Must follow: Ottawa seen 365 ways in 365 days

“Ottawa seen 365 ways in 365 days is the result of a personal challenge to discover the city of Ottawa through photography. Everyday for 365 days, I will upload a picture of Ottawa shot from a new and hopefully exciting location.”

Are you following? 

Here are a few of our favourites: 

49 – Prince of Wales Railway Bridge as seen from a Centretown

47 – Running Horses as seen on Sussex Street

33 – Inukshuk at Sundown as seen from Remic Rapids

27 – Planes as seen in the Ottawa Aviation Museum

Visit ottawaphotochallenge.blogspot.ca and follow @Ottawa_365 for more from this wonderful project.

A true Canadian experience: Ottawa’s first-ever winter bike parade!

Hilary Duff is a quirky 21-year-old who loves multimedia journalism, cycling, food blogging, and churning massive amounts of baked goods out of her cramped student kitchen. When she’s not living the chaotically busy life of a Carleton journalism student, she also enjoys winter jogging and exploring the ins and outs of her Ottawa neighbourhood. She’s also a contributing editor for LT Ottawa.

Ottawans love biking and so do I.

For three seasons of the year, I bike absolutely everywhere: to school, to work, to visit friends, to do interviews, etc. etc. As I’ve mentioned on Local Tourist before, I even bike while balancing half a dozen cupcakes on my handlebars. I’m fairly proud of that last one.

Still, on Sunday I went where my roughed up Schwinn bicycle has never been before. I went winter cycling.

As someone who does everything in her power to be more like an action star, winter biking seemed like a natural next step. But motivation was lacking, until I discovered the perfect event to debut my winter transportation plans: Ottawa’s first-ever winter bike parade.

What could be more fantastic than that? The event was organized by the good people at Citizens for Safe Cycling and sounded like the best excuse to garner stares and honks from annoyed and encouraging drivers.

But before I could take part in the parade, I had to get there first. And so, at 11:30 a.m., I carried my intrepid, wheeled friend out of its hibernation cave in the garage and geared up for my first below-freezing bike ride. I made my way downtown without too much huffing and puffing, and turned a few scary skids into a vision where I was drifting like a cast member of Fast and the Furious.

Along the way, my bike ride became less lonely, too, and a handful of cyclists joined me on the commute, donning weathered rain boots and scuffed up backpacks. One woman in front of me was towing a special cycling stroller behind her, and I watched anxiously as the tiny cart bopped roughly as it travelled over speed bumps and into potholes.

Part of the group gathered in the Percy/Laurier Avenue parking lot

We knew we were near our destination when we saw a collection of bikers sitting in the parking lot at the corner of Percy Street and Laurier Avenue. Approaching, someone was playing tunes from a bike radio. People are chitter-chattering and laughter flows freely.

The clock struck noon – it was go time.

To the sound of dozens of chiming bells and boots slamming kickstands, we travel as a group across the street and into the Laurier Avenue bike lane. Up until now I’d been collecting sounds at the scene, my recorder cradled warmly in my mitten as the cord of my microphone grew solid and inflexible with the cold air. In hindsight, I should have MacGyvered a way to strap my microphone onto my handlebars, but I wasn’t that perceptive on a Sunday morning. For anyone who has ever wondered, reporting in the winter while riding a bicycle is a difficult task.

Along the way, a few groups of people lined the street cheering and clapping with their gloved hands. “We looooooove winter biking!” one shouted. The woman on the bike behind me had a line of bells dangling from her handlebars, making me smile and feel as though I’m being followed by Santa’s sleigh. We waved back at the enthusiastic watchers, and I kicked myself for not changing my rusty bike bell in time for the ride.

Eventually, I got off my bike and joined the street-liners, not wanting to miss any more of what was happening around me.

I did a few interviews and recorded some sound from the bike parade – want to get a better idea of how Sunday’s event was? Listen below.

