Grey Cup Festival, illumination of Chaudière Falls and more keep the Ottawa 2017 celebrations going
It has been a summer of wonders in the National Capital Region, with massive concerts, seemingly endless entertainment and even a giant dragon and spider roaming Ottawa’s streets. But although summer is coming to an end, the fun is far from over.
Some of this summer’s big events, such as Kontinuum, will continue into September, while a number of major events such as the NHL Heritage Classic, the Grey Cup, the Canadian Videogame Happening, the World’s Largest Scavenger Hunt and more, are yet to come.
According to Guy Laflamme, Ottawa 2017 executive director, the action will continue throughout the remainder of 2017.
“Every week there will be something going on,” said Laflamme.
On Sept. 9, seafood fans will enjoy a unique feast at Oyster Garden, an IGNITE 150 event. Held on the roof of the Canadian War Museum, the event will feature succulent oysters from five Canadian provinces, music by DJ Etienne Ozborne and a beautiful video mapping showcase.
Then, on Sept. 10 thousands of people will head downtown in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record at the World’s Largest Scavenger Hunt. Around 3,500 people are expected to join in the fun, rushing around town to hunt for clues and search for objects in teams of four. Activities will be located from the ByWard Market and Parliament Hill to as far as the Glebe and Hintonburg. Tickets for the event will double as bus passes for the day, as participants are forbidden from driving from clue to clue.
Those who haven’t yet experienced this summer’s hit Kontinuum show have until Sept. 14 to see it. The free, one-of-a-kind underground multimedia event uses high-tech holograms to lead visitors through an imaginative journey through time and space within the future Light Rail Transit station at the corner of Kent and Sparks.
“People love visiting the future station before its completion, and the fact that it is enhanced with those really cool lighting effects makes it a pretty unique experience. Nowhere else in the world has had this kind of multimedia experience,” said Laflamme.
While visitors are encouraged to reserve their free tickets to Kontinuum ahead of time, Laflamme said the wait time for walk-in visitors is usually no more than 10 to 15 minutes. Over 200,000 visitors have gone through the immersive, Moment Factory-produced sound and light show so far.
Fans of Kontinuum will have another Moment Factory creation to look forward to as well. From October to early November, the nighttime experience of Chaudière Falls will be enhanced with ambient lighting and a rich soundscape evoking the Algonquin heritage of the region as well as the cultures of other local Indigenous peoples.
The 10- to 15-minute light and sound sequence was developed in collaboration with local First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, and will play on a loop every evening for the duration of the display.
Visitors will take in the free experience from a new public piazza near the falls, which was developed in partnership with Hydro Ottawa. Laflamme said the piazza realizes the dream of the late Jean Pigott, a former MP and president and chair of the National Capital Commission, who had lobbied for years to create a public viewing area where people could come close to the falls.
“After decades of suggestions and dreams, people will finally have access to the edge of Chaudière Falls,” said Laflamme.
The second week of November features a special treat for video game fans when Ottawa hosts a national championship for gamers. Six semifinal and final video game matches will be projected in monumental proportions on buildings across the city. The Canadian Videogame Happening will celebrate Ottawa as a city of technology and a centre for video game creation.
The end of the year features a couple of big draws for sports fans. In late November, Ottawa will welcome the 105th Grey Cup Festival, which will include over 30 free and ticketed events. Then in December, the NHL Heritage Classic comes to Ottawa for the first time, marking the 100th anniversary of the very first NHL game, which was held in Ottawa in 1917.
Finally, Ottawa Welcomes the World events will continue until the end of the year. The series, held in partnership with foreign embassies, celebrates diversity by showcasing music, dance, food and cultures from around the world. The events have drawn 200,000 participants so far.
Full details on all Ottawa 2017 events are online at ottawa2017.ca.