Hilary goes to the Celebrity Chefs of Canada event!

Hilary Duff is a quirky 22-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.

This post was originally written for her blog, Hilary Makes.

What an amazing day of food, friends and fun.

Oh gosh, where to begin.

Well, as you know from previous blog posts, I was asked to be one of the official bloggers for the second-annual Celebrity Chefs of Canada event happening on March 25 at the National Arts Centre here in Ottawa.

I had a blast.

Since there are too many things that happened throughout the day for me to write any sort of cohesive blog post, I’m mostly going to post a few pictures with a short description underneath each of them. Hopefully that will help you get a snapshot of the day’s festivities.

But wait! First, I’d like to give a HUGE shout-out to Chef Michael Blackie who did a tremendous job of organizing the entire day. Everything ran so smoothly and I thought the tasting reception after the demos was laid out well and satisfying.

The first chef team up was Chef Marc Lepine of Atelier and Chef Quang Dang of West Restaurant in Vancouver. Since they were my team (rah rah!) I knew what to expect from their citrus marinated B.C. geoduck with Ocean emulsion dish. For those of you who have never seen a geoduck clam (which I’m guessing is pretty much everyone), it is a hilarious-looking piece of seafood that resembles a cross between a snuffaluffagus nose and a rather large male appendage. Here is a photo that someone posted on Twitter, just to illustrate.

The impressive thing about this dish was that regardless of how many ingredients went into it (lots), you could still remarkably taste the flavours independently. I also really liked the pomelo ash and piece of beet paper jello that it was served with.

Ah yes, the famous Chef Susur Lee! I think we were all in awe as this statuesque chef took the stage for his demo with Restaurant Ei8hteen’s Chef Matthew Carmichael. This was a really interesting chef pairing, I thought, since the two chefs used to work together. It was the reunion of the apprentice and the master.

Their dish was a “chorizo style” St. Canut suckling pig, Parmesan crusted fennel and lobster salad with saffron mayonnaise. Get this – my first time ever trying lobster, it was prepared by one of the Ten Chefs of the Millennium. Will future lobster experiences ever be able to top that?

Last but CERTAINLY not least was the braised elk ribs-cream polenta-tasty crispy bits dish that was created by Chef Jason Duffy of ARC Lounge and Chef Jason Bangerter of Luma in Toronto. This was definitely my favourite dish of the day.

When it was presented after the demo session, the elk rib was sitting atop a long wooden plank – it was a beautiful serving method and looked rustic and warm. When I actually got around to tasting their creation, I could have died and gone to heaven. The elk meat melted off the bone and the crispy bits (as Chef Duffy said while serving the plate) were an essential part of the overall dish. It was so, so good.

There were also some cool displays of magical kitchen mastery, and the scenes above made me feel like I was back in chemistry class. In the picture on the left, Chef Jason Parsons of Peller Estates Winery Restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake used what looked like a hookah to smoke the duck breast using peach essence. It smelled amazing.

In the picture on the right, Chef Marc Lepine (king of kitchen gizmos and gadgets, not to mention molecular gastronomy), used liquid nitrogen to insta-freeze the pomelo. The cameramen loved filming that – anything with smoke makes for good footage.

As bloggers, we also got kick ass, second-row seats for the afternoon demo session. That meant that I could take cool, close-up pictures like these without rushing up to the front every two seconds. That’s Chef Jason Bangerter on the left and Chef Jonathan Korecki from Side Door on the right. Recognize Chef Korecki? That’s because he (and his homemade silk-screen-printed bandanas) is a contestant on season two of Top Chef Canada!!! It’s kind of one of my favourite tv shows…

To end off, it was such a great opportunity to see all the chefs doing what they do best! They all came out at the end for the grand finale – here’s a few of them up at the front.

I am SO happy I got to chance to go to this event, meet some great people and (of course) eat some beyond-delicious food. Happy stomach. I already wait in anticipation of next year’s event.

Sip, Swirl, Savour, Selebrate: Win tickets to Savvy’s 4th annual wine-tasting party!

