Abbreviation | OF |
---|---|
Formation | 1996 |
Type | Festival organization based in Canada |
Legal status | active |
Purpose | advocate and public voice, educator and network |
Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
Region served | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
Membership | 53 festivals |
Official language | English, French |
Website | www |
Ottawa Festivals, is a member-based organization based in Ottawa, Ontario Canada, dedicated to supporting and promoting the festival industry in the region. Established in 1996, the organization comprises 53 festivals that showcase a diverse range of cultures, arts, and entertainment to the local community.
The roots of Ottawa Festivals trace back to the summer of 1994 when four distinct festivals—Ottawa Bluesfest, CKCU Ottawa Folk Festival, Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, and Fete Caribe—emerged with a shared objective of celebrating and sharing various artistic expressions with the community. Recognizing the potential for collaboration and mutual support, these organizations came together to exchange ideas and experiences.
In response to growing public interest in these new festivals, the president of Ottawa Tourism Commission Authority (OTCA) called a meeting in the fall of 1994. The purpose was to establish a communication channel between the festivals and OTCA. During this meeting, it became evident that the festivals shared common interests and a desire to coordinate tourism information and enhance their individual events. As a result, the Ottawa Festival Network was formed, with an initial board comprising prominent figures such as Mark Monahan (Ottawa Bluesfest), Michel Gauthier (Canadian Tulip Festival), Gene Swimmer (Ottawa Folk Festival), and Christine Broughton (OTCA). This initial group laid the foundation for the network's growth and its collaborations with organizations like the Canadian Tourism Commission, City of Ottawa, and Human Resource Development Canada.
In April 1996, the Ottawa Festival Network officially became an incorporated entity, representing a diverse group of not-for-profit member festivals that celebrated various cultures, arts, and entertainment. A significant milestone came in April 2006 when the network commemorated its 10th Anniversary with the "Launch of the Festival Season" event. This occasion celebrated Ottawa's vibrant festival industry, which had made a substantial contribution to the region's art, culture, and entertainment scene over the past decade. The event introduced a new official name, Ottawa Festivals d'Ottawa, along with a refreshed logo, a 10th-anniversary brochure, and an updated website. It highlighted the industry's growth, its positive impact on local tourism and the economy. [1]
Before the establishment of Ottawa Festivals, the National Capital Region Festival Network was formed in 1986 as the first collaborative effort by festivals in the area. At that time, festivals were not formally recognized by the City of Ottawa as a means of economic development and tourism promotion. The group, consisting of organizers from various festivals, worked together to advocate for the recognition of festivals as more than just community recreation. With the support of the Culture Division of the City of Ottawa, they developed criteria and established a festival program that allowed festivals to apply for annual funding.
Through its dedicated efforts, Ottawa Festivals has played a vital role in fostering collaboration among festivals, promoting the region's cultural diversity, and harnessing the economic potential of the festival industry.
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) and the National Capital Region (NCR). As of 2021, Ottawa had a city population of 1,017,449 and a metropolitan population of 1,488,307, making it the fourth-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Canada has a large domestic and foreign tourism industry. The second largest country in the world, Canada's incredible geographical variety is a significant tourist attractor. Much of the country's tourism is centred in the following regions: Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver/Whistler, Niagara Falls, Vancouver Island, Canadian Rockies, British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, Churchill, Manitoba and the National Capital Region of Ottawa-Gatineau. The large cities are known for their culture, diversity, as well as the many national parks and historic sites.
Tulip festivals are held in several cities around the world, mostly in North America, usually in cities with a Dutch heritage such as Albany, New York, Ottawa, Ontario; Gatineau, Quebec; Montreal, Quebec; Holland, Michigan; Lehi, Utah; Orange City, Iowa; Pella, Iowa; Mount Vernon, Washington; and Woodburn, Oregon, and in other countries such as New Zealand, Australia, India, and England. The tulips are considered a welcome harbinger of spring, and a tulip festival permits residents to see them at their best advantage. The festivals are also popular tourist attractions. The tulips are displayed throughout the cities. In certain years the peak of tulips does not coincide with the actual festival due to climatic conditions. The biggest and most popular u-pick tulip festival in the world is held at Holland Ridge Farms, in Cream Ridge, New Jersey.