The parade ended at City Hall where we took a big group picture (after good sport Coun. Mathieu Fleury arrived on his brown bicycle) and took over the bike racks in front of the building.

More than 50 riders took part in the parade

The last stop was a heated reception of Bridgehead-donated apple cider and cookies provided by Coun. Katherine Hobbs. It was a satisfying (and more importantly) warm end to a terrific hour out.

CfSC director and parade organizer Risa Sargent says they want to continue the parade in years to come, and I certainly hope they do. A city can never have too many wannabe action stars.

Ottawans love winter biking and now, so do I.

Did any of you attend the bike parade or see it in action? What is your favourite part of winter biking? See you on the streets!

The second-annual Ottawa Foodie Challenge: A day of bicycle-powered fun

Hilary Duff (blog/Twitter) is a quirky 21-year-old who loves multimedia journalism, cycling, food blogging, and churning massive amounts of baked goods out of her cramped student kitchen. She is also a contributing editor for Local Tourist Ottawa.

Take a typical day in the life of Hilary and multiply it by a trillion. Welcome to my Sunday.

My days are normally composed of food, biking and roommate love, and this past weekend all three were exaggerated exponentially. To my great pleasure, I might add.

Sunday was the date of the second-annual Ottawa Foodie Challenge.

Perplexed? For those that don’t know, OFC is an event held to help combat community hunger and raise money for the Ottawa Food Bank. The day operates like a scavenger hunt: participants are given a list of tasks at the beginning of the day that they need to complete and photograph over the next several hours. This year’s challenge saw 30 teams competing for the grand prize: a load of wine, gift certificates for local restaurants and food shops, and bragging rights for the next year.

As soon as I heard about the hunt, I knew it was right up my alley. I asked my roommate Brittany if she wanted to be my partner and, just like that, Team YUKON DO IT! was born. I was more that a little pleased to become a honourary Yukoner for the day.

Brittany and I with our Yukon ski team jackets (well, with her Yukon ski team jackets..)

Being students, Britt and I faced a tricky dilemma: we don’t have a car. This concerned us. We knew the hunt would send us across the city, and that time and speedy transportation would be of the essence. A combination of determination and a desire to be active (mixed with our no-other-option circumstances) led to our decision to do the OFC on our bikes.

And so, on Sunday morning, Britt and I rolled up to the Urban Element in Wellington West for the morning kick-off. After the grand prize was announced and several delicious Life of Pie freebie scones were consumed, we received THE LIST. Our route was promptly plotted, and we left in a flurry, leaving behind a screeching of tires and a blur of saddlebags.

Task 17: You at any bagel shop with a bagel on your fingers

For the next six hours, Britt and I made our way across the city, fueled only by our competitive will to win and a bag of a dozen day-old bagels that we had bought to complete an earlier challenge. I swear, doughy carbohydrates have never tasted so good.

As far as neighbourhood hopping went, we planned the day to minimize backtracking, a goal that I think we accomplished fairly well. Being on bikes, we managed to illegally enter parking lots, dodge/carefully peddle through construction, park on sidewalks and nearly run over a few people in the Market.

This year’s tasks were fun and creative, some more challenging than others. Here are the stories that accompany a few of our favourites…

1. Task #20: You and a Kraft single beside the most expensive piece of cheese you can find

Who knew that journalism student persistence would pay off in the form of processed cheese? For this challenge, Britt and I were left stranded outside of La Bottega in the Market, at a loss for where to find a piece of cheese to juxtapose the $74.99/kg chunk we eventually found. The answer was McDonalds. Surely the golden arches didn’t use real cheese on their Big Macs, I thought. After rushing to the cash at the downtown location and pestering a couple of employees, I eventually managed to convince one of them to wrap up a piece of their processed cheese for me. Disobeying social norms and asking strange requests while pouting really pays off. 