Photo Credit: dhammza / off via flickr

With the weather turning colder and the holiday season drawing ever closer, pints on a patio are being replaced by pino in front of a roaring fire.

With that in mind, Savvy Company is hosting its fourth annual Sip, Swirl, Savour and Selebrate event this Thursday, Nov. 10 at the National Arts Centre. What is this alliteration-friendly evening, you ask? Well, it’s an opportunity for Ottawa’s wine lovers to join Savvy’s savvy sommeliers and 20 of Ontario’s own winemakers and wine owners in a mix-and-mingle-style event.

Here’s a peek at just some of the great wineries that will be featured:

• Angels Gate Winery
• Cave Springs Cellars
• Chateau du Charmes
• Fielding Estates Winery
• Sandbanks Estate Winery

Perhaps best of all, it’s your chance to taste and purchase some bottles that you can’t get at the LCBO. Perfect for holiday parties, gifts and or your own enjoyment on a cold winter’s night!

If you’re interested in attending Sip, Swirl, Savour and Selebrate, tickets are $65 each. (Buy four and the price drops to $50 each.) BUT … you can also win a pair of tickets right here on LTOttawa! Here’s what you need to do:

1. Like LTOttawa on Facebook (or like our post of the day, if you already do.)
2. Like Savvy Company on Facebook.
3. You can also retweet us on Twitter to qualify.

Pretty straightforward. And we’ll let you know the winner on Tuesday evening. Happy drinking!

And if you want to help a fellow wine-lover out, why not share your favourite Ontario wine by leaving a comment below?

Sound and furiously good times: Pearl Pirie reviews the AB Series

Koichi Makigami (vocalist, and player of various instruments from Japan), Bolot Bairyshev (traditional Altaic throat singer from Russia) and Massa Sato (percussionist from Japan) make up Tokyo Taiga.

Pearl Pirie is a local arts enthusiast who arrived in Ottawa about 20 years ago for university. She blogs about the city’s literary events — in both word and image.  Her second full-length poetry collection is coming out this fall.

Tokyo Taiga was the guest of the AB Series at the National Arts Centre’s Fourth Stage, May 19, 2011. The AB Series, launched in November 2007, offers some unique international and local performances of international standards. There is music, experimental poetry and lectures.

This performance was unique in its excellence, and in that this Ottawa treat was one of very few North American engagements. The Ottawa gig was before their appearance at the 27th Festival International de Musique Actuelle in Victoriaville, Québec.

Japanese percussionist and guitarist Massa Sato

Each member has an incredible amount of skill. For example, Massa Sato is a Japanese percussionist and guitarist. He plays in his own bands Massa’s Jammer and Creole a massA as well as Hikashu. In addition to his work as a music producer and composer, Masaharu has participated in major international music projects, such as Drumsique in Singapore and JapanFest in Atlanta, U.S. What he was playing in the top photo was a sort of thunder can.

‎Koichi Makigami

The musicians moved together like jazz. There was some mix of electronic play and some of the instruments were western traditional and others traditional from other regions. Here ‎Koichi Makigami plays the cornet. He did sound poetry of vocalizing a range of sounds and played various instruments. Bairyshev is playing a topshuur, a traditional stringed instrument. By times he did throat singing. A clip of that is here. It is like our Inuit throat singing in that it uses part of the throat we don’t often use for speech. It’s quite a striking sound. A bunch of fellows after the show were trying to learn how to do it.

Koichi Makigami

Here Koichi Makigami is at the theramin, the only instrument that you play by not touching it, and stop playing by touching it. It was very cool to see this played in person after seeing documentaries on it and hearing it in recordings. (You might know its sound from the Beach Boys’ Wipeout.) Makigami is part of Hikashu, a renowned Japanese underground “avant-pop” band.

Each musician did a solo and combinations of pairs and all of them. It was wholly absorbing and with little runs of joy thru the music. A mix of transcendent and comedy and sustained mood. They played songs back to back without any banter to break up the sounds. 

The next show for The AB Series is international sound poet Jaap Blonk and Playback on May 25.

