Cool! Sign me up!

Check out the Parliament Buildings, the Château Laurier, and the Byward Market while you're at it. Also take a bike ride down the Ottawa River and see the terrific views of downtown.

So what is up with all the tulips? Do we fancy ourselves as Dutch? Well, nearly. Sorry if the history stuff bores you, but the Tulip Festival is pretty much the biggest tourist attraction in Ottawa. Three million tulips can't be wrong.

In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands and the Royal Family fled soon after. Queen Wilhemina ended up in London, but her daughter, the then Princess Juliana, came to Ottawa.

Whilst there, she became pregnant. It would have been scandalous (pff...not sure about that) if the heir to the Dutch throne was born on foreign soil, so the wing of the Civic Hospital where Juliana's daughter, Margriet, was born, was made part of the Netherlands for one day.

Add to that the fact that Canadian troops were largely responsible for the liberation of Holland, and you've got a reason for the Dutch to be so grateful as to bombard us with tonnes of tulip bulbs every year.

To be honest, the Festival is not very Dutch, apart from the flowers...sort of. Tulips are of Asian origin, but hey, I'm not going to delve much into that issue.

Last year, the festival was a celebration of Japan. Whatever. Anyway, this year's theme is "Between Friends", a celebration of our friendship with the UNITED STATES! Wha....?

Celebrating the new Embassy, I suppose. It shouldn't be celebrated. It's a monstrosity that blocks the view of the Parliament Buildings from the Byward Market.

Most events are at Major's Hill Park, behind the Chateau Laurier, sorta, or across the street from the National Gallery. You can see it from Parliament Hill, too. It's hard to explain, so follow the crowds.

Admission is $5 per day (free for kids under 12) or about $15 for the week and tickets can be bought through Admission. But if you don't want to pay that, the Experimental Farm (Between Carling and Baseline and Merivale and Holland(ish)) and the parkways along the Rideau Canal are best for Tulip Spotting.

Generally the festival has a few free concerts, usually up-and-coming Canadian bands or those waning in popularity. This year has a better line-up, but I'm not clear on the American connection.

Highlights are the Party on the Rock II (May 15), which is a Celtic show to celebrate 50 years of Newfoundland as a province of Canada (insert your own Newfie joke here). The Irish Descendants, the Ennis Sisters and others are playing and it should be a good time.

May 16 features Québec Rock. Something I'm not at all into, but others may be. Theódore Fontaine, Deux Saisons, and Okoumé will play.

On May 17, the granddaddies of Ottawa indie rock, Furnaceface, headline a show that also features Punchbuggy, Everender, Starling, and Werbo (among others). Go see what Ottawa has to offer musically...and don't worry, some of them are actually quite good.

Jim Cuddy headlines on May 18th. He's the singer/guitarist from Blue Rodeo.

The show on May 19th is called, wait for it...Hip Hop Through the Tulips. Go, if only to hear the überfab Dubmatique.

On my birthday, May 21, Prairie Oyster's playing. Into country music like I am not? Check it out.

The very cool Philosopher Kings are playing on May 22nd.

May 24th, the closing day, is 54-40 (popularity waning, I guess). They're named after "54-40 or fight!", which was a slogan when British Columbia was debating with the US over what latitude the borders should be at. Blablabla. Anyway, local singer Tammy Raybould is one of the opening acts. She blew me away at Lilith Fair last year.

Also featured this week are an exhibition on Native Culture (always fun and very interesting); Swing night; Up With People (ungh); and a Cajun party.

Want MORE information than that? Go to the Tulip Festival site.

On to other matters:

Sports
The Senators made the playoffs! You'll notice that Ottawans are REALLY obnoxious when the Senators do well. You'll see "Go Sens Go!" posters, ripped out the local tabloid paper, posted in car windshields, house and office windows, on telephone poles, and anywhere else that they can be easily displayed. Blech.

Unfortunately, at this time, I'm not sure if Ottawa will advance further than the first round against Buffalo, so I can only say that if the best-of-seven game series requires a seventh game, Ottawa will be playing at home on May 2nd.

Check out the Senators site for more information. Tickets can be bought through Ticketmaster by calling (613)755-1111. OC Transpo runs special buses to the Corel Centre when major events are happening. Parking is a real pain, so you might as well use the shuttles.

