If you’re around the National Capital Region this week and you’re looking for events to check out, look no further! Wether you’re into music, art, food, slam poetry or all of the above, there’s bound to be something fun for you in the days ahead. Take a look at Eventful Capital’s weekly event pick below and click on the event posters for more info.
YouthCanSlam, Canada’s first national youth poetry festival is holding its inaugural event from Tuesday, August 20 to Sunday, August 25. Teams of young poets from across the country will compete in a series of slams for a shot at winning the National Youth Poetry Slam Championship Team. The festival will also feature a variety of workshops and showcases. If you’re into poetry and spoken word, you definitely want to take part in this exciting new festival and help support local initiatives like this one.
On Tuesday, August 20, Ottawa-based spoken word artist John Akpata invites you to his Album Release/Listening Party taking place at the Mercury Lounge. The evening will feature poetry, sax, djembe, bass, and special guests performers along with food from Stone Soup Food Works and visual projections by Jamie Janx Johnston. There’ll be lots happening! 
On Wednesday, August 21, the first annual P.R.I.D.E Project is taking place at Babylon as a fundraiser and in celebration of aboriginal arts. The event will showcase various genres of art forms from within the community including music, comedy and dance and all proceeds garnered from it will go directly to The Native Friendship Center of Montreal.
If you’re into indie post rock you may want to check out The Almighty Rhombus, Trees, King’s Quest and High Waters live at the Rainbow Bistro this Wednesday, August 21. The four Ottawa-based bands will be performing live at the downtown venue starting at 9pm.
If you’re more of a indie folk rock fan, head over to Pressed Cafe on Thursday, August 22 to see Manitoba-born musician Lindy Vopnfjörð. The Canadian singer-songwriter, who has performed both as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock band Major Maker, will be in Ottawa in an effort to promote his latest album titled Young Waverer.
The 2013 Wakefest is being held from Thursday, August 22 to Sunday, August 25 along and around the banks of the Gatineau River in Wakefield. The annual community festival celebrates local artists with live music, literature, film, theatre, dance, vernissages and workshops.
The House of SAS presents the return of Cirque Bizarre as part of Ottawa’s 28th Annual Capital Pride Celebrations. The 3-day boutique festival, which is in its second year, will span across multiple indoor and outdoor venues and will feature a variety of talented DJs and performers from across Canada.
There’s lots happening this coming Friday night. For one, New Jersey band Screaming Females and Ottawa-based groups Organ Eyes and The Yips are performing live at Gabba Hey, an undisclosed location yet to be confirmed. This is a great show to check out if you enjoy indie punk rock and garage bands.
Ottawa-based hip-hop nerdcore group ANTIKS has just released a new album titled The Thing Is and they want you to come check out the music live at Fall Down Gallery this Friday, August 23. The album release party, hosted by comedian Greg Houston, will feature performances by Street Scholar (from Just Poets), Aron the Alien, G.Grand, and The Apollohs with special appearances by Dynamite Motel, DJ Greg Reain, and VJ Ina Zara A.
Ottawa’s own Fevers have a busy weekend ahead and they invite you to join in their 24 Hour Fever. A local favorite, the indie electro group, who had the opportunity to perform at Bluesfest this summer, will start the night on August 23 with a minimal acoustic set with local group Loon Choir at Mugshots. Following this, they’ll be giving a live DJ set also at Mugshots alongside J-Fun and Atherton. 
On Friday, August 23, Kronenbourg 1664 and the Mercury Lounge present special guest DJ Boddhi Satva. Hailing from the Central African Republic, Boddhi Satva will bring his mix of timeless African rhythms and ancestral soul to the downtown venue alongside Balanced Records JUNO-nominated DJ Rise Ashen of Ottawa. 
Following the Mugshots gig, Fevers will be performing live as part of 4 in 1 Sessions on Saturday, August 24 at Jackpine. They’ll be giving a show with local groups StillNative, Ilvekyo and Greg McEvoy for the occasion. Last but not least, Fevers is having an Album Release Party for No Room For Light taking place at Mavericks on Saturday night, August 24. The band will celebrate the release by giving a full set alongside Ottawa indie rock group The Love Machine and Toronto singer-songwriter Greg McEvoy. Fevers is on a roll!
If you plan on attending 4 Pivot’s Sake on Saturday, August 24, prepare to have your belly full and your liver satisfied as four local chefs pair up with four local breweries to create a dish that celebrates local cuisine and the talent of our brewers. Proceeds from the event will support the “For Pivot’s Sake” program, a community initiative designed to get a little more life out of used old skateboard goods by recycling them to help out low income youth across the City of Ottawa. 
This Saturday, August 24, The Queer Mafia and Venus Envy present Oh My Jam priding dirty edition being held at Babylon. Ottawa’s biggest queer hip hop/dancehall/RnB jam will feature a solid mashup of DJs from Toronto and Montreal going head to head to get you moving all night. 
If you’re a fan of fibre, yes, fibre as in the kind that may be spun into yarn, then you’re in luck because the Twist Festival is happening this weekend on August 24 and 25 in St-André-Avellin, a municipality that’s about 45 minutes away from Ottawa-Gatineau. The two-day annual event serves as a showcase for the fibre world and is intended for the general public, enthusiasts, fibre producers, fleece animal breeders, transformers, artists, artisans, professionals and semiprofessionals. It’ll feature dozens of workshops, activities, a textile art exhibit with a modern twist and over 80 exhibitors from all trades of the fibre industry.
Other noteworthy events happening this week in and around the National Capital Region include a Strip Spelling Bee this Thursday at Babylon brought to you by Capital Pride and PTS Ottawa, a special R&B SILK edition at Open Air Social Club, the annual Capital Pride Parade being held along Bank Street, along with an evening of soul and jazz classics by vocalist Welilie Nxumalo and band at the Mercury Lounge on Sunday, August 25.
What’s not to like here? Enjoy your week in Ottawa-Gatineau and be sure to check out some of the fun events happening in and around our eventful capital in the days ahead!
