If you’re in the National Capital Region and looking for fun things to do around Ottawa-Gatineau this week, you’ve come to the right place. Wether you’re looking for a music show, a festival, slam poetry or a dance party, take a look at Eventful Capital’s weekly picks below for all sorts of noteworthy event ideas.
YouthCanSlam, Canada’s first national youth poetry festival is holding its second edition from Tuesday, August 12 to Saturday, August 16. 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 inspiring festival and help support local initiatives like this one.
Frenzy on a Tuesday? That’s right, your favourite monthly dance party at Babylon has teamed up with Monster Energy to hold a special edition featuring guests What So Not coming all the way from Australia as part of a Canadian tour. The afrobeat/dub/house producing duo made up of members Emoh Instead and Harley Edward Streten (better known as the excellent Flume..!) will be giving a live set in Ottawa alongside local DJs Illo, Iggy Smalls and Foster. If you plan on attending, be ready to get down and get sweaty.
Australia death metal band Thy Art Is Murder will be performing live at Mavericks this Thursday, August 14. For the occasion, they’ll be joined on stage by Ottawa death metal group Accursed Spawn, Gatineau metal/hardcore formation Standing On Oblivion, Ottawa death metal project Fumigation, and Cornwall djent/metal 5-piece Here Comes Bigfoot.
Those of you who enjoy hip-hop and want to support local artists should head over to Babylon this Thursday night for the Survival Of The Illest Ottawa show. The live competition will feature sets by Ottawa hip-hop artists Precise, Fysh & Chyp, Yu$$o, Kingkon, Buck N Nice, Mista Mean and King as well as performances by special guests Philly Moves and Quotez.
Finish What You Started is celebrating 5 years this weekend and they’re inviting you to join the party from August 14 to August 17 to bask in the greatness that is the Ottawa underground punk/hardcore/indie/music community. The celebrations will include a bunch of live shows by a number of rad local and not-so-local bands. Rage on!
This Friday August 15, Locally Grown presents special guests Tribal Threat live at the Mercury Lounge. From hip hop, EDM, soul, funk, jazz, moombahton, house, and afrobeat, the Ottawa-based duo promises to make you dance the night away to the universal language of music.
If you’re into rock and want to check out a live show this Friday night, why not try out the Rainbow Bistro? The lineup for August 15 will feature local blues rock band Bearshark, blues folk rock group Cold Capital and heavy soul/folk and roll 4-piece The Heavy Medecine Band.
Beer lovers won’t want to miss the third edition of the National Capital Craft Beer Festival taking place from Friday, August 15 to Sunday, August 17 at Marion Dewar Plaza in front of the Ottawa City Hall. The now-annual festival allows you to discover the wide selection of craft brewed beers available across the National Capital Region. Thsi year’s programming also features mouth-watering culinary creations offered by artisanal eateries, a speaker series focusing on craft beer and artisanal food, and live musical entertainment presenting regional “Home-Brewed Talent”.
Ottawa’s annual LGBTQ pride celebration and most colourful festival, dubbed Capital Pride, is taking place from August 15 to August 24 this year under the theme “Free To Love”. The 29th edition of this important community celebration will feature Grammy Award winner DJ Hex Hector, New York trans performer Amanda Lapore, American rapper Cazwell and a live performance by RuPaul’s Drag Race season six runner up, Adore Delano. New to the programming this year, there will be the ‘Free to Learn’ GLBT Conference, an International Film Series, and an expansion of the International Marshal Program. The festival launches at the Canadian Museum of Nature this Friday night with a special pride edition of Nature Nocturne. There’s a slew of events being held in conjunction, so be sure to check out the full programming by clicking below for complete details.
There are a few noteworthy dance parties happening around the city this Friday night namely Space Jam featuring music selections courtesy of DJ/Producer Max Zims of the Unlikely Futures duo. If you’re into new sounds and the latest remixes, Ritual is the place to be this Friday.
Perhaps you’re feeling nostalgic and prefer dancing to 90s hip-hop and R&B. If that’s the case, then be sure to make you way over to Babylon this Friday for the 90s or Bust NBA Edition. Not only will you get to party to the Space Jam soundtrack, you’ll also get to check out old school video footage from the classic 90s movie White Men Can’t Jump.
Mugshots and Harvey & Verns have teamed up to present SODA SHOP, a summer night’s dance party in the spirit of Soc Hops and Rock n’ Roll. Fill your hands with pomade and slick back that hair, throw on your best polka dot dress and head over to Mugshots this Friday night to dance to best Doo Wop, Bubblegum & Rock n’ Roll courtesy of DJs Gina Vinelli, Matty McGovern and Matt Tamblyn. The films American Graffiti, Crybaby and The Outsiders will also be projected on the wall for your enjoyment.
The Ottawa Mini Maker Faire is back this Saturday and Sunday at the Science and Technology Museum. Presented by Artengine, this two-day family-friendly event brings together enthusiasts across the spectrum of technology from robot makers, 3D printers, and engineers to aviation specialists, knitters, woodworkers and solderers to inspire, entertain and allow attendees to learn and experience the joy of creating.
Over at House of Targ this Saturday night, Ottawa indie/electro group Fevers will be giving a live performance alongside Toronto indie group The Box Tiger and Ottawa indie/post-punk project Those Gulls.
Ottawa’s own BlakDenim is hosting a hip-hop show at the Rainbow Bistro this Saturday, August 16 in an effort to highlight some of the city’s finest hip-hop artists. For the occasion, there will be live performances by Poetic Elements, Eddie Quotez, and William Mansion who’ll share the stage for what is sure to be a great night of music. This Sunday, the Floorplay Group brings the Partio beach party over to Ottawa for its first 613 edition at Mooney’s Bay. The event, happening on the patio of the new Beach House Bistro Bar, will feature a mix of tech, house and hip-hop music courtesy of DJs Henreet, Ryan Labelle, Ray Ray and Undercover as well as live drumming by Omar Drums.
Hip-hop heads who are fans of Dipset and The Diplomats will want to be at Ritual this Sunday night to catch Cam’ron for his first Ottawa performance. The Grammy-nominated, multiplatinum-selling rapper from Harlem will be in the capital city as part of his The First Of The Month Tour and he’ll be joined on stage by special guests that still haven’t been announced. This will probably sell out so your best best is to purchase tickets in advance if you plan on attending.
Central Pennsylvania indie pop rock group Kingsfoil (ex Frankie Muniz’s Band) will be giving a live show at Cafe Dekcuf this Sunday night as part of the Brave Love Tour. For this concert, Kingsfoil will be joined on stage by Lindsay, Ontario acoustic musician SayWeCanFly, Ottawa pop rock group Keek, North Carolina acoustic pop rock band Rookie Of The Year, and Ottawa alt rock formation City Limits.