Performing Arts
National Arts
Center
53 Elgin St., at
Confederation Square
613/947-7000).
Canadian and
international musical, dance, and theater artists: including the resident
National Arts Center (NAC) Orchestra perform at this elaborate center. The
building, created by architect Fred Lebensold, is made of three interlocking
hexagons beside the Rideau Canal, its terraces giving excellent views of
Parliament Hill and the Ottawa River.
There are three
auditoriums:
the European-style
Opera, seating 2,300
the 950-seat
Theatre, with its innovative apron stage
and the 350-seat
Studio, employed for experimental works.
The National
Arts Center Orchestra
613/996-5051
Guided tours are available.
performs in seven
or eight main concert series per year. The center also offers classic and modern
drama in English and French.
For reservations,
call Ticketmaster at 613/ 755-1111 or visit the NAC box office Monday to
Saturday noon to 9pm and Sunday and holidays when performances are scheduled
noon to curtain time.
NAC Marketing and
Communications Department
Box 1534, Station
B, Ottawa, ON K1P 5W1
613/996-5051
www.nac-cna.ca
Offers a free
monthly Calendar of NAC Events.
Great Canadian
Theatre Company
910
Gladstone Ave.
613/236-5196
presents
contemporary drama and comedy with Canadian themes September to May.
Sports
Casino de Hull
1
boulevard du Casino
1-800-665-2274
Daily 11AM - 3AM
At the Casino de
Hull, a world-class gaming facility, visitors can try their luck at the gaming
tables and slot machines.
The Ottawa Senators (Hockey)
613/599-0300
20min from
downtown, bus #183.
one of the
youngest teams in the National Hockey League ( their predecessors won a string
of Stanley Cups earlier in this century) and currently play at the new
18,500-capacity Corel Center, 1000 Palladium Drive, Kanata (1-800-444-SENS)
Tickets :call
Ticketmaster 613/755-1166.
Baseball
The Ottawa Lynx
747-5969.
a farm team (minor
league) of the Montréal Expos, play at the Ottawa Stadium, Coventry Rd The
season runs from mid-April to late September.
Soccer
Ottawa Intrepid
play at Lansdowne Park
1015 Bank (bus #7
or #1) or the Terry Fox Stadium
Riverside Drive
(bus #96).
Tickets :call
Ticketmaster 613/755-1166.
Events
February
On weekends in
February, it's Winterlude 613/239-5000
www.capcan.ca
an extravaganza
with parades, ice-sculpture competitions, fireworks, speed skating, snowshoe
races, ice boating, curling, and more. One offbeat contest is the bed race on
the frozen canal, while the most exciting event may be the harness racing on
ice.
May
Ottawa's biggest
event is the Canadian Tulip Festival
888/465-1867
www.capcan.ca
for about 2 weeks
in mid-May, when the city is ablaze with 200 varieties of tulips enlivening
public buildings, monuments, embassies, homes, and driveways. (Among the best
viewing points is Dow's Lake.) The festival began in 1945, when the Netherlands
sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada in appreciation of the role Canadian troops
played in liberating Holland. Festival events include fireworks, concerts,
parades, and a flotilla on the canal.
R.C.M.P. Musical
Ride Sunset Ceremony
613/ 993-3751
www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca
with outdoor
evening performances of music and horsemanship, including jumping and dressage,
as well the ride itself.
National Capital
Air Show
in late May
613/526-1030
www.ncas.ottawa.com
June
National Capital
Dragon Boat Race Festival
in late June
613/238-7711
www.dragonboat.net
Children's
Festival
613/728-5863
www.childfest.ca
In early June, the
Canadian Museum of Nature holds this extravaganza of dance, mime, puppetry, and
music.
Festival Franco-Ontarien
613/741-1225
www.leroux.ca
In late June, a
5-day celebration of Francophone Canada, featuring classical and other musical
concerts, fashion shows, street performers, games and competitions, crafts, and
French cuisine.
July
Canada Day
800/ 465-1867
www.capcan.ca
On July 1,
Canadians flock to the city to celebrate a huge birthday party with many kinds
of entertainment, including fireworks.
Ottawa
International Jazz Festival
613/241-2633
www.jazz.ottawa.com
For 10 days in
mid-July, the city is filled with the mainstream and cutting-edge sounds of
local, national, and international artists giving more than 125 performances at
more than 20 venues.
Ottawa Chamber
Music Festival
613/234-8008
www.chamberfest.com
North America's
largest chamber music festival, with 74 concerts in the city's churches. It
lasts 2 weeks.
August
Central Canada
Exhibition
613/237-7222
www.the-ex.com
10-days in mid- to
late August.
Billings Estate Museum
2100 Cabot St
613/247-4830
Annual Heritage
trades fair. Blacksmiths, quilters, cooks and others will demonstrate their
crafts, and sell items.: Special historical tours will be offered; tea will be
served on the lawn. Local artists will display their work. Daily (except Mondays
and Saturdays): Tea will be served under a large striped marquee in the gardens.
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
September
Gatineau Hot Air
Balloon Festival
819/243-2330
On Labor Day
weekend, scores of brilliantly colored balloons fill the skies over Ottawa,
while on the ground, people flock to musical events and midway rides.
December
In the months of
December and January, Parliament Hill, Confederation Boulevard and the downtown
area are ablaze with a dazzling display of lights forming a symbolic link of
similar Christmas Lights displays in other provincial and territorial capitals,
as part of the National Capital Commission's "Christmas Lights Across Canada"
program.
Ottawa
