Eventful Capital’s Weekly Picks: From Hidden Cameras and the CHUO Live Auction to Sip N’ Slurp and Kannibalen

Eventful Capital is pleased to bring you weekly picks offering regular event suggestions that are sure to entertain. Wether you’re looking for a music show, a night of spoken word and poetry, a dance party, or a foodie gathering, take a look at the sample of events that are happening in and around town in the coming days.

As part of Black History Month, the Words To Live By poetry night presents The Great Black North taking place this Tuesday at Pressed Cafe. The special evening of poetry will feature live performances from poets who’ve contributed pieces to this contemporary African Canadian poetry anthology namely Brandon Wint, Ikenna Onyegbula, John Akpata and Scruffmouth Scribe among others. 

Over at Zaphods this Tuesday, Hidden Cameras will be performing live. The Toronto indie pop group will be joined on stage by local indie band Loon Choir for the occasion. Besides, how great is the event poster? Gotta love it.

Community radio station CHUO 89.1 FM is hosting its annual live auction at Club SAW this Wednesday night. This fundraising event, geared at raising money to help keep the station running, will feature loads of awesome prizes donated by super cool local companies, restaurants, services etc. so bring cash with you if you plan on attending and bidding. 

If artistic design is your thing, there’s a great opportunity for you this week. Don’t miss out on a free multi-disciplinary conference on philosophy of art and aesthetics happening this Wednesday and Thursday at the University of Ottawa. For the full schedule of presentations, just click below. 

Kway Sway, the host of CKCU 93.1 FM’s Dem Tings Dey will be hosting a special night of music at Pressed Cafe this Thursday, February 20. For the occasion, he’ll be playing lounge music all night while The SouthSide provides visuals to accompany the sounds. If you’re a fan of contemporary dance, be sure to head over to the Salle Jean-Despréz at the Gatineau City Hall to take in a live performance called Fougue presented by Dorsale Danse. Featuring choreographies by Sylvie Desrosiers and Yvonne Coutts, the performance will take place on Thursday, February 20 and Friday, February 21.

If you’re looking for a dance party this Friday night, 90s or Bust might just be the one for you. As long as you enjoy dancing to 90s hip-hop and r&b in your best plaid attire, you’re good to go. That’s right, the February edition of 90s or Bust is celebrating plaid by putting on a plaid contest and by playing Clueless and Empire Records for your viewing pleasure.

In celebration of Black History Month, there will be a free spoken word and visual arts showcase happening at the University of Ottawa’s Alumni Theatre this Saturday, February 22. Titled “Speaking Black Hockey”, the event will feature live performances and presentations by several talented spoken word artists and public figures.  

Local foodies unite: Sip N’ Slurp, Ottawa’s first annual Noodle Fest is being held this Saturday, February 22 at the Convention Centre. Organized by Privé Food Thought, the event will bring together local chefs who’ve been challenged to deliver unique culinary spins on Thai, Ramen, Italian and other popular noodle dishes. If you wish to attend, buy your tickets in advance as this event will surely sell out.

For a taste of home, take part in an intimate night of song, poetry, visual art and sharing at The Glebe House (Angela’s Bed & Breakfast) this Saturday night. The first Glebe House Concert Series will feature performances by artists Ali Boma Ye, Amanda Cottreau, Amanda Jensen, and Suzy Pankhurst.

If you’re into indie folk/alt rock sounds, you may want to check out L’ile du stylo at Cafe Deckuf this Saturday night. The North Bay/Timmins/Ottawa band will be performing live alongside musical guests  Big Balade, Break The Trend, and Made Noon.  

On February 22, Montreal’s Kannibalen Records is taking over Dubsmack for an electrifying night with Black Tiger Sex Machine, Apashe, Snails and Karluv Klub. Kannibalen nights feature a different theme, and attendees regularly show up in elaborate costumes. With a growing popularity, Kannibalen has decided to bring its events on the road with Ottawa as the first stop. Saturday’s theme is Nuclear Hasard so dress the part and head out to Babylon for an epic night of musical destruction.

This Saturday, February 22nd, DNA and Bydek present Privé featuring Borgeous. The LA-based producer, who’s been gaining momentum and rising on the Beatport charts, will be giving a live DJ set inside Era alongside Mayro who’ll be warming up the dancefloor.  

