Mark Monahan
Executive/artistic director of the RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest and the Ottawa Folk Festival 

Why I came to Ottawa: I was born here and never left.

First Ottawa job: Working a Crown and Anchor game for the Ottawa Ex at the age of 14.

My neighbourhood: The Glebe.

Most accurate Ottawa stereotype: Political junkies obsessed with The Weather Channel.

Least accurate Ottawa stereotype: Sleepy government town.

Proof I’ve made it in Ottawa: Private parking spot at the Greyhound bus station (Bluesfest is housed inside the bus station).

Five words that describe Ottawa now: Scenic, safe, energizing, green, interesting.

Five words I hope will be used to describe the city in 15 years: Scenic, safe, energizing, green, interesting.

Favourite spot: Any golf club on a sunny day.

Josie Geuer, a.k.a. Josie and The City
Program director and entertainment reporter for The New Hot 89.9

Why I came to Ottawa: I made the big move from Almonte after high school. I was buying time and taking acting lessons because I wasn’t sure about my future plans.

First Ottawa job: Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s. I played with toys all day and listened to children’s music on repeat.

My neighbourhood: Depends on my mood: Funhaven/Farhaven/Barrhaven/The Burbs.

Most accurate Ottawa stereotype: It’s flippin’ freezing! At least that applies to this past winter.

Least accurate Ottawa stereotype: Stuffy government town. We know how to get down.

Proof I’ve made it in Ottawa: I haven’t. Waiting on the bronze statue.

Favourite spot: Along the canal, especially at night when those people who live in the mansions keep their blinds open. I love seeing how other people live.

Pierre Brault 
Actor, playwright, comedian 

Why I came to Ottawa: After the company I was working for in Montreal went bankrupt, I was given the choice of termination or a transfer to Ottawa. I took the transfer thinking I would stay in O-Town for maybe a couple of years, then leave. That was in 1990. Still happily here.

First Ottawa job: I was a corporate video producer for Pizza Pizza. I would write, act in, direct, and edit training videos with such notable titles as Cleaning Your Pizza Oven and The Art of Pizza Delivery. While it may seem mundane, the job did allow me to train myself in all aspects of production, which helped my career enormously.

My neighbourhood: Old Ottawa East.

Most accurate Ottawa stereotype: Cold winters.

Least accurate Ottawa stereotype: Officious, boring civil servants who stay at home dreaming of advancing in the civil service.

Proof I’ve made it in Ottawa: Seeing my face on a giant banner hanging off the NAC. It was an ad for my solo show Blood on the Moon, which ran for three summers.

Five words that describe Ottawa now: Dynamic, livable, breathable, friendly, scenic.

Five words I hope will be used to describe the city in 15 years: The best city in Canada.

Favourite spot: The path along the Ottawa River behind Parliament. A perfect spot for serenity and peace. I get a lot of inspiration there.

Vinod Rajasekaran
Executive director of HUB Ottawa

Why I came to Ottawa: To become a rocket scientist (seriously, I studied aerospace engineering at Carleton University).

First Ottawa job: Selling floppy drives and PalmPilots at Staples. Yes, it was 10 years ago.

My neighbourhood: South Keys.

Most accurate Ottawa stereotype: Ottawans love the outdoors.

Least accurate Ottawa stereotype: Ottawa is boring and has nothing interesting going on (if you’re in this boat, stop by The Hub).

Five words that describe Ottawa now: A city realizing its creative talent/innovation potential.

Five words I hope will be used to describe the city in 15 years: Best G20 capital to kick-start solutions that change the world.

Favourite spot: The O-train. Trains help me problem-solve — I sometimes ride it back and forth many times. Looking forward to an expanded offering.

Lucy van Oldenbarneveld
Anchor, CBC News Ottawa

Why I came to Ottawa: I came here permanently in 2002 to take a job as the field reporter for CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning.

First Ottawa job: Working at Harlow’s bar and restaurant in the Market as a summer job when I was 21.

My neighbourhood: Centretown.

Most accurate Ottawa stereotype: Bad drivers. Holy mackerel, don’t get me started!

Proof I’ve made it in Ottawa: Having people recognize me as “that woman with the long name.”

Five words that describe Ottawa now: Best-kept secret in Canada.

Five words I hope will be used to describe the city in 15 years: Creative, green, livable, affordable, innovative.

Favourite spot: Dundonald Park in my neighbourhood. It’s so vibrant and always filled with a wonderful assortment of characters. People love their area green spot. Centretown movies are there, too, in the summer.

The post ASK A LOCAL: 5 Ottawa notables discuss political junkies, canal spying, bad drivers, and other city stereotypes appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Sound Seekers by Fateema Sayani is published weekly at OttawaMagazine.com. Read Fateema Sayani’s culture column in Ottawa Magazine and follow her on Twitter @fateemasayani

The Ottawa Rock Lottery is a big ol’ love-in for the local music scene. It’s the community cup of spontaneous music-making that happens annually with proceeds going to charity. The fifth edition takes place this weekend with 25 musicians participating.

Daniel Spence, centre, of The Pelts will participate in the fifth annual Rock Lottery.

It works like this: on Friday night, organizers put the names of individual musicians into a hat. They draw out five names at a time and put those people together to form an insta-band. Over the next 24 hours, those five new bands create a half-hour set of original music to be performed on Saturday night for all to see.

The hilarity, camaraderie, rivalry, shining moments, and flubs are what make the show interesting, particularly to those who see live music often and are familiar with the city’s band-folk. The Ottawa Rock Lottery deck-shuffling allows those people to display talents that may be hidden in their other bands — or perhaps the deadline pressures will be evident. As organizers promise on their Facebook page: “It could be great. It could be awful.”

