Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/821088
Also on Canada Day, the National Arts Centre (NAC) will open the finishing touch to its $110.5-million expansion: a towering glass atrium facing Parliament Hill, on the other side of Confederation Square. The NAC will be one of the hosts of this year's Canada Scene festival ( June 15 to July 23), featuring roughly 1,000 creative people from across Canada in fields as diverse as dance, film, music and the culinary arts. EPIC PERFORMANCES As usual, summer brings a range of festi- vals to the capital. The TD Ottawa Jazz Festival ( June 22 to July 2) draws crowds to Confederation Park. Just after it ends, the behemoth known as RBC Bluesfest ( July 6 to 16) takes over LeBreton Flats. Expanding far beyond its blues roots, it has become one of Canada's biggest music festivals, and big-name acts coming this year include 50 Cent, Pink, Muse and Flume. On July 15, HOPE Volleyball SummerFest— the world's largest outdoor volleyball festival—comes to Mooney's Bay Beach. And finally, for those with quieter tastes, Ottawa Chamberfest—the world's largest chamber music festival—takes place from July 22 to August 4. Festivals are just part of the summer fun. Also in July, Sky Lounge—a restaurant in the air above Ottawa City Hall—will be serving diners a special menu created by chef Stephen La Salle of Feast + Revel restaurant (July 7 to 22). Not long after, the French the- atre company called La Machine will be bringing a giant dragon and a super-sized spider to downtown Ottawa from July 27 to 30. The towering creatures will show up unpredictably, likely leading to some inter- esting radio traffic reports. August sees yet more festivals and amusements, including the Ottawa Busker Festival (August 3 to 7) and Casino du Lac- Leamy Sound of Light, a series of fireworks performances choreographed to music (August 5 to 19). FALL LINEUP In the fall (dates to be announced), two Ottawa cultural institutions are due to move into new or substantially renovated quar- ters: the Ottawa Art Gallery will have a new 7,432-square-metre, five-storey home near the Rideau Centre, while the Canada Science and Technology Museum will reopen in late 2017 after an $80.5-million renovation. Another big draw in autumn will be the Grey Cup Festival (November 21 to 26), almost an entire week of fun for football fans culmi- nating in the big game at Lansdowne Park, a popular downtown sports and entertainment hub. Speaking of Lansdowne, some 40 embassies and high commissions will be orga- nizing evenings there throughout the year (until early December) to celebrate the food, culture and customs of their countries, as part of the Ottawa Welcomes the World festival. So whether your taste runs to world cui- sine, giant spiders, modern art, horticulture, music, science, aerodynamic dining, foot- ball or pyrotechnic displays, Ottawa has you covered in 2017. It's going to be a birthday party for the record books. SPRING/SUMMER 2017 DREAMSCAPES 45 TRAVEL PLANNER For details of Ottawa's 150 th birthday celebrations, go to ottawa2017.ca. Similar information for Gatineau is available at gatineau2017.ca/en. For general visitor information about Ottawa, see ottawatourism.ca. DS