Rideau Canal Festival

 by Zach The Rideau Canal is 202 kilometers long, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and now it has its own party. Well, to be accurate, it’s had its own party for four years now. This year the Rideau Canal Festival is on from July 28 to August 2, and it’s in full swing.

I stopped by with my two kids, the girl (4) and the boy (2) on a really, really hot Saturday afternoon, July 30. We visited the Confederation Park site at about 1:30pm, right in the middle of the children’s activities held that day from 12:00 to 3:00. We were practically on time, by our standards.

The festival isn’t just at Confederation Park, though. There are activities at the Bytown Museum / Ottawa Locks site, and the Dows Lake Pavilion, so there’s plenty to do. Check their website at www.rideaucanalfestival.ca for detailed scheduling information.

The fee for entry into the Confederation park for adults is $5, but kids under 12 are free, so it was still a pretty cheap deal for us. The pathways around the main green are lined with a variety of booths, there’s a main stage, and, when we were there, a number of entertainers were making their rounds on foot.

The crowd was pretty thin at first, maybe because of the high temperatures in the middle of the day, but there were still kids clustered around the Scottish-accented stilt walker / juggler / comedian. The girl watched for a bit while the boy napped in the stroller, and then we moved on – I don’t think she quite knew what to make of a ten-foot high man in tartan tossing juggling clubs in the air.

We bumped right into a balloon animal artist, who whipped up a dog on a leash for the girl and a monkey in a tree for the boy. A face painter was also on hand, and the girl got a sparkly butterfly on her arm and the boy got a rocket ship on his face (at least until they went swimming later that afternoon…).

We were right in time for Irish dancing, performed by students of Trillium Academy of Irish Dance. The girl loves watching dancing, so she sat on the green in the sun for a while and watched, while I stood behind her and tried to use my shadow to try to keep her cool(er).

The Ottawa Art Gallery has a small tent set up with loads of markers, paper, paint, and stencils for on-the-spot masterpieces. The boy and girl had never used stencils before, and they started producing pictures like an assembly line.

We checked out a few of the exhibitors at the Energy Ottawa Ecosphere Environmental Fair, though I think the boy was more excited to be in a really big tent than to learn about recycling electronics in an environmentally responsible way. We got going just as a band started to get going, though we were able to listen to the music for a long time as we walked back home.

Zach is a dad to a four year old girl and two year old boy. He sometimes blogs. He is often blogged about by his wife over at Capital Mom.

Dancing in the Streets. The Ottawa version.

by Brie On a hot Friday afternoon we headed to the National Gallery of Canada with friends. But instead of going into the Gallery we sat outside under some trees and watched some free modern dancing. It was a pretty perfect way to pass the time.

Dancing in the Street is a project from The School of Dance that has performers and musicians dancing in streets across Ottawa. In their bright yellow t-shirts, the dancers preform contemporary dances playing off of each other and the space that they are in.

My four year old loved watching the dancers. In fact she loved it so much she asked me if she could get up and dance.

I was thrilled to see her exposed to some contemporary dancing. I have always loved modern dance because of its freedom of movement. Watching the Dancing in the Street dancers and then watching my daughter I realized that she has been doing modern dance all along!

We saw Dancing in the Street in front of the National Art Gallery, but you can check out their schedule and find them at different locations throughout the summer.  

Have you watched a Dancing in the Streets performance?

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Chamberfest Bring The Kids Series - Summer of Awesome

by Lynn Did you know that Ottawa has this thing called Chamberfest, and it is not, as you may fear, about monks chanting or flueglehorn playing or chamber decoration? Rather, it is a celebration of all sorts of different types of classical music, in unique and interesting venues, by talented, unique, and internationally feted musicians?

And did you know they have a program called Bring The Kids, which invites children of all ages to come and explore music? I know! Just when you think you know of everything there is to do in Ottawa, you hear about something amazing like this, and wonder where the heck you've been all this time.

Chamberfest runs from July 23 through August 5, and there are dozens and dozens of concerts happening all over the place. You can get tickets and/or passes for the grown-up events on the Chamberfest site - there's tons of great stuff to choose from, something for everyone.

