Happy June, everyone! I think June is my favourite month of the year, as festivals really kick into high-gear. While we do have several festivals in April and May, June really is the summer festival kick-off month. This week alone, Italian Week Festival continues with daily activities happening in the Preston Street neighbourhood. They have far too many exciting events to list, so I’d recommend that you take a few minutes and check out their website for all of the details! Franco Ontarien Festival is also running this week from the 16th – the 18th at Major’s Hill Park.
Finally, on the festival front, The Ottawa Fringe Festival starts on Thursday, featuring a full lineup of spectacular plays across its eleven-day run! My recent theatre experiences have been slightly different from the typical happy-go-lucky musicals that I often review (which I love, don’t get me wrong!) and I have come to learn that I have a deep appreciation for shows with a bit more grit, depth, and emotion; shows that challenge difficult topics. Fringe is exactly that! I am most looking forward to seeing Jessie Bergeron’s The Whitefish River, a one-act play which runs Thursday June 15th, Saturday June 17th, Sunday June 18th, and Wednesday June 21st. I would highly recommend checking out this show, as well as any others that you are able to at Fringe! Speaking of theatre, since my last newsletter, I have posted reviews for a trio of incredible shows here in Ottawa:
- Something Rotten! By Orpheus Musical Theatre
- Skin Songs by TACTICS Theatre Company.
- The Nobel Pursuit at Ottawa Little Theatre (This show is still running for the week, I highly suggest you check it out)!
For the sports fans out there, summer sports are in full swing (pardon the pun). The Ottawa Titans are the only major local summer sports team without a home game this week. The Redblacks are hosting the Calgary Stampeders for their home opener on Thursday night. On Saturday, you can make your way to TD Place to see a pair of games: at 2pm, Ottawa Atlético takes on visiting Vancouver FC, and then at 7:30 the Ottawa Blackjacks tip-off at 7:30 against the Niagara River Lions. It’s a big week for sports…maybe we’ll even get a new owner for the Sens this week?!
Announcements:
Since my last post, there have been two significant lineup announcements that I’d like to share:
First, The Festival of Small Halls, or FOSH, has released their most impressive and star-studded lineup yet! I love this festival, and plan to be at a show each day this year; it’s such a fun experience! You can see their full lineup by clicking here! Some of this year’s bands include Matthew Good, The Abrams, Terra Lightfoot with Aysanbee, Kim Mitchell, and The Irish Descendants. There are already two nights that are completely sold out, so get your tickets soon!
Next, the Music and Beyond Festival has released a truly unique lineup for this year’s festival. This is such a great festival, and runs from July 4th – 17th. Have a look through their schedule by clicking here!
I’ve posted a few ticket giveaways recently on my Instagram account. Congrats to the winner of the family pack of tickets to see The Lost Kingdoms dino adventure, happening at Wesley Clover Park at the end of June. If you missed that one, and you want to go, you can still buy some! I’ll be there the first week, I can’t wait to see it!
The second ticket giveaway is still active, and geared towards all of the magic fans out there! The Outerbridges are back, presenting “Mysteries of the Keyhole House”. I’ve got a pile of tickets available for this show for multiple nights and venues including Perth, Smith’s Falls, Carleton Place, and Gananoque between the 30th of June and the 16th of September. Check my Instagram account for contest details!
Lastly, I just wanted to apologize to anyone who experienced my website being down over the past week, or the page-loading lag. Apparently my site uses an incredibly huge amount of space on a server, and I needed to change hosts. Who knew that 90,000 photos would take up a lot space?! I’m happy to report that the necessary changes have been made, and that the site is once again rocket-fast, with a great new design. Fingers crossed that any issues are behind us!
Have a great week everyone! I’ll try to get another newsletter out in a couple of weeks, before I’m neck-deep in Bluesfest activities!
You must log in to post a comment.