OttawaStart Blog

Fake Friday: Archaeologists Unearth 9,000 Year Old Baby Stroller In West Wellington Village

2012-01-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

Wellington West - A dramatic discovery was made earlier this week when archaeologists uncovered an almost perfectly preserved 9,000 year old baby stroller in a condo development construction site near Harmer Ave. The discovery of the primitive Neolithic stroller is in keeping with the area's rich, baby-centric reputation, and furthers the concept that not much has changed in the area over the

Awesome Ottawa: Curling on your neighbourhood rink, with fully painted targets

2012-01-26T20:30:00.001-05:00

These photos come from Craig at the Bells Corners Blog. This is neighbourhood bonspiel in the Lakeview community. Craig says: "The guy who organizes the community bonspiel is the same guy who maintains the ice for the City of Ottawa - he's widely recognized as the "guru" of outdoor rinks. Normally that rink is used as a "puddle rink" for non-hockey players, but a couple of times a year

OttawaStart's Weekly Event Round-Up: All-Star Weekend, lion dance, snowshoeing in the dark, more

2012-01-25T20:36:00.001-05:00

I asked our contributors to send in their picks for this week, and Stuntman Stu responded with this: "ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL STARRRRRRRRRRRR GAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE." Translation: Stu is excited about the 2012 NHL All-Star game happening this weekend in Ottawa. Here's a big list of All-Star Weekend events happening around town... But the All-Star Game isn't the only game in town. Read on

VIDEO: Canadian Police College blows up an OC Transpo bus

2012-01-24T17:35:00.001-05:00

"Canadian Police College (CPC) Post-Blast Scene Technicians Course exercise: Decommissioned OC Transpo Bus explosion. For more details, visit: http://www.cpc-ccp.gc.ca/en/PBLAST_Exercise_OC_Transpo" (via iheartoctranspo) See also: Ottawa OC Transpo Guide If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to our blog via email, Twitter, Facebook or RSS. Thank you.

From the OttawaStart news desk: "Let's tell the world what makes Ottawa such a Great Place!"

2012-01-23T20:30:00.000-05:00

Peace Tower Lights. Photo by Mike Alexander via OttawaStart's Flickr Pool. Here's part of an interesting article that appeared recently in OttawaStart Community News (which recently surpassed 16,000 articles): Do you have a favourite public space, neighbourhood or street in Ottawa you would like others to know about? The Canadian Institute of Planners’ (CIP) Annual Great Places in Canada

Today's best photo of the Rideau Canal Skateway

2012-01-22T20:00:00.000-05:00

This beautiful photo comes courtesy of Alison Fowler, taken today on the Rideau Canal. Hope your fingers didn't freeze while taking all those beautiful shots Alison! You can send your great photos of the Rideau Canal (or anything else) to us via feedback@ottawastart.com ... or add them to our new OttawaStart Flickr Group. See also: Ottawa Rideau Canal Guide If you liked this post, please

Where in Ottawa: Photo of a bleak winter road

2012-01-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: Congrats to Anonymous and neeroc who both correctly guessed that this pohot shows Cedarview Rd. in Nepean. I really like this photo from Ottawa photographer and musician Tammy Raybould. Can you guess where it was taken? Your only clue: it's somewhere in Nepean. Add your guess in the comments below. Winner gets bragging rights and a congratulatory message on the OttawaStart Twitter

Fake Friday: OC Transpo Launches First Class "OC1" Premium Bus Service

2012-01-20T11:30:00.000-05:00

Ottawa - After a year of complaints against both its service and public transit conditions, OC Transpo announced today it will be launching an all-new, First Class, preferred service transit option for those wishing to commute or travel throughout the city in high-class style. The announcement of this new, high-end, premium transit option came after months of complaints from transit riders

Opinions wanted: Tobogganing or Sledding?

2012-01-19T22:36:00.002-05:00

Tobogganing at the Arboretum in the Experimental Farm.Photo by Juliette Giannesini. Looking for your opinion: Should we call the act of sliding down a snowy hill on a wooden or plastic device "tobogganing" or "sledding"? I'm partial to tobogganing as a catch-all for riding on everything from those old wooden sleds to crazy carpets. It sounds more Canadian. But lately I've been hearing

OttawaStart's Weekly Event Round-Up: Beer fest, James Bond, apocalyptic poetry and more!

2012-01-18T20:43:00.000-05:00

Lots of fun events this week in Ottawa: There's a beer festival in Gatineau on Friday and Saturday with a very fancy name: Festibière de Gatineau ... on Saturday night, there's a night of apocalyptic poetry celebrating the end of the world ... there's a giant lululemon warehouse sale Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the CE Centre ... the Home Renovations Show runs this weekend too ... on Wednesday

Beauty along the Ottawa River at -27C (photos)

2012-01-16T20:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Yannick Beauvalet who sent along these photos. He shot them on Sunday morning around 9:00am on the Ottawa River at the Little Chaudière Rapids, between the Champlain Bridge and Lemieux Island. Send us your great photos of Ottawa: feedback@ottawastart.com See also: Ottawa Weather Guide If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to our blog via email, Twitter,

Photo of the day: First day of skating on the Rideau Canal

2012-01-15T19:30:00.000-05:00

Here's a great photo from Daniel Bach, who was out skating today the Rideau Canal. Today was the first day of skating season for 2012. And also a quote from one of our readers, Maureen: "Skating is making frozen lemonade from endless, cold, dark, winter lemons." See also: Ottawa Skating Guide If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to our blog via email, Twitter, Facebook or

Some nice photos of today's snowy weather

2012-01-13T20:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of our readers who sent along pics from today's storm. Here are three of the best. You can send your cool photos of Ottawa to feedback@ottawastart.com by Alison Fowler by Thomas Lynn by Mike O'Shaughnessy See also: Ottawa Weather Guide If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to our blog via email, Twitter, Facebook or RSS. Thank you.

