Welcome to March! After a tumultuous winter with massive snowfalls and no skating Rideau Canal, we’re on our way to spring. This weekend is a nice bridge between winter events and tulip season. Before heading out for any outdoor events, be sure to check the conditions.
All Weekend
Justin Case: The Enemy Within has been extended through to March 3 at the Diefenbunker, making this your last chance to catch the exhibition. Through a multi-layered installation and a series of reinvented propaganda posters, Ottawa-based artist Christos Pantieras explores the LGBT Purge and the resulting personal struggles of those in the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
Parc Omega is hosting a Sugar Festival Friday and Saturday, featuring traditional Quebec music group Le Diable à 5. Get all the details here.
Looking for a place to skate after the unfortunate news that the Rideau Canal won’t open this year? This weekend is your last chance to hit the ice at the historic Rideau Hall (weather permitting, of course). The rink is open to the public Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5pm.
Following the recommendation of last month’s picks, I went to see Everything Everywhere All At Once on the big screen at the Bytowne. Highly recommend for anyone who has streamed the movie at home. You might find me back there again for a third viewing… learn more about what’s on at Ottawa’s local theatres here.
Thursday
South African choreographer Gregory Maqoma uses traditional Xhosa and contemporary dance to thread together personal stories of South Africa’s first Black choir, The African Native Choir, which toured England, the U.S. and Canada in the late 1800s. Along with composer Thuthuka Sibisi, Maqoma has created a dramatic retelling of the late 19th century South African choir on tour in North America and England. Traditional Xhosa and contemporary dance intertwine with sound and storytelling, accompanied by the Capital Chamber Choir. Tickets to Broken Chord at the National Arts Centre are available online.
Friday
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Enjoy an evening of traditional African arts combined with modern North American circus performance this Friday at Cirque Kalabanté – Afrique en Cirque. The Afrique en Cirque symbolizes the strength, agility and joy of life found in Africa through the high-level acrobatics, innovative choreography and colorful rhythms within the performance. Tickets are available online from Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe.
Chicago improviser Chris George brings his “buddy system” show to Ottawa at Arts Court. Six improvisers will be randomly paired into duos, and perform together for the first time with no preparation in The Buddy System: An Improv Duo Show. The buddy system experiment will be followed by an “all-play” set featuring all of the night’s performers.
Saturday
Alliance Française Ottawa is hosting a rendez-vous cinéma de la francophonie this Saturday, featuring a screening of films proposed by the National film board of Canada about the French language, francophone songs and francophone identity in Canada.
The first annual Ottawa I❤︎BEER & Taco Festival takes place this Saturday at the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne.
Roots-rock recording artist Adrian Sutherland from Attawapiskat on James Bay plays the Shenkman Arts Centre on March 4 at 7:30pm. He’s a singer, songwriter, speaker, author, advocate, entrepreneur, and the fascinating founder and frontman of all-Cree rockers Midnight Shine. He’s also a traditional knowledge keeper and respected cultural leader, fluent in his native language, Mushkegowuk Cree.
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Help raise funds for the Ottawa Heart Institute at Wellington West BIG HEART challenge.
Seventeen Voyces is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season and on Saturday, the chamber choir presents a concert entitled Nonsense & Nursery Rhymes at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church (217 First Avenue).
Janna Sailor will conduct “To the Girl Who Wants to Compose” at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre for the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra‘s International Women’s Day inspired event featuring a repertoire of all-female composers. The concert will also include a performance by the winner of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association (Ottawa Region Branch) concerto competition.
Thinking ahead to spring and digging in your garden? All are invited to Seedy Saturday 2023 at the Ron Kolbus Centre near Britannia Beach from 10am-3pm for a free event featuring new and returning vendors selling seeds, food, drinks, and other merchandise.
Sunday
Ottawa StoryTellers presents Shape Shifting and Wild Dreaming: The Mabinogion, A Celtic Treasure Trove, as part of its 2022/23 Signature Series season. In this epic storytelling event, The Mabinogion, medieval stories from Wales, will be shared.
Ottawa opera company OperOttawa presents Handel’s romantic and dramatic opera, Alcina. The story weaves a complex narrative where lovers’ quarrels unravel on an island. Intrigued? Learn more in our preview here.
Round out your weekend with Free Play Sunday After Dark at House of Targ from 8pm-midnight. All machines will be set to free play and there’ll be pirogies. Looking for a family friendly activity? Get there from noon to 8pm. Details here.
For more of what’s happening in Ottawa, stay tuned to @apt613 on Twitter. Out snapping photos? Tag us on Instagram @apt613 for a chance to be featured on our feed. Be sure to use the hashtag #Apt613 so we can share your photos!
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