Special Events
Ottawa - City of Fun and Festivals
Come and experience one of the 60 festivals that take place in the Ottawa region.
Canadian Tulip Festival - May 2 to 19, 2008
The Canadian Tulip Festival seeks to preserve the heritage and character of its fifty-five year old history around its original founding idea, International Friendship. In 2007, the tremendously successful International Pavilion featured the Embassies and community groups of 15 participating countries, attracting a record 125,000 visitors to Major’s Hill Park in just 11 days. In 2008 we plan to extend the International Pavilion to the full 18 days of the Festival with more countries and enhanced international entertainment.
Web site
Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest - July 3 to 13, 2008
The mandate of the Ottawa Bluesfest organization is to provide a world-class event—known as the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest—that showcases local, regional, national and international musicians.
Web site
Ottawa Jazz Festival - June 20 to July 1, 2008
The Ottawa International Jazz Festival is the National Capital Region's premier music event. Entering its twenty-eighth year of consecutive programming and operation, the OIJF is the second longest continuous-running jazz festival in Canada, and boasts the biggest loyal audience of any event in eastern Ontario!
Web site
Canada Day - July 1, 2008
Canada Day is celebrated in grand style in the nation's capital. Every year, tens of thousands of people flock to Parliament Hill to take part in the noon show with the Prime Minister, the Governor General and the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Events continue throughout the day in the National Capital Region, including an evening show on the Hill, and ending with the traditional fireworks display.
Web site
Ottawa International Busker Festival -
August 1 to 31, 2008
Ottawa is a stately city that houses the country's business of government and diplomacy. During the August long weekend, however the Sparks Street Mall, a pedestrian-only street, is inhabited with buskers of all stripes, including storytellers, jugglers and fire-eaters. The acts, starting at 11a and ending past midnight, are fun, and only cost what you want to pay. The festival is located in a central shopping and dining district, so it's a perfect place to be entertained while drifting in and out of shops and restaurants.
Web site
Fall Rhapsody - October 3 to 19, 2008
Every year, the National Capital Commission invites you to experience the magical fall colours of Gatineau Park, located only 15 minutes from Parliament Hill.
Web site