CITY OF OTTAWA 150TH ANNIVERSARY INITIATIVES

Time Capsule to commemorate Ottawa’s 150th Anniversary (detail)

 

A time capsule will be assembled to offer future generations a tangible insight into the City of Ottawa, the business of the municipal corporation, and community life in the city’s 21 wards during the anniversary year of 2005. This time capsule consists of a specially designed container that will preserve the mementos until it is opened for the City’s 200th anniversary.  For the 50 years in between, the time capsule will be stored at the City of Ottawa Archives.

 

The suggested contents of the time capsule include:

 

·        Mayor’s letter to future Ottawa generations

·        Mayor’s Proclamation of the 150th anniversary

·        Photograph of City of Ottawa Council members

·        150th anniversary mementos (non-metallic, i.e. t-shirt with the 150 logo)

·        One “scrapbook” reflecting 2005 community activities in each ward

 

Scrapbook

Councillors’ offices will be asked to compile, over the course of the year, photos, testimonials, articles, etc. representing significant activities in their wards during 2005 that can be included in one scrapbook for the entire city. These materials will be compiled in December 2005 into one 150th scrapbook for inclusion in the time capsule

 

Ceremony and Sealing of the Time Capsule

To allow Councillors the time required to build an inventory of material representing the entire year, the time capsule will be publicly presented and sealed in December 2005.

 

Ottawa 150 Tree-Planting Program (detail)

 

As part of the City of Ottawa’s 150th anniversary celebrations (detail), the Ottawa 150 Tree-Planting Program will provide 150 trees to community groups to be planted throughout the city this spring. The trees will add to Ottawa’s natural beauty and provide a living commemoration that will be enjoyed by future generations.

 

Requesting an Ottawa 150th Anniversary tree

 

Six trees have been allocated to each City Councillor and 24 trees have been provided to the Mayor’s Office for distribution. Community groups will be invited to submit a written request for an anniversary tree by mail, fax or e-mail to their Councillor or the Mayor by Friday, April 8, 2005. Requests must include:

 

 

The information will be forwarded to the office of the City Forester where the requests will be reviewed against the City’s tree-planting criteria. Forestry staff, as well as members of the Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee, will work with representatives of the Councillors’ and Mayor’s offices to select and finalize all planting locations.

 

Tree species

The tree species selected for this anniversary celebration are sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and red oak (Quercus rubrum). Both trees are native to eastern Ontario and under ideal conditions can live in excess of 350 years. At the time of distribution, each tree’s trunk will be one-inch in diameter and will stand about six to eight feet tall. Planting instructions, mulch and compost will be provided at the time of delivery.

 

Tulip Festival’s new attraction – Art Festival (detail)

 

In celebration of the City of Ottawa's 150th anniversary, the Canadian Tulip Festival is creating the Ottawa 150 Tulip Art Festival in partnership with the City of Ottawa and the arts community. In keeping with the City of Ottawa’s 20/20 vision, this event will broaden the excellence and diversity of a well-cultured and creative city.

 

The Tulip Art Festival will be centred at Ottawa's City Hall on Festival Plaza, which will be declared an official site of the 2005 Canadian Tulip Festival. The Tulip Festival has been working closely with the City's Ottawa 150 Team and Arts and Culture staff, and Ottawa's visual arts community to establish this first Ottawa 150 Tulip Art Festival as a legacy of the 150th anniversary.

 

The Tulip Art Festival runs for the length of the Tulip Festival, May 5 to 23, 2005. Admission rates of $3 weekday and $5 weekend will apply for access to the site. Access will be free with a Tulip Experience Passport.

Tulip Art Show

There will be an exhibition of 150 Ottawa artists who will display and sell their work to visitors at the site. Representatives of the arts community, working closely with the Tulip Festival, will select the participating artists.

 

Tulip Art Garden

The artists involved in the Tulip Art Show will also paint a five-foot tall tulip that will be displayed in a delightful Tulip Art Garden on Festival Plaza. These 150 tulips will reflect the theme of Ottawa's 150 years of history and heritage.

Bell Canada Children’s Art Garden

School children across Ottawa will be invited to paint small wooden tulips with their view of what Ottawa represents to them. These will be displayed in at the Bell Canada Children’s Art Garden on Festival Plaza.

Vernissage

A celebration of the opening of the Tulip Art Festival and the Tulip Festival official site at Festival Plaza site will take place on the evening of May 5. The Mayor, Councillors and other VIPS are invited to attend this special event.

Ottawa 150 Stage

Local artists will be invited to perform throughout the Tulip Festival on the Ottawa 150 Stage located on Festival Plaza. The stage will also be used for special programming for seniors each weekday afternoon.