2. Task #23: You holding a live “Sebastien” from the Little Mermaid

Come on, you can’t honestly tell me that you wouldn’t love to hang out with a lobster. Maybe it’s because I’m a Pisces and one with the water, or something, but holding a wriggling sea creature was one of the highlights of my day. 

3. Task #36: You shaving chicken off any shawarma skewer

Britt and I biked past shawarma shops all day long, telling ourselves as we whizzed past each that we were reserving this task completion for Cedar Springs, the tiny grocery shop and shawarma deli in our neighbourhood, Old Ottawa South. It was the end of the day when Britt and I finally burst into the shop and begged the men behind the counter to let us wield sharp knives and pose with their chicken spits. After some persuasive talk and a promise to plug their groceria to everyone we know (plug, plug, plug) they let us take our picture. Bonus: they even lent us a chef’s coat and hat so we could check that task off our list. Britt still has the hat and can be seen wearing it around the house on occasion. 

4. Task #9: Crawl down Preston with a plate on your head! (Make sure we can see the Little Italy street sign!)

In which we convinced the fine folk at Pub Italia to lend us a plate as we biked one-handed down Preston Street holding said dish. Bikes tossed aside, we paid tribute to the next Dishcrawl Ottawa neighbourhood.

 5.  Task #32: You rolling a sushi roll anywhere but at home

This was actually the most difficult challenge to accomplish. We were close to giving up on this one after several sushi restaurant visits filled with rejection and sadness (they all claimed something ridiculous about health regulations…). Finally, one sushi joint on the corner of Murray Street and Dalhousie let me behind the counter. I think they could see the desperation in my eyes.

To see all our pictures from the other challenges, check out the Flickr set Britt and I submitted to be judged. Please ignore my helmet hair and general dishevelment.

That night at the closing ceremonies, people didn’t even recognize us. We promptly reminded them that we were the girls on bikes wearing spandex and Yukon ski team windbreakers. This helped.

When the lead organizer Carolynn got up to announce the winners, Britt and I held our breath. We had completed all the tasks except one, but were unsure how well our score would stand up to the 29 other teams.

And then we won.

It was a FANTASTIC moment, and we ecstatically jumped out of our seats to accept our prize, golden crowns and dog-toy-on-a-plate sandwich trophy, the latter of which now sits on our fireplace mantle.

The place of pride

It was the perfect end to an already great day. Thanks again to Carolynn, Larissa Beznaczuk-Smyrnew, Kyle Braatz and Matt Richling for doing such a great job planning things.

Now, would someone like to massage my calves? I’m feeling a little sore…

To check out the other albums from the Ottawa Foodie Challenge, visit their blog where they’ll eventually be posting the links to all the Flickr photo sets. Did any of you participate in the OFC? Tell us about your day! 

Getting Grounded: Kitchen & Coffeehouse offers solid food and warm welcome

Grounded Kitchen & Coffeehouse (100 Gloucester Street)

Yuko Inoue (blog) came to Ottawa from Japan one year ago to study at Carleton University. After a summer serving as photo editor of The Charlatan, Carleton’s student newspaper, she’s now starting her second year of journalism. In her spare time, Yuko likes art, live music and exploring the city’s food scene. 

“We pick good quality ingredients to make good quality food” says Gabriel Pollock, a co-owner and the head chef of the Grounded Kitchen.

The kitchen/coffeehouse opened in Centretown just over a year ago (in the summer of 2010), serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The decor is a combination of recycled and refurbished things — including a bar made out of old whiskey barrels.

The welcoming atmosphere of Grounded triumphs: The staff welcomes people with an actual “Good morning!”  and talk over from the kitchen to answer any questions one might have. They also bring your meals over to the table — including the breakfast sandwiches — which is a treat for such a relaxed space.