Southern Ontario is a primary region of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% of Canada's population of 37 million. The region lies south of the province's other primary region, Northern Ontario, although the exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disputed. However, its core region is situated south of Algonquin Park, the latter being in an area of transition between coniferous forest north of the French and Mattawa Rivers and southern deciduous forest. It covers between 14 and 15% of the province, depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts which also lie in the transitional area between northern and southern forest regions. Southern Ontario differs greatly from Northern Ontario, having a much higher population density, a different climate, and a different culture than its northern counterpart. It is broken into smaller subregions, including Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, the Golden Horseshoe, and Southwestern Ontario.
Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on blues music at its inception, it has increasingly showcased mainstream pop, hip hop, reggae, rock and EDM in recent years. Bluesfest has become the largest music festival in Canada and the second largest music festival in North America.
The National Capital Region, also referred to as Canada's Capital Region and Ottawa–Gatineau, is an official federal designation for the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, the neighbouring city of Gatineau, Quebec, and surrounding suburban and exurban communities. The term National Capital Region is frequently used to describe the Ottawa–Gatineau metropolitan area, although the official boundaries of the NCR do not correspond to the statistical metropolitan area.
The Byron Bay Bluesfest, formerly the East Coast International Blues & Roots Music Festival, is an annual Australian music festival that has been held over the Easter long weekend in the Byron Bay, New South Wales, area since 1990. The festival features a large selection of blues and roots performers from Australia and around the world and is one of the world's leading contemporary music festivals.
As the Canadian province with the largest population, Ontario has a particularly prominent role in Canadian music. The provincial capital city of Toronto, Canada's largest municipality, is home to much of the English Canadian music industry and many individual musicians, and the most popular destination for musicians from other parts of Canada, besides French-Canadian musicians, looking to advance their careers. Toronto also supports Canadian music as the centre of English language media in Canada. Hamilton, Ottawa, Kingston and Guelph have also been important centres for Canadian music.
CityFolk Festival is a folk music festival held annually in Ottawa, Canada.
The Canadian Tulip Festival is a tulip festival held annually each May in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The festival claims to be the world's largest tulip festival, displaying over one million tulips, with attendance of over 650,000 visitors annually. Large displays of tulips are planted throughout the city, the largest of which are often in Commissioners Park on the shores of Dow's Lake, and along the Rideau Canal with 300,000 tulips planted there alone.
Hamilton, Ontario's culture has built on its historical and social background. Some attractions include a museum of aircraft, HMCS Haida National Historic Site, historic naval ship; Canada's most famous warship and the last remaining Tribal Class in the world, a stately residence of a Prime Minister of Upper Canada, a functioning nuclear reactor at McMaster University, a horticultural haven, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, African Lion Safari and Christ the King Cathedral.
Culture of Saskatchewan views the patterns of human activity in the central prairie province of Canada examining the way people live in the geography, climate, and social context of Saskatchewan.
The Adäka Cultural Festival is an annual multi-disciplinary arts and culture festival in Whitehorse, Yukon that celebrates First Nations arts and culture, with a specific focus on Yukon First Nations. 'Adäka', in the Southern Tutchone language, means 'coming into the light' which reflects the Yukon First Nations arts and culture being brought forward to the public eye and celebrated by all. The Festival name was inspired by the work of Joe Johnson, the late father of Festival co-founder, Katie Johnson. Several years prior to the launch of Adäka, Johnson had been involved in a conference of the same name. That conference brought the people of the Yukon together to identify areas of concern and exchange thoughts on heritage and culture in the Yukon. The conference aimed to initiate dialogue between the two main Yukon cultures so that everyone could "come into the light" together.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Ottawa:
2. http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/ottawa-411/
3. http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/ottawa-411/other-things-to-do/