By Michael Kaminer
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, July 11, 2010

When I was growing up in disco-era Montreal, we Canadians had a snarky sobriquet for our nation’s capital: “The City That Never Wakes.” It may have been our home and native land’s seat of power, but Ottawa also meant somnolent streets, dull dining and nonexistent night life.

So when I read that this summer, the National Gallery of Canada would be the only North American stop for the Tate Modern’s blockbuster “Pop Life” show — an ambitious three-decade survey from Warhol to Hirst to Murakami — I did a double take. Was it possible that the parochial Ottawa of my childhood had actually become hip?

To find out, I spent an early spring weekend navigating the compact capital. And I left planning a second visit. Ottawa still isn’t Toronto or Montreal (nor do I think it wants to be). But it felt lively, smart, quirky and confident: a city waking up to its own potential after many dreary years.

In fact, if anything now characterizes the city, I’d say it’s an unselfconscious cool. There’s a proudly indie aesthetic in its neighborhoods, but without the hipster posturing of Toronto. Unlike language-obsessed Montreal, the city has a relaxed attitude toward bilingualism — everything here comes in both official languages — that lends Ottawa an easy cosmopolitanism.

What is sad however is that Ottawa has become more and more undemocratic and corrupt over the years. I attribute this change to City of Ottawa strangulation of budgets for neighbourhood activities and associations, which has helped to dwarf what was once teeming neighbourhood activity promoted by the City. A sense of neighbourhood identity has been lost.

As well, the City of Ottawa has done little to counter an ethos of growing corruption within the federal government’s civil service largely stationed in this city, meaning an attitude of grab what you can get for yourself rather than a service working together to achieve a common goal.

In fact , the City has modeled it.

It’s a city now devoted to too much power mongering, and ego inflating. In an atmosphere like that even the most beautiful things go rancid and meaningless.

As such, the calendar is discontinued.

Ben Harper – Thursday, July 9
k.d. lang – Thursday, July 9
Our Lady Peace – Tuesday, July 14
Loreena McKennitt – Saturday, July 11
Neko Case – Sunday, July 12
Iron & Wine – Thursday, July 9
Okkervil River – Friday, July 10
Ani DiFranco – Sunday, July 12
C.R. Avery – Sunday, July 19

“Believe it or not, Ottawa does have culture”
- Jessica Ruano, the Ottawa Citizen, 2006

Welcome! This is where Ottawa arts enthusiasts can gather information on what’s happening around the city. Once a month, I send out a personalized newsletter to approximately 1000 subscribers detailing my top picks for theatre, music, dance, literary arts, visual arts, and any other art form you can possibly think of.

I like to focus mainly on LOCAL events: theatre productions with local actors and directors; awesome bands that aren’t from out-of-town; neighbourhood poetry groups; and artists with exhibits in their own Ottawa homes. Let’s celebrate what this city has to offer!

December 5, 2008 | Issue 44•49

ATLANTA—All of area resident Brian Shepard’s problems, including his fear of commitment, lack of personal direction, and inability to learn from past failures, will be instantly solved this week when the 29-year-old packs up his belongings and moves to a new city. “Moving to Portland is going to make all the difference in the world,” said Shepard, who, just by putting 2,500 miles distance between himself and years of destructive behavior, will suddenly turn his life around. “It won’t be anything like Chicago, or Boston, or San Francisco. This is exactly what I need right now.” Shepard also plans to completely eliminate his dependence on self-denial by ignoring his dependence on self-denial.

“I moved to Ottawa from Berlin, Germany in 2002. It took me two years to sufficiently lower my standards to accept Ottawa’s quality of culinary entertainment. Ottawa isn’t waiting to be discovered; indeed, the conservative mentality in dining (among other things) is doing its best to dissuade new restaurateurs and chefs, exploring diners and intriguing culinary ideas…

Best restaurant for me is Savannah Cafe, a Jamaican fusion joint (!) who does a great New Year’s eve dinner, has an excellent wine list, and always offers something fun and new…

Ottawa doesn’t do pizza well, that I have found, even in Little Italy. I head to the supermarket for a Restaurante Pizza from Dr. Oetker. $6.00 for a single frozen pizza, but compared to the double or triple amount you would spend in a restaurant for a Pizza meal, this is peanuts…

I can solidly say that Ottawa offers a varying range of pub fare. From surprisingly good (the salads don’t contain iceberg lettuce) to the most horribly terrible (don’t eat at the Heart & Crown, unless you like chemicals).”