A breakfast sandwich and coffee costs $6.50

For breakfast, I enjoyed a big mug of bold coffee and a toasted twelve-grain sandwich with melted brie cheese, ham and fresh sliced tomatoes. It was a bit of a steal, ringing in at $6.50 in total (with the sandwich itself being $4.50). The ingredients went along well together, but were perhaps not exceptional. The bold coffee I had was not too sour and offered that the deep kind of feeling you can only get from strong coffees.

Next, let’s try lunch time!

The salad was called Green & Gold: Baby spinach with diced beets, toasted nuts, goat cheese and cider vinaigrette. The “modest” size set me back $6. The cheese melted in my mouth, but I might have liked it with a little less oil. Still, it was good.

Grounded offers breakfast, lunch and dinner

My friend had “Today’s Special.” (Yes, I know, I’m boring by comparison.) It was a cutlet with a rich meat & mushroom sauce on top. It came with seasonal vegetables, like asparagus. The cost? $10.

As hinted at before, what I loved the most about Grounded was the warm atmosphere. Entering, you feel like you’re almost friends with the staff there — people who were clearly passionate about providing the best food they could.

Grounded Kitchen is located at 100 Gloucester St. (near O’Connor) and is open an impressive 7 am to 9 pm on Monday to Friday.

Thanks for sharing, Yuko! Sounds like a bit of a hidden gem! Do you have a favourite space you’d like to share? Tell us about it!

Rediscovering Ottawa: At last, Mike Cullen becomes an urbanite

Photo credit: Christiane Michaud (via Flickr)

Mike Cullen is a young public servant who is also a regular contributor to (Cult)ure Magazine as a music editorialist. His passions include music, coffee, writing, travel and comic books.

I recently moved downtown for the first time in my life.

That’s right, I left behind the life of a suburban young professional for the glitz, glamour and excitement of downtown Ottawa. Okay, so it is not really glitzy, I am hardly glamourous, and the word ‘excitement’ is rarely used to describe Ottawa. That said, this has turned out to be one of the best decisions of my adult life (second only to my decision to make a two week holiday to London, England three years ago for the dual purposes of buying clothes and finally seeing Kylie Minogue in concert).

In the short time that I have lived in Centretown, I have come to realize just how much of a walking city Ottawa can be. I am now twenty minutes from work, about ten minutes from the grocery store, and I have about half a dozen friends all within a two kilometer radius of my new apartment. I am accessible to more restaurants than I could possibly ever visit, plus a bunch of great cafes, bars and clubs. I am a also only short walk away from the Museum of Nature.

Then there are the walks just around the neighbourhood: homes nestled between apartment buildings and office buildings, and for a more scenic, natural look, the Rideau Canal is only a hop, skip and a jump away.

I have quickly adjusted to the urban noise, probably more in part because my last two partners both lived downtown, but also because after you learn to block out the more obnoxious noises of downtown (horns, screaming drunken people), the hum of the downtown core actually ends up being rather soothing, and you find yourself listening to it when you want, and ignoring it when you do not need it.

I have come to realize that for a city I have resisted to love for nearly fifteen years, this city actually has a lot of charm. The real kicker; you do not have to go far, or search deep to find that charm.

Ottawa, I think our relationship may be improving, and I may just end up falling in love with you after all.

Welcome downtown Mike!

Centretown News on the Ottawa cupcake craze

As former Carleton J-School students ourselves, we’re always excited to follow along with the school’s current young journalists and their adventures. To be honest, we’re even more excited when they offer to write for us!

If you’ve been following along with food blogger Hilary Duff’s hunt for Ottawa’s perfect cupcake, you know exactly what we mean.

Recently, Hilary published a news story about Ottawa’s cupcake craze in Centretown News, the community newspaper produced by third and fourth-year students in Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication.

“Centretown just got a little sweeter,” Hilary writes. “Thimble Cakes, the neighbourhood’s newest bakery, opened its doors last month, embracing the cupcake craze that currently has Ottawa in its grip. The opening of Thimble Cakes means Centretown is now home to two cupcake specialty shops: Auntie Loo’s on Bronson Avenue opened in October 2009. In addition to the Centretown shops, other Ottawa neighbourhoods, including New Edinburgh and the Glebe, have recently become home to their own cupcake cafés.”

