officer of Health verbal report
  • 2026 Budget planning and considerations for Ottawa Public Health
  • Update on Ottawa Public Health’s Healthy Growth and Development Program
  • Beach water quality report
  • Q2 2025 Budget status report
  • 2026 BOH meeting schedule
  • Delegation of authority contract awarded for the period of January 1 to June 30, 2025

  Agenda
   

  Debenture Committee
  Monday, September 15 at 9:30 am

  • By-law to Authorize a $220 Million Debenture Issue

  Agenda

  

  WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

  💥 The owner of Eastway Tank, Pump and Meter has been criminally charged in connection with the explosion in 2022. Fifty four year-old Neil Greene has been charged with six counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. Six employees were killed and one severely injured in the explosion January 2022. – Kristy Nease at CBC

  
  🚊 The entirety of O Train’s Line 1 will be closed all weekend. The closure is in preparation for the launch of the eastern extension. Replacement buses will run in both directors. – Josh Pringle at CTV

  ↪Several City councillors are advocating for OC Transpo to buy some diesel buses after the expected electric bus order was delayed.

  
  🚨 Eighty people have alleged sexual assault at Le Nordik in Chelsea. After a class action against the spa was proposed to a court in Montréal, dozens of others have contacted the law firm representing the claimant says lawyer Philippe Brault. Le Nordik did not comment on the case but said it coöperates with authorities. The class action has not yet been approved by the court nor have the allegations been proven. – Katie Griffin at CTV

   

  🚗 The very recognizable Tourist Information Centre on Highway 417, just before the Québec border, is at risk of closing. A survey of patrons has found that most visitors are commuters between Ottawa and Montréal using it as a rest stop, rather than tourists seeking information. The same survey found most tourists between Québec and Ontario use the 401. – Phillip Oddi in The Review

  
  🛒  Every week, @stromanker reads all the local grocery flyers and posts the deals on Ottawa Reddit. This week, he highlights eggs medium ($7.77/30 at Adonis), large ($3.33/12 at IGA), and large ($8.49/30 at Metro Glebe). – /Reddit

  

  THE DAILY POLL

  What would you do if your doctor prescribed you exercise?

  Start a new routine. Doctor’s orders.

  Take it under advisement, but no.

  Look up the phone number to lodge complaints against medical practitioners

  • 
    Previously in ottawan polls:

  • We asked, ‘Will you be going to CityFolk this year?’

    • 7%  Yes

    • 52%  No

    • 18% Would like to, but my festival days are over

    • 23% No, because I like listening to actual folk music

  • 
    Commentary

  ▪️ “Too expensive and not enough real folk singers!”
  
  ▪️ “I am volunteering there!”
  
  ▪️ “Lansdowne is just too hard to get to by public transit.”
  
  ▪️ “We get to hear it from our bedroom windows:)”
  
  ▪️ “Here every day!”
  
  ▪️ “The lineup is mid, as my gen z kids would say. Not worth the price.”

  

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  Ottawa Xpress T-Shirt The Ottawa Xpress was Ottawa’s beloved alternative weekly, published from 1993 – 2012. 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

  FRIDAY

  • 🆓 The Fifty-Five Plus Lifestyle Show offers services, products, and opportunities for those aged 55 and over. Today and tomorrow at the EY Centre. 

  • Orléans Ribfest & Poutine is about more than the two fan faves. You'll also fine a 750 person Bevvy Bar, a Kids Zone, contests, and promotions, free parking, competitions, and more. Until Sunday at 255 Centrum Blvd in Orléans (near Shenkman Arts Centre). 

  • Morrisey headlines CityFolk Fest at Lansdowne Park.

  • The CityFolk After Party at Irene’s features Main Street Revival and Sean Tansey. 

  • WOW Festival brings 2000 attendees and 200 organizations together for a full day of action that brings to life ‘what a fully integrated healthcare system can look like—one that gives equal priority to Mental, Physical, and Substance Use Health.’

  • Create something meaningful at the Framed Scrapbooking Event at Morning Owl Parkdale.

  • Farmgate Cider opens its doors to the Ottawa Valley Market from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm this evening. 

  • 🆓 Capital Pop-Up Cinema screens Encinco Man on Sparks St. 

  • Ottawa Swing Dance Society’s first Live Band Night of the season  will feature Dr. Jazz 

  • Taste Dunrobin Distilleries whisky inside an actual historic mill, at the Watsons Mill fundraiser in Manotick.

  • Dance to 90s and 2000s hits at Metcalfe Plaza. 

