A Park fit for Royalty

This past weekend, with my brother J and his family in tow, I enjoyed the first true in-person Ottawa Tulip Festival since 2019. COVID-19 meant it was cancelled in 2020 and it was a pretty quiet affair in 2021. 

Tiptoe through the tulips...

But this year...wow...! A lot of people got the memo that the festival was back on because it was jammed packed.

Taking a break from the crowds with J's baby K

Still, the crowds didn't prevent us from enjoying the 100,000 or so tulips that are sent annually to Ottawa from the Netherlands as a thank you for Canada’s hospitality towards the dutch royal family during World War 2. 

In fact, one member of the royal family, Princess Margriet, was actually born in Ottawa during the war at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, which is just a few blocks away from my house. Back in 2020 Princess Margriet was supposed to visit Ottawa to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands...but well...COVID.

Well, flash forward two years later and Princess Margriet and her family finally made it to Ottawa and the city honoured her visit by renaming my local Fairmont Park after her. I didn't realize ANY of this was going on by the way until I passed by the park a couple of days ago and noticed the sign had been changed.

Margot honoured the princess by playing really good tennis

While I will miss good ol' Fairmont Park, it's kindof cool that the new name certainty comes with a bit of history. 

Festival Fail

Sometimes things don't work out.

Last weekend was Tastes of Wellington West, a one-day festival in my neighbourhood where all the local stores offer discounts or freebies. Sounds good, right? If you read the news articles about the event you'd think so - hey hundreds of people came out - it must have been great!

But as a local resident I hafta say it was ...not good.

Part of the problem with this fest is that people are desperate for free stuff. They will line up 30 minutes for just about anything. And that's what what happened whenever a store gave something away. Want a tiny cup of free ice cream? 30 minutes. Stella Luna, one the local gelato stores, had an insane line right to the door. OK, OK, maybe I'm exaggerating - Margot was able to score a free cotton candy pretty easily. But still, sometimes the effort people make to get something free is kindof silly.

The spoils of war

Another part of the problem with this fest is that the sheer volume of people piling into the limited number of small local stores actually makes it one of the hardest days to shop. There are just people constantly in and out of stores and in your face that it makes it hard to want to try or buy much of anything.

It probably didn't help that it was hitting 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday - even the air felt like it was sweating.

Do I sound like a grumpy old man? Hurumph.

I am sure festivals like these are lifeblood for local business. So I would never say don't hold them. But like Canada Day in Ottawa, which often sees worst and slower service for more limited selections, maybe the best option if you're a local resident is to get out of dodge until the brew-ha-ha is over!

Pupusa Fest!

There is no denying it; my neighbourhood is pretty homogeneous. Although socially and economically diverse, almost everyone from the rich to the poor is white.

That almost makes my family (me: half British/half El Salvadorian; Glosette Girl: half French Canadian/half Lebanese; Margot a blend of the two) the minorities of the hood!

So to add a bit of ethnic flavour this past weekend, we decided to head outside of Hintonburg and down to Brewer Park for ...Pupusa Fest! I couldn't believe it when Glosette Girl first mentioned this gathering of the local El Salvadorian community. Pupusa Fest?! A festival dedicated to the tortilla based dish that El Salvadorians are famous for...?!

I think it's just an excuse to have a big El Salvadorian get-together and party.

In any case, the timing is perfect as we are going to be visiting El Salvador over New Year's this year and the festival made for a great preview of some of the delicious food we can expect.

Of course we ate lots of pupusas...

We tried pupusas from two places. This was the first...

...and this was the second.

... but besides eating delicious food we also got to see a few dance numbers...

..and I got to see a lot of people who reminded me of my Uncle Tio and my El Salvadorian grandmother, IA (p.s maybe it's just me but I always have the urge to help old hispanic ladies cross the street and do chores! They just look so friendly and remind me of my own grandmother!)

I've never really explored the El Salvadorian side of my heritage before, so it was interesting for me to take part in a festival that I have a cultural connection to. Of course we stood out like sore thumbs (note to self: bring a soccer jersey to next year's Pupusa Fest), but was still fun. Next stop: San Salvador!

Canada 150

Glosette Girl and I aren't in Ottawa very often for Canada Day. Often we're visiting friends or family or camping or doing...well really anything, other than being here.

Hurumph. That makes me sound like a bit jaded and cynical doesn't it?! But, for a local, there's actually a lot of downside to being in our nation's capital at this time of year. The restaurants are packed and offer special "Canada Day menus" (translation: limited and more expensive selections), the roads are jam packed and the events are hard to get to.

Still, this year we decided to make an exception. Us Canadians don't get too many opportunities to be patriotic and 150 years seemed a nice round number to celebrate. In the age of Trump where much ink is being spilled on the end of the American century, a lot of people it seems are looking fondly at this quiet corner of the world and with the spotlight on Ottawa decided to throw a crazy party.

My sister, N, and her family visited us this weekend and so we tried to create a nice tourist agenda for them.

• Visit to Parliament Hill area. Check. 

We skipped the main events (5 hour wait to get on Parliament Hill. No toilet breaks. Pass!) and checked out the local acts

• Wolf down some liquid grub at a local pub. Check.

Happy Canada Day Eh!

• Walk back home because the buses were too full. Check.

Poor Margot! She was wearing rubber boots. Those boots aren't made for walking!

• Catch a nap before waking up in the evening to watch the Fireworks. Check. (You can't tell from this photo but it was pouring rain about 30 minutes before this shot was taken - we didn't know if there was going to be any fireworks at all!)

