2 In 2017, Canada proudly celebrates 150 years as a nation, and its capital city of Ottawa will lead the way as it transforms itself and hosts not one, but multiple signature events and countless smaller community celebrations, all year long. Ottawa 2017 is going to be a big, bold, immersive and moving experience not to be missed. 3 Written by Charline Cormier-Pellerin ttawa 2017 will feature twelve months of spectacular programming, including fifteen new block- buster events and countless special Canada 150 activities in addition to recurring festivals, events, Oart series, and culture and heritage initiatives. The Ottawa 2017 Bureau, the not-for-profit organiza- tion in charge of planning and promoting these events, wanted to find the right balance between rural and urban programming to offer both large scale blockbuster events and community grassroots activities. The goal of Ottawa 2017 is to position Ottawa as the hub of all celebrations for Canada’s 150th Anniversary of Confederation. “It’s an opportunity to re-position or refresh the image people have of Ottawa,” says Guy Laflamme, executive director of the Ottawa 2017 Bureau. “Overall, we want to inspire young generations. More than celebrating our past and educating people about our history, our focus is for Ottawa 2017 to spark the imagination and ignite our future.” The Ottawa 2017 Bureau has developed a program where it will at times act as producer, co-producer, facilitator or promoter, with everything entirely comple- menting what the Canadian federal government has planned. In July 2016, marking the countdown of 150 days until Canada 150, an amateur parachutist with hundreds of helium-inflated balloons was sent up into the sky. “They were 150 feet above ground,” says Laflamme. “It reflected the youthful, unique, and innovative nature of our stunts. This is not traditional stuff.” The artistic vision of the Ottawa 2017 program is its DNA. “Our program will offer larger than life expe- riences. It will be big, bold, dramatic, spectacular, pro- vocative, and artistic,” he says. “We want to build on the ephemeral nature of our events by offering unique, brief experi- ences to amplify the magic. You will be able to tell your grandchild: ‘Yes, I was a part of it. I experienced it first-hand.’ So, you can’t afford not to be present.” Ottawa 2017 will transform public places with its innovative program offerings in non- traditional venues. It will also connect, by creating meeting places all throughout Ottawa. “We want to immerse people, stimulating all senses with our experiences,” explains Laflamme. “And we want to move people with a program rich in content, that represents our values, and who we are as a people.” “Ottawa 2017 will transform public places with its innovative program offerings in non-traditional venues.” 4 BE HERE FOR CANADA’S BIG YEAR Throughout 2017, Ottawa will be the focal point of the celebrations making 150th of Canada’s Confederation. Ottawa 2017 will deliver 12 months of bold events, immersive experiences and all-out celebrations that will spark our imagination and ignite our future. Ignite 150 Ottawa Welcomes the World January – December January – December A series of EPIC stunts, gatherings Embassies will mark their country’s national celebration at and happenings that will be pre- the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne Park with food, music sented in surprising locations. $ and more. Free Agri 150 Red Bull Crashed Ice January – December March 3 – 4 Awaken your senses and indulge Red Bull Crashed Ice will make its Ottawa debut when the in the beauty of rural Ottawa Ice Cross Downhill World with a series of unique outdoor Championship crashes events. $ and glides its way into the capital in March 2017 on the Stanley Cup 125th Tribute iconic locks of the Rideau March 15 – 18 Canal, overlooking Parlia- A four-day celebration of a Canadian emblem and the most ment Hill and the famous revered trophy in all of sports: the Stanley Cup. $ Chateau Laurier. Free JUNO Awards & JUNO Week Underground Multimedia Experience March 27 – April 2 End of June – Mid-September An unprecedented week of musical festivities culminating in Experience the ultimate underground extravaganza with this the 46th Annual JUNO Awards at the Canadian Tire Centre. $ world first immersive multimedia production, projected in one of our city’s future Light Rail Transit (LRT) stations. Free Inspiration Village Image courtesy of Bell May 20 – September 4 Sky Lounge Similar to Bell’s pavilion concept July 15 – 22 seen in this photo, Inspiration A week of exclusive and Village will be a beautiful display fantastical culinary experi- of transformed sea containers on ences that will lift guests York Street in downtown Ottawa, over 45 metres in the air paying tribute to Canadian provinces and territories. Free to experience