  • The Mom Marketplace Collective brings the first of two weekend events to Place d'Orléans (the second event is in November). Local entrepreneurs will be selling home goods, treats, fashion, stuff for the kids, and more until Sunday. 

  • 9th Hour Theatre Company presents another in its Gleanings series of readings and facilitated discussions. Gleandings: The God Committee explores what it means to ‘play God’. 

  • ByTowne Cinema: À bicyclette (Ride Away)! Honey Don’t! Seen The Film – Ottawa Screening Plus Live Q&A, A Better Tomorrow  

  • Mayfair Theatre: Relay, The Naked Gun, Naked Ambition 
    
    Gigs

  • Seven Days of Fire with The Rough Go, Triple Threat Pony, Delusions. Dominion Tavern

  • Main Street Revival with Special Guest Sean Tansey. Irene's Pub

  • Softcult, Ellis, just fine. The 27 Club

  • Wet for Days LP release party, Sugar Bomb! The Black Void. House of TARG

  • Go Long, emmersonHALL. Art House Café

  • David Gogo. Rainbow Bistro

  • Obsidian Sunday: Riverside AP. Gridwrks

  SATURDAY

  Today's agricultural fairs:

  • Middleville Fair  

  • Spencerville Fair 

  • Good luck choosing from the many varieties for sale at The Stittsville Butter Tart Festival. Market at the Barn (6154 Abbott St)
     

  • ✳️  🇺🇦 Road Trip: Your biggest reasons to visit Carleton Place today: Ukrainian Fest Lanark County at Riverside Park Beach, and the 13th birthday of Murray’s Flea Market. 

  • ✳️  Shift to Thrift’s Plus Size Pop-Up at the Portal Room (889 Bank St) will have vintage and thrift fashion in sizes L to 4XL. 

  • ✳️  Black and Bluegrass Fest’s 10th anniversary event at Rideau Pine Farms in North Gower promises music from the ‘rowdier’ side and ‘cheap food’ and you should note that it’s BYOB.

  • There are a very few tickets remaining for today and tomorrow's programming at Riverside 25: the Last Festival of the Summer.

  • If you like it spicy, you’ll have to go to Heating Up the Capital, the hot sauce experience that brings the heat.

  • It’s Alpaca Day at Carp Farmers Market (8:00 am to 1:00 pm). Bring the kids and check out the animals, who are visiting from Cheff Fields Farm. 

  • Savour the Haitian flavours and entertainment at The BanFest Gala. 

  • 🆓 Hear emerging local talent at Ogilvy Square on Rideau, care of City Sounds Live. 

  • Wear something white and breezy to the All White Soirée at Maison Charron in Gatineau. 

  • Make your own Coffee Pour Over at Hintonburg Pottery. 

  • Spend the day at Taste of Manotick and discover the many shops and restaurants offering samples and tastes.   

  • Find new-to-you treasures at 613Flea. 

  • Tooth and Nail Brewing Company turns 10 this weekend. Join the celebration from 1:00 pm to close. 

  • The National Capital Commission launches BikeNight, wherein cyclists of all ages and experiences levels are invited to ride the 6.5 km loop from Confederation Park to the Flora Footbridge between 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm. 

  • 🏇 Road Trip: Don't miss the RCMP Musical Ride at the Spencerville Fair (1:00 pm).

  • 🆓 Clear some space in your closet and bring gently used fall and winter items to the Free Swap & Drop: Fall Pop Up at Jim Durrell Recreation Centre. 

  • Road Trip: Wind down the day with the Munster Harvest Fest (4:00 pm to 7:00 pm), where you'll enjoy locally baked treats, a bouncy castle, and a screening of The Minecraft Movie in the park.

  • Road Trip: Wander the old fashioned streets and check out the shops, restaurants, and live music of the Perth Night Market. 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. 

  • Get behind the scenes of some of the projects and activities shaping the National Capital Region in the Open NCC event today.                           

  • The Pogues headline CityFolk Fest at Lansdowne Park.

  • Bring a picnic to Almonte Old Town Hall for the Lions Club Duck Race in support of helping those in need in the town's community. 

  • 🍎 Road Trip: The Road Apples headline The Downtown Music Festival in Smiths Falls. 

  • The Fifty-Five Plus show continues at EY Centre.

  • Orléans Ribfest and Poutine continues. 