We watched the show from Lemieux Island near Hintonburg

Kudos to N, and her family for all the walking and for putting up with the crazy weather. Seriously, it's felt like the UK around here lately - 3 or 4 showers a day with sunshine and everything else you can imagine in between. And also kudos to them for putting up with the crazy commute from Toronto: 7.5 hours instead of the regular 5.

Anyways, it was a great weekend and I'm glad we were able to catch a glimpse of the festivities. Guess I'm not a cynical ol' urbanite after all!

Westfest

Another week another festival in Ottawa.

This time it's... Westfest!

Glosette Girl and I haven't been to Westfest in a couple of years. It used to be more of a street party as the event closed down the main street running through the nearby neighbourhood of Westboro to cars, and stores adjacent to the street kindof spilled out onto the road and sidewalk. Music was a part of the festival but it was less evident (at least to me) as the stages for musicians weren't that prominent.

The 'fest has moved East (ironically) and is now held in LaRoche park, which is in the grittier park of Hintonburg known as Mechanicsville. That works for me as its know within easy walking distance of my house.

Crunchins and Munchins

The new location has definitely given a different flavour to Westfest. The impression I had (at least at the time we sauntered over - around 5:30 pm) was an event for hipsters, rock 'n rollers at heart, and their kids. Less Lululemon/MEC and more tatoos, zibi protests, and balloon animals.

The music was also centre stage - you couldn't miss it!

Something I liked though was that the prime space in front of the stage was given to the non-drinkers (basically anyone with a kid) who were able to lounge on the grass while their children ran amuck while the drinkers soaked up the music in separate fenced-off areas on the sides.

It was a cool vibe but I'll be honest it threw me off based on previous Westfests. Note to self for next year: sport some ripped clothing and rock out!

7 Things I Hate about Ottawa (and 1 more I like)

It's so depressing here in Ottawa right now.

The brief ray of sunshine we had last weekend has given way to rain, rain, and more rain (and some snow). And not warm spring-like rain but barely-above-zero-cold-in-your-bones-rain.

Glosette Girl's friend, S, is about ready to move to Ottawa. I mentioned previously some of the great things the city has to offer. But I'd better be completely upfront so she knows what she's getting herself into. Here are seven things I hate about Ottawa:

• The fact that winter (or almost winter) conditions last almost half the year (November to April are tough months and May hasn't been much so far).
• Another weather one: the extreme weather. In the winter, it snows a lot. In the summer it roasts. As for spring...well most years spring is the fleeting weekend separating the bone chill of winter from the humidity of summer. This year is different. This time we are getting a bucketload of rain.
• Too many people in Ottawa work for the same employer (the Federal Government). 

"Hey have you got your BBB yet so you can keep that CO2 position?"

"No, but fortunately I am in an acting position seconded from PWGSC. My DM pulled some strings and I'm good for now."

If you can understand that, you are from Ottawa!

It's not that being a civil servant is bad (I was one, a lifetime ago). It's just that I think too many people doing the same thing causes groupthink.

• The road bottlenecks (not as big a problem for me now that I live within walking distance of work but a serious problem for the thousands of people who live in Quebec and commute to Ottawa and get stuck on the bridges).
• The topography is nice but not spectacular. No mountains or oceans or even big lakes nearby. 
• The fact that Ottawa is not an airport hub. It's hard to fly most places from here. And did you see what I said about the weather? Sometimes a good 2000 km of distance is what you need to appreciate Ottawa!
• The lack of zany billionaires with a fondness for megalomaniac pet projects. OK, maybe not billionaires, but sometimes I wish Ottawa was a bit more visionary and built iconic landmarks. Instead, we get respectable, responsible sports stadiums with chain restaurants.  

Grrrrrr. OK OK I'll end this gripe fest on a positive note. Despite the rain, we visited Hintonburg Park for The Happening, on Saturday. It's a local arts and cultural fair. It was a soggy affair.

But, I swear, there is always something going on in Ottawa - and this area in particular. It's cool to be a part of! So kudos to Ottawa for all the festivals: rain, snow or (rarely) shine!

Past the Invisible Wall

My new home in Ottawa, Ontario, is just 5 km from the Quebec provincial border but for some people it could be 1000 km away. For many, there is an invisible wall running through the middle of the Ottawa river that prevents them from imagining a life on the other side.

Yes, people are willing to work wherever their job takes them. But when it comes to living (buying a house, going to school, raising kids, even going out) doing so in the "other" province is a challenge that many people in this area struggle with.

I have first hand knowledge of this because I used to think like that! When I first moved to Ottawa I couldn't fathom living in Quebec (I'm from small-ish town Newmarket, Ontario). However, cheap rent and housing prices eventually had me take a good look at Quebec (having a cute Quebec wife doesn't hurt either). I ended up living in Quebec for 9 years.

Language was a bit part of why I was so reluctant. I didn't like the idea of living as a minority language speaker within my own country. Plus there was the whole Quebec separatist political scene, which annoyed me (and still does).

Eventually though, with Glosette Girl's help, I got over my jitters. And I'm glad I did. Although I love urban Ottawa living, geographically and culturally, Quebec is just a beautiful province. You are on the doorstep of nature.

This past weekend, with my sister and her family in tow, we re-visited the Mont-Ste Marie festival of colours. Glosette Girl, Margot and I discovered this a few years ago and we loved sharing the experience with my sister's gang. It was a colour explosion!

This place is only about an hour from my home in rural Quebec.  We started the morning with coffee shops and sidewalks and in the time it takes to watch one Broadchurch episode we were amongst the trees.

A very relaxing way to spend Thanksgiving. I really enjoy discovering these places - wherever they may be.

p.s there was Poutine at the bottom of the hill waiting for us as a reward. That didn't hurt either!