Playback: (L-R) Michele Provost, Carmel Purkis, Glenn Nuotio, Christine McNair, Sean Moreland, Grant Wilkins, Stephen Ross Smith and Sandra Ridley.

Playback at their March 2011 engagement. Michele Provost is the visual artist from Gatineau whose work is being responded to with sound. Stephen Ross Smith was a guest poet in town at the last engagement. The rest of the performers are all local poets, musicians and can be found at the literary hotspots.

The March show was a very satisfied and happy crowd to see the absorbing skill of sound timing. It was hard to photograph since for some of the pieces had people moving around the room. It gave a you-had-to-be-there depths of sound and surprise. I look forward to seeing them perform again.

Blonk

Blonk, a musician for 40 years, has performed all over Europe, as well as in the US, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa and Latin America. He was in town a few years ago and gave an excellent show of precise and impressive sound gymnastics to a sold out crowd. Catch him in Ottawa on the 25th, or else zip to Toronto as his other engagement in Canada is at the Toronto New School of Writing on the 26th.

Blonk and Playback will the at the NAC’s Fourth Stage on May 25th at 7:30 p.m. You can find more details here!

Q&A with local theatre buff and ‘Big Fool’ Scott Florence

Scott Florence (Photo Credit: Company of Fools)

Scott Florence is a “Big Fool” — that is the artistic director of the local theatre group Company of Fools, which is Ottawa’s only independent professional Shakespeare company.  Established in 1990, the Fools have become a mainstay on Ottawa’s arts scene with their annual productions at the NAC and around the city’s many parks each year by providing “innovative, entertaining and accessible shows.”

The bread and butter of your company seems to be fun takes on Shakespeare’s plays or Shakespeare-inspired original works. Why did you decide to bring whimsical, not-so-serious elements together with this now-immortal playwright?

We began working as a street theatre company, and our style evolved from the challenges of keeping people’s attention on the street. We needed to be fast, furious, a little loopy, a little improvisational, colourful and over the top to grab people’s attention and keep them from walking away.

While Shakespeare was no slouch when it came to writing, you guys are 20 years deep with the company, which means you’ve probably had to recycle some of his material. How do you keep things fresh?

Baking soda. Liberal sprinklings of baking soda. And Lime. You need a lot of lime to keep Shakespeare’s rotting body from stinking out the place.

What’s the biggest challenge to being Shakespeare-inspired? How about the best thing about it?

The biggest challenge is juggling Shakespeare’s language with the world of today, sidestepping the references and allusions that no longer have any cultural resonance, and ensuring that the vibrancy of the original work doesn’t get dimmed by the differences between his world and time, and ours.

The greatest reward is when people thank us for “translating the work into REAL English” — because of course, we haven’t altered Shakespeare’s text, we’ve just performed it in a way that transcends the barrier of words.

An Ottawa Citizen article I read about the company a little over a year ago described you as actors that “thrive on … insurgency.” Is that a fair description?

We burned down the Citizen office after they wrote that, and then continued our riot at Ikea. We were stealing all the allen keys thus rendering it impossible for anyone to put the furniture together, when the fiesty staff got us in a cross fire of those Swedish meatballs and we had to retreat and lick our wounds. Literally. We licked off the meatsauce. Best meal ever.

Each summer, the Fools perform the annual Shakespeare-in-the-park series, which has become quite popular. What’s been the most memorable audience from those events?

We’ve had over 300 different audiences of the Torchlight Shakespeare Series, and I think the most memorable audience was the 17th. Some of the more memorable moments from shows are always when the unexpected happens — like the time the squirrel fell out of the tree on top of an audience member and then ran like stink through the rest of the audience to get back to the tree. That was a show stopper.

 

Photo Credit: Company of Fools

You guys are strictly a professional group, meaning you all have theatre background. How do you bring new fools on board? How can the broader Ottawa community get involved if they harbour a Shakespeare passion?

We hold auditions every year for the Torchlight Shakespeare series, and all are welcome to audition. We also hold workshops in different styles — Shakespeare, Clown, Mask, Bouffon — that are open to all who want to fork over the money. People who want to make sure they know about these opportunities should either join the artist newsletter list on our webpage, or join our Facebook group.