Buskers, Workshops, Music

Festival Plaza will also be artfully animated with buskers, music, workshops and all sorts of fun things to discover.

Tulip Shuttle

Festival Plaza will be included on the Tulip Route and visitors with Tulip Experience Passports can travel for free on the Tulip Shuttle that connects all the official Tulip sites: Commissioners Park at Dows Lake, Festival Plaza, Parliament Hill, Major's Hill Park and the Casino du Lac-Leamy. The shuttle also stops at the Canadian War Museum, the Canada Agricultural Museum, Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Rideau Centre, Byward Market, National Gallery of Canada, Royal Canadian Mint, The Currency Museum - Bank of Canada, Library and Archives Canada, Preston Street, Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the Maison du Citoyen - Montcalm Gallery.

Other Participating Galleries on Tulip Shuttle Route

There are a number of sites highlighting the local arts community on the Tulip Shuttle Route, including the Westin Hotel, the Lord Elgin Hotel, Major's Hill Park, Commissioner’s Park at Dows Lake, and the Canadian War Museum.

 

The Ottawa 150 Tulip Art Festival is being supported by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund and the City of Ottawa 150th Anniversary Celebrations.

 

Community Legacy Program commemorates Ottawa’s 150th anniversary (detail)

 

Mayor Bob Chiarelli and members of Council will celebrate Ottawa’s 150th anniversary with the Community Legacy Program. The program will combine celebrations of this historic occasion with community-oriented capital projects being completed or initiated in 2005.

 

Throughout the year ceremonies that include unveiling of a plaque bearing the Ottawa 150 logo will be held in each of the City’s wards and one or two projects of citywide significance.

 

Projects that are enduring and accessible to the community such as a park or recreation development will be selected for the program. Where an appropriate project is not included on the 2005 capital works program, one from the 2006 program may be initiated and commemorated.

 

 

 

Spring Cleaning the Capital Campaign

 

I am very supportive of this annual campaign to Spring clean our City.   The Campaign takes place between April 15 and May 15.  I would encourage your Association to take on a project and I would be pleased to join you in the clean-up and get together for some refreshments when the work is done.  I would be pleased to discuss this further with you.

 

The following information provides more details regarding the Spring Cleaning the Capital Campaign.  You may wish to post it to your website.

 

Spring Cleaning the Capital is an annual campaign that encourages and supports community involvement in the City’s spring clean-up efforts. Every year, entire communities – including schools, neighbourhood organizations and associations, and businesses respond to the Spring Cleaning the Capital challenge. In 2004, over 40,500 participants completed 570 registered clean-up projects. With your help, Spring Cleaning the Capital can be even more successful this season!  Here’s how you can take part:

 

Start at home

 

Start with the public property around your residence.  You will be surprised at how many of your neighbours will do the same. Before you know it, your whole street will be clean and litter free.

 

 

Clean up an area in your community

 

Pick a park, bus stop, woodlot, ravine, shoreline, pathway or another area you care about and see how much fun and satisfying it is to work with friends to make Ottawa cleaner, greener and litter free. Spring Cleaning the Capital is also an ideal time for neighbours, family and friends to work together and clean up their neighbourhood. 

 

Participate at school

Schools have organized some of our biggest and best clean-up projects over the past years and continue to raise awareness about litter among students! This annual initiative is a great opportunity for high school students to add to their Community Involvement Program volunteer hours. Clean-up projects can be a fun and cooperative way to learn about the importance of a clean and safe environment. Teachers and students can organize schoolyard and nearby community clean-up projects, or challenge other grades and schools to see who is the best litter “picker-upper”! 

 

Make it work at work

As an Ottawa business person there are lots of ways you can help out during the campaign:

 

Graffiti Paint Over Projects:

 

If you want to undertake a graffiti paint-over project on City property we can assist by providing:

 

How and when to register:

 

The simplest way to register is through our web site at Ottawa.ca or by calling 580-2400.

 

You can register your project from March 1 to May 15 by completing the registration form. Clean-up starter kits are available to registrants upon request, while quantities last.  Thank you to our generous sponsors who contributed clean-up supplies.

 

Register your clean-up project before April 14 to be eligible for the early bird draw for prizes donated by our sponsors.

 

Submit your clean-up report by May 31, 2005 to be eligible to win one of many prizes donated by our sponsors.

 

 

 

Clean-up project tips

 

 

Safety tips

 

 

If you have questions please contact:  Paul McCann, Community Pride Program Coordinator, City of Ottawa, Telephone: 613-580-2424 ext. 13363, Fax: 613-739-9757, E-mail: SpringCleaning@ottawa.ca.