A Busy February in Ottawa-Gatineau: From AWOL and BadBadNotGood to Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano

In case you didn’t know, February is synonym for Black History Month in Canada. Many events and activities have been taking place throughout the month to raise awareness and highlight the important contributions of Black Canadians. One such event taking place this week is the Ottawa launch of The Great Black North: Contemporary African Canadian Poetry, the first national anthology to focus solely on poetry by African Canadians. The launch will happen at Pressed Cafe this Wednesday, February 20 starting at 6pm and will feature poetic performances by John Akpata, Ikenna Onyegbula, Brandon Wint, Prufrock Shadowrunner and more of the national capital’s finest. The evening will also include the Urban Legends Poetry Slam. Grab all the details by clicking below.
This Thursday, February 21, head over to Babylon Nightclub for the monthly edition of Hip Hop Karaoke with DJ So Nice and Atherton. The two hosts promise a night of fun with this twist on traditional karaoke that steps away from the conventional “mom n’ pop video screen bouncy ball read-a-long half-assed last-minute-plan-with-your-girlfriends-in-korea-town karaoke jam”. If you think you got what it takes to rap along to your favorite hip hop song, sign up for HHK! Check out all the details by clicking the poster below.

Also this Thursday, February 21, DNA Presents introduces Killabits to Ottawa with a live performance at Era. The Canadian-based electro duo will be doing a live set alongside CRNKN of New Hampshire. This is a free show for those who are tight on funds, but who wish to enjoy a night of live electronic music. Grab more info by clicking on the poster below.

Another big event happening Thursday is the AWOL (A Way Of Life) Canadian Tour presented by Kapacity Entertainment & The Mckee Agency. The live performance by the UK legends of Jungle and Drum & Bass will include Mickey Finn, Darren Jay and MC Fearless. Known for their important contribution to the early underground rave movement, AWOL had a huge influence in making the jungle scene mainstream. Get all the details for this by clicking on the poster below. 

Attention vinyl lovers, this Friday, February 22 is the monthly edition of Double Barrel at Mugshots with DJ Magnificient and special guest DJ General Eclectic , an important contributor to the Toronto music scene. The DJs will be playing nothing but the best 45s in Soul, Funk, Motown and vintage Reggae. Check out my special feature on Double Barrel coming soon and grab more info by clicking on the poster below. 

BADBADNOTGOOD of World Famous Music will be performing live at Ritual this Saturday, February 23 with special guests Emoticon Dawn featuring Ian Keteku and Ottawa’s own DJ Magnificient. The Toronto-based trio known for their post-bop instrumental hip hop jazz style will be doing a live show in an effort to promote their latest album BBNG2 (available for free download on the band’s website). Get all the details by clicking on the poster below.  

If you’re in the mood to dance the night away, may I suggest you check out Ceremony, going down this Saturday, February 23 at Mugshots. Ceremony will be celebrating its one-year anniversary in style at the haunted jail bar with DJs Adam Saikaley, Eric Roberts and Gary Franks playing the best in techno, house, mumbahton, juke, UK bass, & other guilty pleasures. To find out more on this event, you can simply click on the below poster.

For this week’s edition of Privé, DNA Presents brings you Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano live at Era on February 23. The energetic Amsterdam duo will be doing a live set complete with their signature funky house and tribal sound. For details, just click on the event poster.

Other noteworthy events happening this week include the Artistic Showcase with Claude Munson & The Storm Outside, Erin Saoirse Adair, and Brandon Wint at Pressed Cafe on Saturday, February 23.

Circadia Indigena presents A Winter Village: the first annual Indigenous Arts & Culture Festival in the Nation’s Capital taking place February 22 to the 24 at the Richelieu Vanier Community Centre.

The February edition of Grind Party is also going down this Saturday, February 23 at Babylon with Jon Deck, Selektah Shellz and special guest DJ Acro.

On the spoken word side of things, Cap Slam will hold its final qualifying poetry slam to determine the top poets of the season who will represent Capital Slam at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championships in Vancouver this April.

Another spoken word event worth mentioning this week is WORDS OF A POET- Vol.IV taking place at the Ottawa Little Theater on Sunday, February 24. Words of a Poet will showcase some of Ottawa’s finest poets including Raliq Bashard, Komi Olaf, Ikenna Onyegbula, Hodan Ibrahim, Brandon Wint, Ragaeeb Synonymous and Ibn Najeeb.