The Ottawa Art Gallery Blossoms

 Photo courtesy of Dwayne Brown. Accomplished writer and visual journalist Sara Angel presented a beautiful speech about the importance of art, kicking off the Ottawa Art Gallery’s Capital Campaign Art Now – L’art ici. The campaign looks to expand the Ottawa Art Gallery, with hopes to build a place that

Light-Rail gets $1 Billion Boost from Feds

 The existing O-Train passes over the Rideau River. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. In a letter to Mayor Jim Watson dated July 22, Orléans MP Royal Galipeau announced his party’s intention to give $1 billion to support Stage 2 of Ottawa’s light-rail plans. That money will make up one third

Nepean Fine Arts League Spring Show and Sale: Buying Local Art

 By Melody Duncan Forty years ago, I bought my first painting at a local art show. It was the first of many. Today, I am one of the 124 area artists who belong to that same association. The Nepean Fine Arts League is now 51 years old, still going strong

The Coalition of Ottawa Arts and Sciences

 It goes without saying, the National Capital Region is full of cultural life. Thriving institutions have been developed in the area to promote and preserve Canada’s arts and sciences including the National Arts Centre, the Museum of History and four universities. There are also numerous operations dealing with special interest

Eat, Drink and Be Sustainable

 Ecology Ottawa has done it again. For the eighth consecutive year, the local environmental organization completely sold out the annual Eco Gala on Oct. 9. Just over 565 attendees gathered at the St. Elias Banquet Centre to celebrate the bountiful autumn harvest and the city’s active environmental community. It featured

Vote for Your Favourite #OIFF72 Film by February 20

 The #OIFF72 films are in – let the voting begin! Filmmakers had a gripping 72 hours to complete the Ottawa International Film Festival (OIFF) 72 Hour Film Challenge over the weekend. Through endless creativity and a lot of winter insulation, 20 great films have been submitted for this year’s competition.

Canadian Red Cross Celebrates World Red Cross Day

 Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson helped celebrate World Red Cross Day by officially proclaiming May 8 as World Red Cross Day in Ottawa. Also in the photo is David Fraser, chair of the Ottawa Branch Council of the Canadian Red Cross. The Canadian Red Cross hosted its 2nd Annual Open House on May 8

Have you no shame — The shocking expenses of our unelected city managers

 By Claire Tremblay & Dan Donovan Shocking. That’s how Auditor General Sheila Fraser described the waste of $100 million of taxpayers’ money in her February 10 report to Parliament on the Liberal government’s sponsorship fiasco in Quebec. But for jaded Canadian taxpayers, the waste of their hard-earned money is nothing

Jim Watson’s mission: Reverse post-9/11 tourism slump

 Concerned about a "travel deficit" in Canada resulting from the combined impact of terrorist attacks and a stagnant economy in the United States, Jim Watson, president and CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission, spoke to these concerns in a recent interview with Ottawa Life reporter Hank Reardon. An abridged version