I apologise if you happen to be reading this in August. :) 132 years ago, the Fathers of Confederation's dream of a new nation came to life...now we party!

Ottawa is the site of the nation's most surprisingly active Canada Days...surprising because public servants and NORTEL employees don't exactly have reputations for partying-down.

A day of drunken revelry ends (or begins) with the fireworks on Parliament Hill at sundown. You're have to park SUPER early if you’re driving – better to take one of the special free buses run by OC Transpo.

Despite the drunken partygoers clogging all of downtown, it’s still a good event for families. Watch for my friend Richard’s Gold VW Superbeetle zipping around with sparklers flying out the sunroof. Tell him I say hallo...it’ll freak him out! :) (Awww...I miss my friends already...)

Oh yah, there are activities during the day too. Details are here.

A slightly less mainstream party is the Pride Festival which runs from July 9-18th. Ottawa’s gay community is not as active as, say, Toronto’s, but rainbow flags dominate a section of Bank Street north of Somerset. There’s a parade on July 10th. Last year, a wobbly pink line (‘cause it can’t be straight) was painted along the parade route. There are still faint traces today. Hee.

Bluesfest rules, though I haven’t had time to check dates/artists out. Well, okay, it runs from July 8-10th.

THE EX (August 19-2), where tackiness abounds. Our version of Toronto’s CNE is a typical carnival, but often the free concerts make it worth smelling all the friend dough and poutine (see June’s write-up). Events are at Lansdowne Park in the Glebe. Parking is disastrously expensive – some Glebe residents charge $10 to let you park on their lawns. Best to use public transit (the 1, 7 or 11 should get you there from downtown) or take the scenic route along the canal from the Château Laurier (a 30-45 minute walk).

Jazz ’99 runs from July 16-25 and WYNTON MARSALIS IS GOING TO BE THERE. So go, now.

Ottawa Folk Festival is run by the überkühl CKCU-FM 93.1 (Carleton University’s radio station and the oldest non-commercial independent radio station in Canada). It’s cool, yes.

Zaphod II is now open on Bank Street...already been dubbed “Gayphod’s” because it’s location used to be a gay club. Good clubs (though I’m really not a clubber) include Atomic (on Besserer), Zaphod’s (in the Market), the Cave (Sparks at Bank), and Barrymore’s.

Avoid RJ’s Boom-Boom Saloon (the name says it all really) unless you’re an underage alcoholic or a fan of REALLY bad house.

New Patio at the Royal Oak on Laurier

Good pubs include the Royal Oak (Bank and Gilmour, the Glebe, Kanata, Orleans, and my second home on Laurier...fab on Canada Day), Patty’s Pub on Bank in Ottawa South, the Celtic Cross (near Bank and Somerset), and the Dunvegan (Laurier in Sandy Hill).

Any visitor will tell you Ottawa shuts down early...’tis true. There’s a serious lack of 24-hours places. Of those that do exist, the Elgin Street (on Elgin, duh) Diner is quite expensive, as is the Céline-owned Nickels (on Dalhousie). Bagel-Bagel in the market has reliable coffee, but their food’s gone downhill lately.

Denny’s and Perkins in outer suburbia and the Waffle House has the misfortune of being in Vanier (about the closest thing to a seedy area that the region has). But hit the Waffle House if you can, the #2 goes there and runs late. The waffles are outstanding and the staff are really nice.

Hull has a casino. It’s allegedly the largest tourist attraction in the region (hallo? Parliament Hill???). I haven’t been yet, but their fireworks series last year was cool. Check this out for details.

For museum listings check out the Ottawa X-Press...it’s free free freeeeee!

Confederation Square, under construction. This is at six in the morning...that's why there's no traffic.

The obliteration of the roads around Confederation Square This is right in the centre of the action near the Château Laurier, NAC, and Parliament. It's murderous driving around here, so bus if you can.

I must apologise that this write-up is not so detailed as I’m out of the country for the summer. It was also written about 20 seconds before I left for the airport. My suggestions for a walk is to go to Sparks Street...the buskers get cooler and cooler. I saw a Tom Jones impersonator there on the day of this writing. Excellent.

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