How would you describe Ottawa’s arts scene overall? Any favourite people, groups, places or events our readers should keep the eyes peeled for?

The theatre scene in Ottawa is continuing to blossom. There’s so many exciting new companies on the scene, the number of available venues has increased, it’s a great time to be an actor in Ottawa. As for favourites, Margo MacDonald (co-founder of the Fools) has her piece “Shadows” at the GCTC Undercurrents Festival and if you haven’t seen it yet, you must! Also, MiCasa Theatre are rocking my world these days.

What would you say has been the best show you’ve put on to date? Has it also been your most popular?

I think the show we are most proud of recently is A Midwinter’s Dream Tale, which we performed at the Gladstone Theatre in 2009, and that we hope to remount and tour in the future. It was a lot of fun to perform and people really liked it.

 

Photo Credit: Company of Fools

You guys also offer elementary and high-school workshops. How do kids react to Shakespeare? (Flashbacks of awkward readings in English class come to mind …)

Shakespeare isn’t often a students favourite thing — the language is awkward, and the work is meant to be performed, not read, so it can be a real slog to read it. Plus the Shakespeare’s you tend to read in school are often chosen so that you can also talk about things besides the story — Merchant of Venice and Othello, so that you can deal with issues of race and religion. So not only do you have something that is hard to read, it’s also being used to have discussions that are hard to have.

Our approach is very fun, physical and kicks Shakespeare off his pedestal and down into the muck. We generally get a pretty good reaction to both our shows and workshops in schools.

My understanding is that the fools also hold down what I’m sure is less-fun day jobs. How much time goes into each season? Where and when do you practice?

All of the core members of the Fools are full-time artists, but we aren’t full-time Fools. We all do work with other companies, or work in other disciplines, or teach. We are almost all artist-managers as well, so when we aren’t working artistically either with the Fools or with another group, we’re doing the paperwork. Long hours, but the joy of performing is the reward.

As for where and when we practice, that always depends on the project we are working for. New creations we work on for longer, often in short bursts over a long period of time. We don’t have a fixed rehearsal hall or a fixed rehearsal model – we figure out what will work best for each show, and move forward in that way.

What’s coming up in 2011 for the Company of Fools?

We will be delivering sonnets on Valentine’s Day, hosting the Ottawa Theatre Challenge on March 26 at the NAC’s Fourth Stage, touring schools with Shakespeare’s Interactive Circus in April, animating at the Ottawa Children’s Festival in May. Our Torchlight Shakespeare production this summer is Antony and Cleopatra, directed by David Whitely. We are currently trying to put together tours of some of our other work for the fall of 2011 – and as soon as we have anything concrete to say, we’ll be telling the world!

The Year of Magical Thinking – Seana Mckenna performs at the NAC

Jessey is a writer, digital communications strategist, and the founder of Local Tourist Ottawa.

“I love you more than one more day.”

When I first heard that Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking had been adapted into a play and was showing at the National Art Centre’s English Theatre, I was thrilled.

A few years ago I picked up Didion’s book, and I literally didn’t put it down until I finished. I know a lot of people say this when they are describing a book that they love…but I actually couldn’t put it down. I ate a box of crackers for lunch that day, because it was the only ‘meal’ I could think of that required no preparation.

The story is this:  just a few days after her daughter Quintana was admitted to hospital with a life-threatening illness, Didion’s husband suddenly died from a heart attack. I’m not a book reviewer, but I will say that this memoir is overwhelmingly sad – it is the author’s true story of grief and loss, told with meticulous detail and unabated analysis.

In short: it is the kind of book that makes you look very closely at your life.

But as it turns out, I was actually hesitant to see this play because the story stirred such a strong reaction in me. I didn’t want a live performance to ruin the impression that the book had left, but I also wasn’t sure if seeing something so sad portrayed on stage would at all be enjoyable.

I’m also not a theatre critic, but I will say that if you haven’t yet seen Seana McKenna’s very honest, very skilled performance of Didion’s story, you really should get tickets. Beyond the sheer commitment it must have taken for her to memorize 90-minutes (without break) of such difficult script, her performance was absolutely perfect.