OttawaStart's Weekly Event Round-Up: Madonna yoga, a motorcycle show, and much more

2012-01-11T20:43:00.000-05:00

Here are our contributors' picks for the best events in Ottawa for the week of January 12-18. Share your picks for great Ottawa events in the comments below. Ross Brown, blogger/writer/author/photog: THEATRE: The NAC presents 2 Pianos 4 Hands by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt (pay what you can Jan. 10; preview Jan. 11 & 12; opening night Jan. 13). From the NAC Web site: "Dreaming

Neat behind-the-scenes look at how Craig Anderson's goalie mask was painted

2012-01-10T22:49:00.000-05:00

Check out this blog post with photos and details on how Craig Anderson's goalie mask was created. The artist is John Pepe from Pepe Custom Paint. Also: Anderson is on Twitter: @craiganderson41 See also: Ottawa Hockey Guide If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to our blog via email, Twitter, Facebook or RSS. Thank you.

Photo of the Day: Aerial photo of a sunset over Centretown

2012-01-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

What an incredible, surreal photo by Chuck Clark, showing downtown Ottawa during a sunset. The original photo (and more from the flight) can be seen here on Flickr. I've republished it here with Chuck's permission. He says: I went up to get some shots of the crane at Tribeca on Saturday and was concerned with the weather but you fly when you can. Chris (the pilot) and I went up to Wakefield

Fake Friday: Westboro Mom Helps Kids Build Racially Diverse, Gender Neutral "Snowperson"

2012-01-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

Westboro- In keeping with her parenting philosophy that children should not be forced into gender specific activities, a Westboro mother of two helped her daughters build a racially diverse and gender neutral snowperson after last night's snow fall. Traditionally referred to as a "snowman", Golden Avenue resident Laura Hayden-Hornberg decided her children should use a more progressive approach

New OC Transpo Park and Ride at Scotiabank Place opens January 9

2012-01-05T23:20:00.001-05:00

Received this email today from Shad Qadri, the City Councillor for Stittsville: Dear Residents, I wanted to share some good news with the community after working on the Scotia Bank Park & Ride program for some time. I’m very pleased to see this come to fruition and can tell you that this Park & Ride will be operational on January 9th, 2012. I encourage you to make use of this new Park & Ride

Last chance this weekend to see this over-the-top Christmas light display in Barrhaven

2012-01-05T20:30:00.000-05:00

Not only is this weekend the last one to check out the 300,000 Christmas lights on government buildings downtown, it's also the last weekend to see this display at Mark Bell's house on Markland Cres. (near Mayford) in Barrhaven: Mark says there are about 6,000 LED lights along with lasers and other decorations, including a 3.5-metre tall Christmas tree. An if you tune your car radio to 95.5 FM

OttawaStart's Weekly Event Round-Up: Lots to do inside and outdoors

2012-01-04T20:57:00.000-05:00

Here are our contributors' picks for the best events in Ottawa for the week of January 5-11. Share your picks for great Ottawa events in the comments below. Kaitlin Wainwright, blogger & twitter-er: THEATRE: This week, I would highly recommend checking out the Company of Fools' fundraiser of Twelfth Night at the NAC's Fourth Stage on Thursday, January 5. It's a one-night only gig that

It's voting day in Ottawa (for hockey fans at least)

2012-01-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

The 2012 NHL All-Star Game logo was added to centre ice at Scotiabank Place on Tuesday. From the Ottawa Senators Twitter feed. You probably saw a lot of local politicians tweeting and talking this week about a very important election: the vote for the starting line-up for the 2012 NHL All-Star game in Ottawa. Fans across North America and around the world can go to nhl.com/vote and pick

Ottawa's best balloon artist "pops" the question

2012-01-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Brad Wood and his girlfriend Stacey, who got engaged on New Year's Eve. I think it's safe to say that Brad is the top balloon artist in Ottawa. He is a true balloon master, as you can see from this piece he created to celebrate the upcoming nuptials. See also: Ottawa Birthday Guide If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to our blog via email, Twitter, Facebook or

Our readers recommend: The best spots to rent a foreign movie in Ottawa

2012-01-03T20:07:00.000-05:00

Inside Invisible Cinema, a great movie rental shop at Lisgar and Bank. Photo by veganbackpacker. Last week, reader Darcie Walker asked, "Where to rent foreign films now that DVD stores are closing?" I put the question to our readers and here are some of their suggestions: @mayfairtheatre: I'd suggest @invisiblecinema and Elgin St. Video. Plus @opl_bpo -- free movies all the time. (note:

Let the 2012 Bluesfest rumours and speculation begin!

2012-01-01T13:14:00.001-05:00

What better way to bring in the New Year than with some fresh Bluesfest speculation and rumours. Festival Outlook maintains an extensive listing of festival rumours, and here are the bands that folks have suggested may perform. Coldplay Foster The People Silversun Pickups Keep in mind this is all speculative based on touring schedules and wishful thinking. We'll keep updating this list over