In 2018, there are lots of places, people, events in the capital
The party’s over. Time for Ottawa to roll up the sidewalks and turn out the lights? Not so fast. Recent stats confirm that 2017 was a record year for the city’s tourism industry. As unofficial headquarters for the nation’s sesquicentennial celebrations, throngs of people visited Ottawa to take part in the festivities. There were special events, exhibits and shows throughout the year.
But now what? Well, as we get back to our regularly scheduled programming, we’re noticing benefits to the birthday hangover, including a bunch of ongoing exhibits and renovated institutions.
While we’re still working toward recognition as a music city, let’s not forget that Ottawa is already a significant destination for arts and culture, with the added bonus of having plenty of green space. And speaking of green, the impending legalization of recreational cannabis is sure to be another factor in attracting international visitors.
No matter what kind of buzz you’re seeking, here are eight reasons to explore Ottawa in 2018.
WORLD-CLASS ARTS
If you haven’t had the chance to check out the newly renovated National Arts Centre, from the impressive Kipnes Lantern at the now-visible Elgin Street entrance to the comfier seats in Southam Hall, this is the year to do so. The season features NAC Orchestra performances as well as dozens of theatre, dance and variety shows, a spate of singer-songwriters and much more, including a couple of blockbuster Broadway Across Canada productions. Les Miserables is booked for Feb. 13-18, The Illusionists run is March 27-April 1 and we’re sure to see the touring version of Come From Away, the new hit musical based on the experience of airline passengers stranded in Gander, N.L., on Sept. 11, 2001, although dates have not yet been announced.
FESTIVAL CITY
Ottawa is full of annual outdoor events that celebrate different genres of music, as well as food, tulips, dragon-boating, gay pride and virtually every other aspect of culture. While we’re watching for lineup announcements for the major music festivals (Bluesfest, CityFolk, Ottawa International Jazz Festival, Chamber Music Fest, Music and Beyond) we can’t help but notice that others are celebrating landmark years: It’s the 40th anniversary of Winterlude (Feb. 2-19), the 25th Dragon Boat Festival (June 21-24) and the 15th Westfest (June 8-10). Westfest, by the way, has already nabbed Canadian rock heroes The Pursuit of Happiness as a headliner.
HISTORY, BUFFED
Ottawa’s museums went all out for the 150th party, and the efforts didn’t end when the calendar flipped over to 2018. Canada’s Science and Technology Museum is flaunting an extensive, $80-million renovation, while the Museum of Nature unveiled a new, permanent Arctic Gallery. The Bank of Canada Museum is back in business after a four-year reconstruction project, almost long enough to forget we even had a currency museum, and the Canadian Museum of History launched its ambitious, 40,000 square-foot Canadian History Hall, a new exhibit that covers 15,000 years of our shared past.
THE ART OF EXPANSION
The expanded Ottawa Art Gallery, a whopping five times bigger than the old one, is expected to open this spring at 50 Mackenzie King Bridge, part of Canada’s first mixed-use gallery, hotel and condo project. The inaugural exhibition is titled ‘Àdisòkàmagan / Nous connaître un peu nous-mêmes / We’ll all become stories’ and covers 6,500 years of artistic activity in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. Meanwhile, the National Gallery of Canada, although closed from Jan. 8-23 to replace the windows and roof, has some big plans for 2018, including a summer exhibition devoted to the work of Canada’s 19th-century master silversmith, Laurent Amiot.
REBUILDING PARLIAMENT
Want to visit the Senate, House of Commons, Library of Parliament or the Peace Tower? Better do it before September because Centre Block is closing this fall for a major renovation that is likely to take more than a decade. While it’s out of commission, the House of Commons will shift to West Block, and the Senate will conduct its business in the Government Conference Centre, the former train station across from the Chateau Laurier. You’ll be able to take tours of those historic sites, too, but it won’t have the same postcard view.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Culture is great, but our proximity to nature is an undeniable attraction. Whether it’s skating on the Rideau Canal or cross-country skiing in Gatineau Park (or in the city on the Sir John A. Macdonald trail), or during the summer, lounging on a beach, bicycling along a dedicated pathway or getting out on the water, outdoor activities are never more than a few minutes away. One long-uncharted landmark to check out this year is Chaudière Falls, which will be made accessible to the public by spring — in its natural state, thankfully, not as part of a sound-andlight show.
BUD AND BREAKFAST?
Get ready for a surge in tourism by recreational pot smokers searching for a new high. They’re the ones who have already explored Amsterdam’s coffee shops and stayed in a Bud + Breakfast hotel in Denver, perhaps while attending the city’s 420 Rally. Now the race is on in Canada for new agencies, services, products and events to be developed to cater to what’s expected to be a multibillion dollar market when cannabis becomes legal next summer. And don’t think everyone is going directly to the West Coast to score some famed B.C. bud; they’ll soon find out that growers in the rest of the country have mastered the art of indoor horticulture.
ENTERTAIN US
TD Place is still fresh from Lansdowne Park’s recent rejuvenation, Canadian Tire Centre hasn’t gone anywhere, and both are ramping up for a busy year of concerts and shows. Among the artists headed to the TD Place arena are metal legends Judas Priest (March 25), the Can-rock double bill of Our Lady Peace and Matthew Good (March 8) and Scottish-Canadian country star Johnny Reid (April 13). Over at CTC, they’re getting ready to host classic rockers Santana (March 18) and Rod Stewart (March 30), superstar Shania Twain (June 25) and Corteo, a sure-to-be-dazzling Cirque du Soleil show (June 27July 1).