Here’s a short excerpt from a Toronto review:

“She gives a tightly controlled portrait of Didion the intellectual, who hides behind a shield of carefully crafted words to keep her emotions at bay…But the narrator is distancing herself as well as the audience, and McKenna’s restrained performance only makes the eventual appearance of cracks in her veneer more wrenching.”

Of the purpose of the play, Didion once said: “What we wanted to do with this is somehow make a strong, strong moment in somebody’s evening…I will be really happy if that happens once.”

Well, mission accomplished.

Have a look:

Interested in seeing the show? There are only two performances left. Get your tickets, fast.

NYE in the 613; Ways to ring in 2011

New Year’s Eve and all its glitz, glam and hype is upon us.

(If you thought jostling the pre-Christmas crowds was tough, the combination of fighting boxing-week shoppers while seeking party favours and the perfect pair of pumps should be terrifying!)

But no matter what 2010 has brought to you and yours, NYE is a chance to celebrate the past and toast the future. Take a chance to do something special as the clock strikes midnight this Friday.

Here are some of LTOttawa‘s favourite ideas:

The traditional night out

Any of Ottawa’s many bars and pubs are sure to able to help you ring in 2011 along with hundreds of your closest friends. From a Mardi-Gras theme at Fat Tuesday’s to a Masquerade at Mercury Lounge in the Market, to pints with friends in the cozy booths of the Manx or Lieutenant’s Pump on Elgin, the city will be teeming with fun.

Meanwhile, our friends at STARFISH events have planned a Carnival-themed party at the Crowne Plaza — complete with “express” makeovers from 6-9 pm to be followed by two DJs, food, prizes and “surprises.”

Live Theatre

If you’d rather watch the (oh-so-ditzy) drama from a distance, the National Arts Centre is hosting a NYE showing of Legally Blonde, The Musical. You can add pre-performance gourmet dinner and/or a post-party to make for a complete night out. Ring in 2011 with the bubbly lawyer-in-training Elle as she takes school by storm — in pink — under the bright NAC lights while sitting in plush seats.

Meanwhile, over in Gatineau, the Casino du Lac Leamy is offering the Esquire Show Bar, advertised as “recreating the unique atmosphere of Montreal’s legendary R’nB mecca of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.”

A Comedy Club

Both of Ottawa’s comedy venues — YukYuk’s and Absolute Comedy are offering evening performances to allow you to laugh in 2011. Absolute has a 7:45 p.m. showing with buffet dinner and a 10:15 p.m. showing with midnight champagne toast. Comics are Nile Seguin and Joey Elias. Meanwhile, New Yuk’s Eve over on Elgin has a 9:00 p.m. showing followed by pizza buffet, party favours and six comedians, including headliner Simon Cotter, along with Jen Grant, John Hastings and others.

Special dinner OUT

Lots of restaurants will be offering special menus for you to sit, sip and savour your best memories from 2010. Some of my reliably amazing faves are Play Food & Wine, Murray Street, Town and Fraser Cafe. (Reservations STRONGLY required; I may be a little late on the suggestions!)

Special dinner IN

You don’t need to slave all day in the kitchen to still have a memorable meal at home with some good friends, food and conversation. Potlucks are always an interesting and easy option, as is a finger-food-only meal. Other options are picking up gourmet catering from such places as Red Apron, Epicuria or Thyme and Again.

Two years back, our friends (and guest bloggers!) Josh and Margaux hosted a dinner where everyone was asked to bring a fruit. Dessert was a “grassroots” fruit salad to which everyone had contributed! A fun way to do something a little different. I’ve also had friends organize a four-course meal by designating each course — salad, soup, main and dessert — along with a wine pairing, to a group of two for an easy way to break down an elaborate meal.

And then there’s the house parties, romantic B&Bs with a special someone and family-themed fun, like sparklers on the lawn of Parliament Hill.

As long as you surround yourself with good people and good memories, 2011 will be here — and you’ll be missing 2010 — before you know it!