Ottawa’s fine dining like never before. $ Interprovincial Picnic on the Bridge La Machine July 2 July 26 – 30 A Canadian first! A giant picnic on the grass on the Alexandra For the first time in North America, La Machine will bring its mon- Bridge overlooking Parliament Hill. $ umental motion theatre to the streets of downtown Ottawa. YOWttawa Prepare to be mesmerized by these fascinating creatures. Free Summer A massive music celebration, featuring Canadian, First Nations and international artists. $ Canadian Videogame Awards Mid-November Ottawa will host the national cham- Grey Cup pionship for gamers and project November the semi-finals and final matches The 105th CFL Grey Cup and Grey Cup Festival – Canada’s onto buildings across the city! $ largest annual sporting event! $ 5 To kick off Canada 150, Ottawa 2017 marked the fiftieth anniver- Ignite 150 will feature a series of seventeen stunts spread out sary of the Centennial Flame located on Parliament Hill, which over the year. Examples of the type of stunts to expect: 4D was first lit on December 31st, 1966 on the eve of Canada’s cen- movies shown on rooftops; yoga sessions on a barge, on the tennial year. There was a cauldron installed at Ottawa City Hall, Ottawa River; an enlightenment ship that will create a magical about 800 meters from Parliament Hill. It featured a spectacular canopy of lights in the park; and the sky lounge, a spectacular flame and a one-kilometre human chain in which each person dining experience, 150 feet above ground that will be offered held a torch, leading to Parliament Hill, where a massive New in the vicinity of Ottawa City Hall with a view of Parliament Hill Year’s Eve show then featured musical pyrotechnics and an and the Rideau Canal. outdoor performance by top Canadian talent. The following are but some of the Ottawa 2017 planned events “Our focus is for Ottawa 2017 and activities: to spark the imagination and ignite our future.” Ottawa Welcomes the World will celebrate Canadian diversity. “It’s a showcase that will take place at the Aberdeen Pavilion, located in Lansdowne Park and will feature all embassies in Agri 150 is a program that will feature twenty to twenty-five Ottawa,” says Laflamme. “Originally, we hoped for twenty-five experiences in rural Ottawa which will include performing arts embassies, but we now have sixty-six countries involved and events and the opportunity for people to taste and discover forty-five different events spread out over the year. Each country local produce grown in rural Ottawa. will showcase its culture through music, dance, cinema, foods, and traditional beverages.” In March, Ottawa will host the grand finale of the 2016 to 2017 Red Bull® Crashed Ice, and the Stanley Cup turns 125 years old. As founding nations of Canada, Great Britain and France “We will revisit the 1920s tradition of an old toboggan slide wanted to do something unique. So, they decided to bring in that used to be next to Chateau Laurier,” explains Laflamme. world-renowned photographer Rip Hopkins to take 150 photos “There will be an adrenaline rush experienced as competitors over the course of the year, to illustrate how French and British from the Red Bull® Crashed Ice use a corridor of artificial ice, roots are reflected in Canadian’s day-to-day lives. “There will be starting on the lower terrace of Chateau Laurier and plunging a photo exhibit and a weekend where we will project some of next to the Rideau Canal, skating at speeds of up to seventy- the best images on buildings across the city,” adds Laflamme. five kilometres per hour.” 6 And in honour of the Stanley Cup, there will be a full four days neath the downtown core, and we are going to transform of celebrations. Governor General Lord Stanley first gave the one station into an unbelievable immersive experience where cup to what was to become the NHL at a hotel in downtown people will walk through the entire 350 meters of the station Ottawa. So, there will be opportunities for people to get their to experience cutting-edge Canadian technology,” explains picture taken with the cup as well as with hockey legends. Laflamme. “We’re going to tell people that as we were excavat- ing the tunnel, we hit a glitch; we hit a fault that gave access “There will also be a big concert at the Canadian Tire Centre to the future. It will be offered from the end of June to mid- – home of the Ottawa Senators, featuring musicians, hockey September, and it’s going to be the first of its kind in the world.” legends and video excerpts highlighting historical moments of the Stanley Cup,” says Laflamme. “There will also be a major There will also be a gigantic concert at Lansdowne Park called gathering of two thousand aboriginal youth of Mathis, Inuit, YOWttawa featuring top Canadian aboriginal and international and First Nations from across Canada.