It’s another full weekend, Ottawa. At the very least, you’re going to have to choose between elegant picnicking, documentaries and a bakery birthday party – and there are even more options to add to that mix below. Slim Moore and the Mar-Kays have their cd release party tonight at Babylon, while it’s an evenin’ with The Walkouts at the Elmdale, a bit of Stevie Wonder out west and Indie Night at GigSpace. On Friday, Dan Mangan sweeps into town with his near-rhyming name, and Grey Kingdom with Baby Eagle will... | Continue reading article

By Alessandro Marcon A couple of nights ago, I was rollin’ down on Bank, jammin’ B.Blade, thinkin’ on Siggy Freud. Laid back, though pensive I was, with my mind on my Muslims and my Muslims on my mind. Not two days previous, with hand extended in fistbump position, I had found myself in the midst of cultural clash. “Teacher, I can’t do that” my student told me. “Sure you can,” I responded, while swiveling and fistbumping the chipper Korea woman on my right. “No teacher, I really can’t. I can’t... | Continue reading article

Happy Friday, audiophiles. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? We’re only now getting around to posting last week’s episode of Apartment613 Live, which is too bad, because it’s a stellar episode. (Of course, they’re all stellar, but this one is more stellar – stellarer? – than the others. Also, “stellar” is a funny word when you write it four times in a row, but that’s sort of off topic.) Why is it stellar? Because it’s so rare that you get to hear the voices of the people who toil away in... | Continue reading article

Post by Alessandro Marcon, who took in the opening night of the Ottawa International Writers Festival’s fall season. The man who sat before me last night was Michael Ondaatje. Actually, before he was sitting, he was standing, and reading from a copy of his newest novel The Cat’s Tale.  Adorned with piercing eyes and white hair, sporadic and sparse, the legendary Canadian novelist sort of mumbled, sort of sauntered, through a few sections of his layered and soft narrative. I wouldn’t consider myself the biggest of Ondaatje fans, having only... | Continue reading article

This week, OpenFile and Apartment613 have partnered to present a series of stories—apologies for Ottawa—that show off what makes Ottawa a great place to live. We drew inspiration from ideas readers submitted to both websites. Today, Vera Grbic writes about the city’s literary scene. To a common observer, an address in a phone book is a simple piece of information. To Ottawa’s literary jack-of-all-trades, rob mclennan, an address is fodder for poetic inspiration. In his book of poetry, The Ottawa City Project, mclennan converts Ottawa’s 322 Gilmour Street, among other... | Continue reading article

We at Apartment613 are big fans of the Maritimes. This blog was itself was sparked by a love of this little rag, and some of us will head out there whenever we’ve got a chance. But when the Maritimes come to us, it’s even better – which is why this kitchen party, this show, and these fiddling championships mean this weekend’s going to be a great one. We’ve also got our fair share of home-grown parties this weekend, what with Folk Fest and Wakefest putting out pretty great lineups. Basia... | Continue reading article

Post by Megan Taylor Since we here Apartment613 (and our vocal readership!) have already paid tribute to Ottawa’s best used bookstores, perhaps it’s time to cast an eye at their competition and acknowledge the best not-used-but-still-independent bookstores in the capital. If you don’t want to give your money to a megachain like Chapters, but still crave the smooth matte feel of a pristine trade paperback, the satisfaction of cracking open an unbroken hardcover spine, or even just a heady whiff of that new book smell, check out these alternatives: Collected... | Continue reading article

Let’s get right to it, Ottawa! Start your pre-weekend off right and head to Raw Sugar to see Zac Crouse and Steve Gates tonight – or head over to Mavericks to see Maybe Smith (who will hopefully come back to town again and again). For Friday, if you’ve been missing the early ’90s of late (and who doesn’t from time to time?), the Allrights will happily fill that void for you. Library Voices and Luke Doucet will compete for Prairie Scene audiences on Friday night, while Right by Midnight and... | Continue reading article

Editor’s note: Throughout the week, Apartment613 will be giving away Prairie Scene tickets and other awesome stuff on the site, on Facebook, and on Twitter. The first giveaway is today – click through for more details! Every year, I lay down 800 bucks or so on a plane ticket and make my annual pilgrimage back to Saskatchewan. While I can get a bit negative about certain aspects of the trip – my parents’ suburban home makes it near-impossible to get around without a car, for instance, and the mosquitoes are... | Continue reading article

Post by Megan Taylor Settling into one of the Mayfair Theatre’s comfy repadded seats and glancing around appreciatively at the gold and crimson covered walls, the stained glass exit signs, and the elaborately decorated faux balconies, I mentally high-fived the organizers of the Ottawa International Writers Festival for securing the Mayfair as one of their event sites. I was there Thursday to see the pre-festival presentation Here on Earth: A Natural History of Our Planet with Tim Flannery, in which the Australian author/scientist would discuss his recent book of the... | Continue reading article