Theatre-lover Peter James on The Gladstone

 

Patrons leave The Gladstone after It's a Wonderful Life, Saturday Dec. 18. (Photo credit: Carolynne Burkholder)

Peter James is Twitter-obsessed sports fanatic, theatre-lover and journalist living in Ottawa.

Ottawa is a great city to be a live theatre enthusiast.

From the first-rate professional productions at the National Arts Centre and the Great Canadian Theatre Company, to the outstanding community troupe at Ottawa Little Theatre to the formidable student group at Carleton’s Sock ‘n’ Buskin Theatre Company, there is no shortage of places to watch a play and plenty of opportunity for thespians to perform.

One theatre that’s sadly been overlooked in recent years is The Gladstone. Converted from a truck repair garage into GCTC’s first home in 1982, the theatre has been operated in its current incarnation the past three years by Steve Martin. It’s a become a place for local professional actors to show off their talents.

Crowds have not met owner Martin’s expectations and he put the building on Gladstone Avenue near Preston Street on the market this fall. This year’s mini-season is still going ahead and their production of It’s a Wonderful Life wrapped up Saturday. Oscar Wilde’s classic The Importance of Being Earnest is set for February.

An admirer of live theatre ever since my mother bought season’s tickets to the Manitoba Theatre for Young People when I was a child growing up in Winnipeg, I’ve seen shows at most of Ottawa’s venues over the years. But like too many other theatre-lovers I’d ignored The Gladstone until this weekend when I attended It’s a Wonderful Life.

Walking up to the theatre, the Gladstone’s classic marquee brings patrons back to a time when live theatre was the thing to do for a night on the town. Once inside the small, yet charming lobby, it’s easy to see the work Martin had done to restore the building. It’s a comfortable space to rub elbows with other theatre goers, enjoy a pre-show drink at the bar or simply take advantage of the free volunteer-run coat check.

The theatre itself gives patrons an intimate atmosphere — even sitting in the back row feels like you’re right on top of the stage.

The production of It’s a Wonderful Life itself was superb. It was conceived as a show with a show. The audience was transported to the studios of a radio station and watched the cast perform the radio play. Aside from reading the script, director Teri Loretto-Valentik made sure there was enough action going behind the scenes — playful personality conflicts between the actors, microphones weren’t the proper height and funny signals to the production team — to keep the eyes entertained while the ears heard the heart-warming Christmas story.

Tony Palermo’s stage adaptation of Frank Capra’s iconic 1946 movie worked wonderfully with the simple set used for the show. Keeping true to the 1940s era, the sound effects were done manually and watching sound artist Karen Benoit do her work was entertaining unto itself.

The 236 seats were packed for Saturday’s matinee and the crowd got involved in the show “ooohing” and “ahhhing” on cue and joining the cast in singing Auld Lang Syne at the end of the show.

Located in the heart of Little Italy, The Gladstone is situated perfectly to give patrons a chance to enjoy a fine dinner and a show in one stop. (My favourite restaurant in the neighbourhood is Da Sergio on Preston).

There is no parking lot associated with the theatre and parking on Preston is often at a premium, so remember leave early enough so you’ll have time to find a spot.

Martin told the Ottawa Citizen when he put the building up for sale this fall that Ottawa “probably is a hockey city more than a theatre city.”

With The Importance of Being Earnest coming up soon, theatre fans have a chance to prove him wrong.

Thanks for the post Peter!

Holiday season kick-off, Thursday edition

Now that the month of December is upon us, instead of burrowing in your warm homes, you should get out and enjoy the season! And what better way than to kick off this weekend a day early …

Welcome to December, Ottawa!

Here’s a few events to get you started!

Christmas lights on Parliament Hill

Although Ottawa plays hosts to a different light show each summer, the Christmas edition is a little more traditional, complete with trees, lots of red and green, and the chiming bells.

What’s more, tonight features hot chocolate, BeaverTails and caroling as part of the launch!

This event runs from Dec. 2 until Jan. 7, 2011.