Meanwhile, if you're into baseball, we have a minor league team called the Ottawa Lynx (farm team for the Expos).

They have series against Rochester Red Wings May 1st and 2nd , the Norfolk Tides from the 3rd to the 6th, the Indianapolis Indians from the 15th to the 18th, the Syracuse Chiefs from the 20th to the 23rd and the Durham Bulls from the 28th to the 31st.

Okay, so it's not a Yankee game or anything, but it's a fun night out and it's REALLY cheap. It's about $8.50 to get in and tickets can be ordered by calling (613) 749-9947 or 1-800-663-0985.

Jetform Park is at the St. Laurent East exit off the Queensway. I think you can get there taking the #3 bus (like most, it runs down Rideau street), but I'm not sure because the bus maps aren't that clear. I don't think Transitway buses go straight there, but the 95 does go to the train station which is within sight of the park. Unfortunately, the Queensway's in the way, and only a moron would try to cross it on foot.

Museums
The Canadian Museum of Civilization (take the #8 bus to Hull) has a few new bits, but most of the big stuff is from last month's birth of Nunavut. Check out Iqqaipaa;
Inuit and Englishmen; and
Nunavut: Jewel of the Arctic.

Inuit Art is all kinds of cool.
On May 7, "Celebrating Newfoundland" opens. Also, take advantage of the views from the Zen Garden...take a picnic lunch. It's a grand place to chill out.

The Canadian Children's Museum (in the MoC) has cool activities that even adults will enjoy. One of the highlights this month include the Mad Hatter's Tea Party on May 30.

Also, there's an exhibit called "Bayanihan - A Window on the Philippines" until May 24 and an ongoing exhibit on the Inuit called "Siqinig: Under the Same Sun".

The Canadian War Museum (mere blocks from the bus hub that is the Rideau Centre and next to the National Gallery) has a few cool things going on. One of their mottos is "War is not glorified here but presented as integral part of our heritage. We can all learn something from this story." Cool.

The "Airforce at 75" opens in mid-May. It's an outdoor display with presentations by serving members of Canadian Forces. Supposedly, a CF-18 will be on display...but with the ongoing crisis in Kosovo, it may be needed elsewhere.

"Blockhaus: Fortress Europe in Photographs" is a travelling exhibition from the Imperial War Museum in London by Peter Mackertich. It runs through mid-June. Not sure how exciting concrete shelters would be, but who am I to judge?

"A Garrison Country: Newfoundland and Labrador in Canadian War Art" celebrates Newfoundland's efforts during the Second World War by displaying twenty-four paintings.

Canada had a tough time recruiting soldiers in Quebec. "Les Pur Canayens: Canadian Posters of the First World War" displays Canada's propagandic campaign posters from that effort.

And, of course, "Athena", an exhibition on the Canadian Women's Army Corps. Excellent. GO!

The Canadian Museum of Nature (take the #6 bus from downtown) is free after 5pm on Thursdays. Some fun stuff there includes Arctic Odyssey, Creepy Critters, and Nature's Pharmacy.

The National Gallery of Canada has a whole lot of stuff closing May 2nd, including sculptures by Liliana Berezowsky and French Prints from the Age of the Musketeers. Not much new, either.

Ongoing stuff includes "Uqqurmiut: Drawings and Prints from Pangnirtung" (Inuit Galleries) and "Rodney Graham: Vexation Island and Other Works in the Video Gallery".

Ottawa has a slew of smaller galleries. Check out the Ottawa X-Press for more information on their exhibitions, as well as on concerts.

Other Things To Do
Ottawa has two main music venues, Barrymore's (Bank Street. Take the 1, 7 or 11) and Zaphod Beeblebrox (in the Market).

It's Improv night(s?) at Le Café Des Artistes in the market from Thursday to Saturday. Banking on the success of the American "Whose Line is it Anyway?", I guess.

Can't get enough of Karaoke? Call the Karaoke Hotline (I kid you not) at (613)824-4137.

Sorry, I've run terribly long this month. Enjoy the tulips, then fetch a coffee at Café Wim on Sussex Drive. "A Touch of Dutch" is their motto. Go during the day, though...at night it's full of Star Trek fans and wannabe Goth children (and true Goths trying to avoid them).

Go to the Royal Oak Laurier, I might just be there! :)

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our North America Insiders page.