So Ottawa won an award for being the most boring city.
Sure, the award was satirical. But the thought it expressed is hardly unique – I keep hearing from people how my town is just plain dull.
This is entirely contrary to the city I know. The city I know is a magical place that always has something going on. Right now, we have Chinatown Remixed, which sees dozens artists from all over invade Chinatown’s various eateries and shops to perform and showcase. Interested in trying new beers and seeing what the microbreweries here are up to? The Gatineau Beer Festival Festibière is on all weekend.
How about an outdoors fire spinning class? That’s on tonight over at Strathcona Park. Tomorrow of course is the Great Glebe Garage Sale. You’ll have an entire community come alive and put anything you can imagine up for grabs. It’s also race day for the Ottawa Race Weekend – go cheer them on! Have some spare time after? How about participating in a protest against Monstanto – that’s on Parliament Hill at 2PM. End your night with some karaoke over at the Shanghai, where you have the fabulous China Doll (below) join in. Or if you’re kinky, you can end the night with a bondage bananza instead. Or any numerous number of other kink events that go on here all the time. I can think of three others for this weekend alone.
Want to relax Sunday? Well how about a trip to Brewer’s Park where you can have a huge breakfast at the weekly Farmer’s Market. Everything is made fresh, and it’s all local. Or how about going to the Byward market? You’ll find it packed with people and vendors.
Then how about popping over to the Minto Park, where the Ravenswing Fair will be happening. Local artists, writers, yoga, workshops, will all be there. It’s also where the Clothesline Project will be taking place to speak out against violence against women.
Want to check out more local artists Sunday afternoon? See what’s on at the Cube Gallery, SAW Gallery, Falldown Gallery, or what the Atomic Rooster has up on its walls. Then how about a maple bacon gourmet doughnut at Suzy Q, or a burger at Hintonburger?
This isn’t even the half of what’s going on. It’s always like this, it’s always all around us. This city is alive and breathing – you just have to pay attention.
I get where the detractors are coming from – this is also a sprawling city, it’s also a wealthy city. You have lots of folks living in the quiet suburbs. The action is downtown. They only commute downtown for work, then retreat to their big screen television at home in the evening.
This city does have amenities to cater to that crowd – museums, movie theatres, malls – but it won’t compete with the likes of Montreal. If that’s what you confine your life to, then of course this city will appear boring.
But if you’re willing to leave that comfort zone, then this city offers one hell of a ride.
Comments
One response to “Ottawa is Anything but Boring”
Ottawa is, in essence, a really big single-industry small town. Like one of those places in northern Ontario that exists only because of the lumber or mining industries, Ottawa exists only because it’s the seat of the federal government. We had high-tech for a while in the 90s, but the bubble burst on that. Diversity is the spice of life, as they say, and as cities go, Ottawa is pretty homogeneous.
Is Ottawa boring? Yeah, I’d say it is. Or at least, I understand why many would say so. It’s not for lack of things to do. We have plenty to offer, as you mentioned. Culture, food, nature, entertainment – it’s all here, or close by, if one is willing to look beyond the cookie cutter streets of Orleans and Kanata. Of course we’ll never be the hive of activity that Toronto or Montreal are, and anyone who visits Ottawa expecting a similar vibe will be disappointed. But compared to other similarly-sized cities, I’d say we’re doing pretty well in terms of what we offer. I’ve lived here for 27 years and I’m not bored of it.
So it’s not the city itself that’s boring, it’s the people. The public service is an environment where conformity is rewarded, and it affects one’s mentality outside of work. And in turn, the private sector in Ottawa exists mostly to support the government and its workers, so the conformist mentality spreads throughout. That’s obviously a sweeping generalization, but it’s true of a significant portion of those who live here.
Ottawa is a very big small town, but without the small-town charm. That’s why we’re seen as boring.