“With everyone eager to share their frosted fares with the public, many of the shops have developed their own product niches to help them stand out.”

Click here to read the whole story at Centretown News.

Would you like to write for Local Tourist Ottawa? Send us a note!

Q&A with Nadine Thornhill, award-winning playwright, actor and spoken word poet

Nadine Thornhill

Nadine Thornhill is an award-winning playwright, actor and spoken word poet.  She honed her theatre  skills amongst the freaks and geeks at the University of Waterloo.  Upon graduating, she moved to Canada’s capital where she has been living, loving and working ever since.   By day, she is the program coordinator for Planned Parenthood’s Insight Theatre. In her spare time, Nadine enjoys running, an occasional triathlon, and the antics of her husband and son.

Where did your passion for theatre begin?

When I was four or five, living in Toronto, a local designer asked my mom if I could model part of her upcoming collection for a fashion show.   I was a pathologically timid child, so I’m not sure why she thought I could handle the runway.  But my mom said yes and not long after, I was strutting my little stuff in front of a crowd.  And even though I could barely say two words to most people, as a model, my relationship to other people was different.  On the runway, I knew exactly what I was supposed to do.   And I knew exactly how the audience was going to respond.  The social interactions were all prescribed, which put me very much at ease.  I quickly developed a strong association between being on stage and feeling secure.

I sought out experience to perform and be on stage throughout my childhood, but it didn’t develop into a driving passion until I was twelve.  My parents took me to see Les Miserables. The first notes of music sounded through the theatre and within five minutes, I was head-over-heels with the conviction that I wanted to be on that stage.  Now that I’m an adult, my interests have expanded, but I can’t imagine that I’ll ever stop loving the theatre.

As a playwright and actor, how would you describe Ottawa’s performing arts scene?

I think Ottawa’s theatre scene is coming-of-age, so to speak.  The talent, intelligence, desire and resources required to be a strong presence in Ottawa’s art community all exist, but we’re still in the process of discovering and developing a unique, authentic identity.  In the eleven years I’ve lived in this city, I’ve seen incredible growth in Ottawa’s theatre scene.  It has grown, matured, and I have every confidence that it will continue to do so.

Meanwhile, I think Ottawa’s spoken word community has really come in to its own. This past October, Ottawa’s spoken word team won the national title for the second consecutive year, and  the world slam champion is an Ottawa poet.  Every spoken word event I attend is packed.  Every open mic seems to reveal a brilliant new artist.   Spoken word in this city was strong when I first got involved five years ago, but the work Ottawa poets are producing today is incomparable.

As an actor, how would you describe the Ottawa audiences you perform in front of?

I find Ottawa audience very generous.  Literally.  This past February I was the spoken word feature at Voices of Venus. It is a monthly event that takes place at Umi Cafe, and during my set, I mentioned how much I love Umi’s Nanaimo bars.  When I finished performing, three different people offered to buy me a bar.  It is possible I accepted all three…

But that experience is typical of the audience members I meet.  They’re very friendly.  And I think they appreciate that a lot of Ottawa performers are local people who live in their communities.  What better way to get to know your neighbour than over a rich, chocolately sweet, post-performance dessert?

Where do you find inspiration for your writing?

I’m self-centered, I’m opinionated and I’ve been through a LOT of therapy.  My poetry and plays are either thinly veiled autobiography; pontificating on various social issues; pseudo-psychoanalysis of an emotional problem I’m having; or some combination of the three.

Nadine Thornhill performing in “Oreo”

Why do you think it is important for Ottawa to have a vibrant arts community?

