Welcome to another weekend in the 613, and a real Winter Wonderland for this one! It’s been a rollercoaster this year in terms of winter weather, so I hope you’re ready for some snow-filled fun! As we settle into this new year, and check in with our resolutions, take a moment this weekend to check in on your goals, find new things to do around town, and reconnect with the people you hope to spend 2023 with.
All Weekend
Skating is underway at lots of ice pads around town, including the Rink of Dreams at City Hall, Lansdowne Park, and the skating rink at Rideau Hall, which opens this weekend, weather permitting. The canal, however, will still take some time (for fairly obvious reasons) as illustrated in this most excellent TikTok by the NCC:
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This weekend, take in Bond and Beyond as part of the NACO Pops Series, highlighting some of the best music from the James Bond franchise. Tickets are still available starting at $29 for shows on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Friday
The Ottawa 67s are celebrating 55 years of hockey in the red and black with a Legacy Night game on Friday against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Currently sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference, the 67s will put on a good show, and fans are encouraged to wear vintage gear to celebrate.
SPAO (School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa) is opening their new exhibition Cold Comfort by artist Ella Morton, and her ongoing project The Dissolving Landscape. Morton works on experimental analog photographs that examine climate change in the Arctic and sub-Arctic landscapes of Canada and Nordic Europe. Using techniques such as film soaking, mordançage, bleaching and hand-colouring, Morton manipulates film, paper, and moving images to ask the question: What are we losing, in terms of our spiritual connection to the land, as the climate rapidly changes?
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Just in time for this week’s snow, Let’s Bike Ottawa is holding their winter cycling workshop Friday afternoon from 4–5pm. Let’s Bike will show you all the tips you need to get around on your bike this winter: essential items, clothing, maintenance, and how to ride safely in Ottawa. The workshop will be held in English followed by bilingual discussions. The event is free to attend at Alliance Française Ottawa, put on by EnviroCentre in partnership with the City of Ottawa.
It wouldn’t be a Friday night without live music at SAW, and this weekend you can check out local favourites fanclubwallet, Sorry Snowman, and Luella playing an all-ages show. Tickets are available online for $15 plus fees.
Saturday
This weekend there are not one, but two slapstick aerial circus comedy shows from the Ottawa-based circus troupe Cirquonscient hitting the LabO theatre stage. The matinée will be a regular show of fantasy and silks, and the cabaret evening is an 18+ evening event called A Night at the Gallery. That presentation will elaborate on an eclectic range of art history, from Egyptian sculpture to anime-style digital art. Read all about the troupe and event in our article here.
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Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition is currently in residence at the EY Centre. A number of yoga classes have been scheduled to take place at the exhibit in January, offering Ottawans the unique opportunity to practice yoga amid Michelangelo’s magnificent frescos. Each yoga session is 60 minutes long and will be hosted by local instructors. Participants will also have time to take in the exhibit, ask questions, and learn more. Check out tickets for the session this Saturday afternoon here.
If you’re looking for the coolest gay underground party in town, check out THROB January edition with Tanner Castro and Ashley Gauthier on Saturday. This month’s party will be at Pour Boy on Somerset, and tickets are $15 at the door.
Sunday
Get crafty on Sunday at Art House with a two-hour macrame wall plant hanger workshop! Learn basic knotting techniques and create your own custom piece using unbleached cotton macrame cord and wooden dowel. They have space for 10 participants. All materials & taxes are included and tickets are $60/ person.
The Ottawa 67s are taking on the Sarnia Sting Sunday afternoon at 2pm, so as usual, I’m recommending that you take in the Ottawa Farmer’s Market in the Aberdeen Pavilion before the game, to make a perfect day of it.
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