Perspectives Art Show at City Hall

This unique gallery exhibit showcases “reinterpreted” works by seven artists using the City of Ottawa’s Fine Art Collection to make them more accessible to those with disabilities.

Artists include:

• Shahla Bahrami
• Lynda Cronin
• Maggie Wesley
• Analisa Kiskis
• Jolanta Lapiak
• Jessica MacCormak
• Pamela Witcher
• Angelo Demarsico

Two fibre artists — Emily Comeau, of Montreal, and Emily Cook, an Ottawa papermaker with a visual impairment — will also present a new work as part of the exhibition.

The goal of the show is to create a non-traditional gallery experience that is inclusive, engaging and tactile, allowing people to experience visual art in an alternative manner.

Descriptive tours are available in French, English, LSQ and ASL throughout the exhibition, which runs from Dec. 3 until Jan. 16 at City Hall’s Art Gallery.

BUT! Tonight is a pre-exhibition launch party that takes place between 5:30 and 7:30 pm. Check it out!

Beloved Christmas Ballet, The Nutcracker, at the NAC

To me, the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a trip to see the Christmas program that the NAC has to offer. Last year, both Jessey and I attended a Stuart McLean Christmas — which this year is coming up on Dec. 18 and 19.

But this week marks the launch of The Nutcracker, as performed by the Alberta Ballet.

A classic story that takes place on Christmas Eve, the typically two-act play tells the story of Clara, who becomes enamoured with a toy nutcracker, only to have it broken by her brother. As the clock strikes midnight, Clara is drawn into a dream-like battle between a group of gingerbread soldiers and mice. The Nutcracker, who leads the gingerbread soldiers, later turns into a handsome prince who takes Clara back to a Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar-Plum Fairy.

If you haven’t seen it, you REALLY should. The NAC’s Nutcracker runs from Dec. 1 to 5.

Battle of the Ottawa brunch spots: Part IV – Murray Street, Le Café

Sarah V. is a friend of LTOttawa and overall, a very cool person. She has lived all over the world and (lucky us) she has been settled in the nation’s capital for a little over a year now.

Your November 17th blog about brunch left me wishing it was Sunday morning!

However, you forgot to mention Murray Street, which does an amazing $13 weekend brunch between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The French toast I recently had was thick, made with sliced marble bread soaked in egg and fried, topped with a free-run poached egg, home-made sausage, smothered in cheese and drizzled with garlic maple syrup….too good not to mention! On another occasion I devoured the breakfast cassoulet, which was complete with duck confit.

Another classic, and a decidedly upscale example, is the National Arts Centre brunch at Le Café.  At almost $30 per head it is a bit heavy on the wallet, but it is a buffet, laid out by posh chefs after all!  The food is delicious and the desserts to die for!  It rivals the brunch at the Chateau Laurier… but beats it because the NAC restaurant is literally right on the Rideau Canal, which is lovely.  They serve all manner of delicious breakfast food, but also lunch items such as tuna tartar with lime, and fresh spinach salad with pancetta.

Care to share your favourite Ottawa brunch spot? Send us a note and tell us about it!

Ottawa’s Youth Services Bureau celebrates 50th anniversary

Ottawa’s  Youth Services Bureau celebrates its 50th anniversary today, and the Ottawa Citizen’s Kelly Patterson published a great front-page story to mark the important milestone.

The story starts:

At 16, Jimmy Prevost had been living on the streets for two years. At 17, he was already a heavy drinker, and had twice done jail time for attempted theft. It looked like the writing was on the wall.

Now he’s a music and theatre promoter, his walls lined with awards from his career in advertising; two weeks ago, he strode proudly onto the stage of the National Arts Centre to introduce the show he was managing by music icon Liona Boyd.

Jimmy puts it down to the day 50 years ago when he walked into Ottawa’s new Youth Services Bureau as its first client and met a man named Maurice Egan, the agency’s first executive director.

“I loved the guy as soon as I met him,” recalls Jimmy, now 68. More importantly, Maurice had faith that Jimmy would turn out all right — and took Jimmy into his own home for more than a year, so he could try to get his life back on track.

Read more…