I think it’s important for Ottawa for exactly the same reasons I think it’s important for any place.  The arts are a mode of communcation and interpretation.   We rely on artistic products to make sense of our world every day.  Even something as routine as a daily commute on the bus, involves an encounter with artistry.  Every ad on a bus was conceived and executed by a creative team.   A graphic designer determined the look and layout of the tickets we use.  Even the maple-leaf motif that identifies the vehicle as being part of the OC Transpo fleet is art.  What we read, what see, the way we speak, even the way we move through our community, is influenced by art and creativity.

It’s a necessary part of life.

You answer sex and relationship questions for our friends at Apartment 613, can you tell us a bit about that?

I LOVE writing Dirty Laundry, my column for Apartment 613.  As I said, I’m opinionated.  I also love talking about sex.  Once a month I get to combine all my loves into one awesome writing assignment.  I’ve had some very interesting, intelligent questions.  I enjoy the challenge of an unexpected letter that really forces me to consider an issue I may not have thought about much before.

You also have your own blog, and you are a pretty active participant in Ottawa’s social networking community – what are your favourite local blogs to read?

Ottawa is bursting with must-read blogs.  Apartment 613 is all excellence all the time.  I also love Spacing Ottawa.  Hello Ottawa is a newer blog that features everyday Ottawans and what they love about this city.  The O-Dot is a hilarious, satirical Onion-esque blog, but with a local focus.  A couple of my friends have launched a new blog, Ottawa Sneezers, a place where people can spread the word about must-see arts events around the city.

I gather from Twitter that you’re an avid jogger – what is your favourite route to run in our city?

There are a lot of great places to run in this city.  The recreation paths along the canal and by the river are beautiful, especially in summer and fall.  But there’s something about running in the city that I absolutely love. I like to start out from my home in Westboro and run out the University of Ottawa – that route takes me through Wellington West, Hintonburg, Little Italy, Chinatown, Centretown, Sandy Hill…some of my favourite neighbourhoods.

You recently performed at Our Unspoken Words, a book launch and fundraiser for the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Ottawa, as well as the Ottawa Storytelling Festival. Can you tell us a bit about those events?

Our Unspoken Words was powerful, but challenging.  The evening began with women reading stories from the book, Our Unspoken Words.  Those performance were challenging – affecting, but brutal and heartbreaking.  I was part of quintet that also included Danielle K.L. Gregoire, Jessica Ruano, Michelle Blackburn and Faye Estrella.   We were all very emotional charged.  After hearing stories of women whose children had been killed, I had a great deal of difficulty performing a piece a wrote about my own son.  At the same time, I knew I had the support of my fellow poets, and the audience was one of the most attentive I’ve experienced.   In the end, I was honoured to have been part of it.

The Ottawa Storytelling Festival was a blast.   I didn’t really perform, but I had the privilege of introducing Ben Haggarty, a world-reknowned professional storyteller.  My favourite part of the evening was sitting backstage before the show.  Mr. Haggarty and a couple other storytellers were chatting – small talk between storytellers is conversation on a level that I have never experienced.  There were metaphors, characterization, and witty rejoinders flying around the room.  I was so riveted, I forgot to be discreet about the fact that I was eavesdropping.

What’s next for you?

I definitely want to do more spoken word in the new year.  I  would love to create a collection of my poems, either as a book or a CD.  I have a really exciting project in the works with Apartment 613.  We’re not quite ready to announce it yet, so I can’t say more, but I think it’s going to be a big hit!  I’m writing a new script which I plan to produce for next summer’s Fringe Festival.  And I’m going to try my hand…erm…feet at a half-marathon in the spring, so I’m learning to embrace the chilly joys of winter running.

What is one thing about Ottawa you think people don’t know that they should?

Did you know that it’s illegal to eat ice cream on Bank Street on a Sunday?  Apparently it’s an old obscure law, that’s never been taken off the books.

Do you want to share more about Ottawa’s theatre scene? Send us a note!