  • ByTowne Cinema: Showstoppers: Monterey Pop, 2025 Cat Video Fest, À bicyclette (Ride Away)! A Better Tomorrow II   

  • Mayfair Theatre: The Naked Gun, Jaws, Saturday Night Sinema 

    Gigs

  • 🆓 Wicked Grin Roots. Hard Rock Cafe

  • Smelloship. Irene’s Pub

  • Good2go. Atomic Rooster

  • Two with Rory Taillon. Red Bird

  SUNDAY

  • 🆓 You have until 12:00 pm (noon) to register for the Digi60 60-Day Challenge. The 2025 Digi60 Filmmakers’ Festival Kick-Off starts at noon at Club SAW. 

  • To everyone participating in the Ottawa Terry Fox Run today, THE OTTAWAN wishes you a successful and safe run. 

  • The Old Aylmer Market offers fresh local produce, baked treats, live music, and an old-world feel. 

  • 🆓  Ottawa Shutterbugs will run a Photo Scavenger Hunt starting from Ottawa City Hall at 10:00 am. 

  • The Greely Good Market is always a good time, with more than 20 local vendors selling items for the whole family.

  • Pick Your Own Edamame at the Jamaican 2025 Edamame Harvest Festival in Manotick. 

  • The Ottawa Kidney Walk sets off at 10:30 am in Strathcona Park. 

  • The York Street Market brings more than 50 vendors to the OTTAWA letters in ByWard Market. 

  • Caelis Academy Ensemble will perform Bach’s Mass in B Minor with choristers, soloists, and instrumentalists. 

  • Down with Webster’s reunion tour makes a headlining stop at tonight’s CityFolk Fest (Lansdowne Park). 

  • 🆓  Take a tour at Ferme Agricola Farm’s Family Fun Day open house to learn about organic farming. Bring a picnic.

  • The Lanark County Harvest Festival is fun for the entire family. 

  • Spencerville Fair continues. 

  • ByTowne Cinema:  Klassic Kids: Who Framed Roger Robbit? 2025 Cat Video Fest, Honey Don’t!, A Better Tomorrow  

  • Mayfair Theatre: My Neighbour Totoro, Jaws, Jaws 2 

    Gigs

  • Sunday Night Revue. Irene’s Pub

  • Blink 182 / Green Day Tribute Night with Drink 182 and Deadbeats on Holiday. Rainbow Bistro

  • Mad Caddies, The Anti-Queens, The Corps. Overflow Brewing

  • Night Oat & Ottawa Vintage Swing Present: Swing & Spritz. Night Oat

  MONDAY

  • 🆓 TEDxSaint Paul University explores the ‘structure of knowledge and the freedom of creation’ in Intersections of Wonder: Art Meets Academia.  

  • Do you like to sing? Ottawa Choral Workshops are running a 12-week workshop on Baroque greats J. S. Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. Rehearsals are Monday evenings beginning tonight. 

  • Sign up is in-person only for the Art House Open Mic. 

  • ByTowne Cinema:  À bicyclette (Ride Away)  Restoration: Barry Lyndon   

  • Mayfair Theatre:  The Naked Gun, My Neighbour Totoro, Naked Ambition  

    Gigs

  • Holy Locust, Cadmium, Bastards and The Buzzards. Dominion Tavern

  • Karaoke Mondaze. Atomic Rooster

  JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

  • Octopus Books presents Motherhood & Identity: Author discussion with Teri Vlassopoulos and Lindsay Zier-Vogel Wednesday September 17  

  • Saunders Farm PumpkinFest opens on Saturday September 20, with fall family fun that everyone will enjoy, from mazes to hayrides to daytime haunted attractions and naturally, there will be pumpkins everywhere. 

  • Of course, with PumpkinFest comes the opening of Saunders Farm’s Fright Fest, with all the scary season nighttime attractions your dark heart craves. From Saturday September 20 to November 1. 

MADE IN CANADA DEALS OF THE DAY

Aurelius turns 7 next week and there are deals to be had in-store an online from Monday to Friday. Online, save 40% off best sellers with no code required. In person, save 30% on mystery bags.

Martino prices must go up on Monday September 15, so now is the time to snap up a pair of stylish shoes or boots that are proudly Made in Canada. Check the Last Chance page for deals.

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

• The new third jersey for the Sens has been teased lately but won’t be publicly released until later this month. Although leaks and theories have abounded, an actual sweater had not been seen in the wild. Until today, when a Sens fan received a birthday present in the post – and found it was the yet-unreleased jersey. He wears it in the pic. 

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

Comment of the Week: ‘I really enjoy reading it and finding out what kind of things are going on in Ottawa’

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.