But the best part about the Bring The Kids series is that it is free. Let me say that one more time: FREE. Fabulous music in a gorgeous setting, feeling like a supermom for exposing your kids to the classics, and a cool way to get out of the house for the afternoon? PRICELESS.

I took my three little ones to the first in the series on Monday. It featured brass quintet True North Brass, playing at the Dominion-Chalmers United Church downtown. The quintet was just SO good. They talked about their instruments and what makes them similar yet different, and what it means to be a brass instrument. They pulled out a shell and a garden hose - and then played each one - to demonstrate the basic physics behind their instruments. They were funny and entertaining and did not seem phased at all by crying kids, crawling toddlers, random light saber duels, or the crunch of goldfish crackers.

I was pretty impressed with my kids - they actually sat and listened. The older two are 8 and 6 1/2, and they were entranced, actually listening and paying attention and learning stuff. My youngest, at age just-turned-4, got a little squirmy after about a half hour (the concert was just about an hour long). But between a snack (totally allowed) and some energetic clapping and lap-bouncing from me kept her going. Other younger kids had varying levels of concentration but no one complained or felt awkward. It's all good.

The concerts are aimed at kids aged 3 through 8, but there were a few older kids there who seemed to especially enjoy it, so don't hold back. The chamberfest volunteers were absolutely welcoming and friendly and obviously really enthusiastic about music and the whole event just had a great community feel to it.

I even learned stuff - did you know that O Canada has a few totally ripped-off lines, including an opening stolen almost in whole from The March Of The Priests from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute? I feel cheap.

There's just one more concert left in the Bring The Kids series (although many more Chamberfest concerts remain). The last kids' concert features the Sounds Of The String Quartet and it's this Thursday, July 28, at 3 p.m. It's at the Dominion-Chalmers United Church downtown and you'll want to come early to get a good seat.

But most of all, you'll just want to come. I'll see you there - this one is such a big winner that we won't miss a chance to go again.

Lynn is mom to three tombliboos and blogs over at Turtlehead.

Yoga on the Hill

by Brie My kids love to do yoga. And given that they are kids it is easy for them to move in and out of downward dog and cobra. Way easier then it is for me! Sometimes they even love to do their own versions of yoga poses. What? Haven't you heard of astronaut post?

I thought for sure the kids would like to check out the weekly Yoga on the Hill classes every Wednesday at noon on the front lawn of the Parliament Buildings. (Find out more here along with other free things to do on Parliament Hill). It definitely seemed like the place to be with over a hundred people sitting on their yoga mats waiting for the class to start.

My kids didn't last as long as I would have liked, although they did get in some downward dogs and cobras.

I am pretty sure that my four year would have stayed for the whole class but my two year old was ready to go after ten minutes. I was okay with that though. We came, we did some yoga, we left. Then we went to visit the cat houses behind the Parliament Building and watched a raccoon eat cat food for ten minutes.

Yoga on the Hill would be a summer great outing for older kids, even if they aren't too familiar with yoga. There is an instructor leading the class and lots of other participants to watch and follow. The front lawn isn't shaded though, so bring lots of water and sunscreen because the sun will be hot at noon!

Have you been to Yoga on the Hill?

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Ottawa parks: Springhurst

by Brie Do your kids like boats? Pretending to be pirates? Running around and having fun? Then I have a park for you.

In our house we call Springhurst park the pirate park. It has two good sized play structures, both of which are built to look like boats. My kids like to play pirate as they walk the gang plank and stand at the prow.

Here's what I like about the park. It is well shaded, which is great for hot summer days. The park is small and it is easy to keep an eye on both kids while they play. There are some fields beside the park area which is great for running or soccer. And finally, there are two sets (four in total) of the bigger kid swings. This means that if we are visiting the park with friends fights over the swings can usually be avoided!

Here are some drawbacks to the park. The park is geared towards younger kids. I think older kids (over eight) would find it a bit boring as the play structures are more for little kids. Also, there are no bathrooms at the park so keep that in mind when you visit.

Springhurst park is located off of Lees Avenue in Old Ottawa East, quite close to the  Queensway exit.

Have a favrotiepark in Ottawa? Let us know! Email us at kidsinthecapital(at)gmail(dot)com to blog about it for Kids in the Capital.

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.