Are your calendars filling up like mine? There’s so much going on across this beautiful city; holiday markets, parties, more concerts and arts events to keep us going through to the new year! Grab your mitts and head out to some of the great events going on this weekend.
All weekend
Planting Roses in January is an exhibition that will be held in Gallery 115 and the Visual Arts building at University of Ottawa until December 7. Admission is free. The exhibition examines our pursuit to preserve nature in uncertain times, gardening as an artistic community, and the garden as an intersectional space to explore diversity.
Ottawa’s independent cinemas have a great lineup of films for you.
If you need more films, the European Union Film Festival is on until Sunday.
Mary Poppins brings a family-friendly show to Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe for Orpheus’ season debut.
Ottawa Dance Directive (ODD) and Series Dance 10 #49 present mesmerizing dance forms, from hip-hop to a stylized waltz, that capture the continuum of time. Featuring gripping performances by Speakeasy from Montreal and Belinda McGuire, whose company is based in Toronto and Brooklyn. Performances run from Thursday to Saturday.
Plenty of holiday markets have started – check out Apt613’s roundup. Watch for ones with tree lighting ceremonies coming up!
Looking for new places to nosh? Apt613 also has some Best Bites for you to try!
Prison Dancer: The Musical has a limited engagement at the NAC until December 2. In 2007, a video of inmates dancing in a Filipino prison to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” quickly became one of the internet’s first viral videos. Now it has inspired this exciting new musical by Filipino-Canadian creators Romeo Candido and Carmen De Jesus. Prison Dancer is a life-affirming exploration of the complex stories of these inmates and their experiences.
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Thursday
Toronto songwriter Charlotte Cornfield plays the NAC’s Fourth Stage in support of her latest album Could Have Done Anything.
The Mayfair Theatre and House of TARG present an evening celebrating indie film and music with a screening of The Locksmiths, a comedy about an accidental cult, which won the 2022 Vancouver Independent Film Festival for Best Comedy Feature. The screening will be followed by an afterparty at House of TARG featuring a show by Lives Like Skyscrapers, the seven-piece Ottawa/Toronto-based shoegazers, with support from local indie rockers Area Resident and classically trained, metal-influenced cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne.
Octopus Books will be hosting Ottawa author Jennifer Falkner (Avalanche), Toronto’s Jennifer Westhead (Above Discovery) and Ann Douglas of Hastings Highlands, ON (Navigating the Messy Middle) to discuss their new books.
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Friday
The all-female, a capella vocal ensemble Nobuntu plays at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Their show features a fusion of traditional Zimbabwean music, afro-jazz, gospel and crossover.
Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental’s production of Le virus et la proie (“the virus and the prey”) at the NAC French Theatre is presenting Friday night’s performance with English subtitles. So if you’ve ever said to yourself, “Hey, that show sounds cool but I don’t speak French,” now’s your chance. Playwright Pierre Lefebvre’s show takes the form of a letter to an all-purpose power figure, using lacerating language to denounce the brutality of a dehumanizing social system.
The SPAO Photographic Arts Centre, in partnership with Ottawa’s Preston Street BIA, will debut the SPAO Photo Walk (phase 1), an outdoor public art initiative like no other in Canada, on Nov. 24, from 5–9 pm at SPAO. The walk is an ongoing and evolving outdoor installation featuring large-scale photographic artworks designed to enhance Ottawa’s Little Italy and engage with residents and tourists alike. Designed as a treasure hunt of sorts, participants can access information and the map for a self-guided tour via QR codes located next to each artwork.
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Saturday
OKAN, a Juno-Award–winning women-led ensemble that fuses Afro-Cuban roots with jazz, folk, and global rhythms, celebrates the release of their latest album Okantomi with a show at Club SAW.
House of TARG is hosting its Dance Mix 2001 – Pop and Hip Hop Dance Party – always a great time with DJ Phuzz and DJ Miami.
If you’re interested in the music business, you might be interested in YOU and the Music Business Workshop, organized by the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition. This workshop will help you develop a clearer strategy as a music creator through discussion and hands-on exercises.
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Sunday
Art House is hosting a Zine Swap and first-timers are welcome. Check out the event to learn more about zine culture too.
Head to the Church of St. John the Evangelist for an evening of music for the harpsichord by Thomas Annand, ranging from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. Highlighting the 400th anniversary of William Byrd (1543-1623) and 100th of György Ligeti (1923-2006) as well as works by Bach, Rameau, and Scarlatti.
Idle Hands, Ottawa’s longest-running indie sale since 2009, is back at a new venue, All Saints Event Space in Sandy Hill. Featuring local independent businesses, artists, crafters and vintage items. Original art, prints, jewellery, clothing, furniture, home decor, apothecary, toys, food and more.
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