Sarah Bradley of The Fevers. Photo by Mélanie Broguet.

It is all in the name of charity. Proceeds go to the Ottawa Food Bank and the goal is to raise $1,500 for 10 emergency food baskets. Participating bands also get a chance to win a record session with Steve Foley at Audio Valley Recording Studio — though the best bait, for some, is the chance for creative growth.

Songwriter Kalle Mattson is participating for the first time this year. “I’ve been asked to play in the past, but my band and I have been on tour each time, so I’m really excited to be playing this year,” he says. “I’m usually the guy who writes the songs and sings them, so it’ll be really awesome to play in more of a supporting role.”

Singer Sarah Bradley of Fevers says the rock lottery requires a lot of effort and compromise in order to churn out a half-hour set in less than 24 hours. “You have to combine your different song writing processes, styles, and tastes to create music together. It’s a mega challenge, but it’s also kind of a bonding experience,” she says.

Singer Daniel Spence says he’s looking forward to a change of scenery after nearly five years of being “locked down with my dear lads,” in reference to his band mates in The Pelts. “There’s nothing like having a peek out into the world to make you appreciate what you’ve got back home, and maybe I can even bring back something new.”

Kalle Mattson

Bradley’s soft vocal touch is a big part of her band’s sound. In Fevers she sings contemporary indie-pop tunes, but is looking forward to branching out at the rock lottery.

“I learned how to sing by covering Destiny’s Child and Mariah Carey, and I feel like that says something significant about me,” she says. “I see the Ottawa Rock Lottery as an opportunity to unleash my repressed diva. I suppress some of my inner-sass with Fevers, but I am really excited to let my freak flags fly this weekend.”

Spence of The Pelts also hopes to loosen up this weekend. He says he’s not much for restrictions, despite having the stage name of Revered D. Spanx.

“I’m flexible, multi-instrumental, and not burdened with any particular notion of musical theory. I just play by gut and by ear, so my role will depend on the strengths and interests of my other rock lottery band mates and the chemistry we develop,” he says.

“My normal approach to song writing involves a great deal of solitary crafting on the guitar before introducing a nascent song to the band, where we re-work it for weeks until it starts to feel mature enough for our live show. With the ORL, I look forward to experimenting with pretty much the exact opposite way of writing music, relying on the talent and creativity of my fellow lottery winners to help make something beautiful crawl out of our little petri dish after 24 hours.”

Ottawa Rock Lottery. $10 or $9 with canned food donation. Saturday, May 18. Mavericks, 221 Rideau St. Doors at 8p.m. 19+. 

ALSO ALSO ALSO
On the subject of possible train wrecks, we bring you to the phenomenon that is Hip Hop Karaoke — that’s where people dress up and imitate their favourite rap tunes from the ‘80s and ‘90s. It started up in Ottawa last summer and it’s been a hoot to watch. The evening’s hosts are MC Atherton and DJ So Nice and they are gracious. Before an evening of hip-hop karaoke, they instruct the crowd with some ground rules. The first of them being that “everyone is a star at hip-hop karaoke,” meaning you can’t boo the tuneless ones off stage. There is also a no N-bomb rule. They suggest using the word “ninja” or “neighbour” in place of that word. (Think “Neighbours With Attitude” or “Sucka Ninja.”) The event happens monthly throughout the year. The summer schedule sees HHK go down on the third Friday of every month in the Mugshots Courtyard of the Ottawa Hostel.

The post SOUND SEEKERS: Fame! Fortune! Creativity! Revealing the secret desires of Rock Lottery participants appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Curators from the National Gallery of Canada began scouring the globe a few years ago to find, in the words of one of them, “great” contemporary art.

Richard Bell Life on a Mission, 2009 Acrylic on canvas National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Purchased 2011 © Courtesy of the artist and Milani Gallery Photo © NGC

The only other ingredient beyond “greatness,” according to the gallery’s chief aboriginal curator Greg Hill, was that the artists had to be “indigenous,” a term generally referring to the original people of a particular geographic area who, over the centuries, have been swamped by colonists to the point of becoming a minority.

In the Americas, indigenous refers generally to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people. But there are indigenous minorities in Scandinavia, Taiwan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and other countries.

Once examples of “great” indigenous contemporary art were identified, Hill and his team selected the best of the best and created the newly opened exhibition Sakahan, the largest show ever staged by the National Gallery in its history. Sakahan fills the usual prime temporary exhibition space on the main floor, expands into rooms in the contemporary wing of the building and fills the second floor exhibition space normally displaying temporary shows of prints, photographs or drawings.

There is no overall theme to the show. That gave the curators the freedom to concentrate on the truly “great” and not feel restricted to selecting art that fit into a particular thematic box.

That tactic was wise. The show is indeed great. The “wow factor” is higher than anything the gallery has done since Diana Nemiroff stopped curating contemporary shows there many years ago.

Rebecca Belmore's Fringe is part of the new exhibit at the National Gallery of Canada. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2011 Photo © NGC

Among the Canadian highlights is Rebecca Belmore’s photograph called Fringe. A nude aboriginal woman lies on a mat. On her back, a horrific looking scar travels from her left shoulder to her right hip. Blood-red lines (beaded strings, actually) drip from the scar.

In this one scene, Belmore has encapsulated the history of violence against aboriginal people, especially aboriginal women. The beadwork is a nod to traditional aboriginal handicraft but the medium – photography – is very much a contemporary, Western form of expression.

Similar themes related to violence and colonialism and marginalization do run through many of the artworks from around the world, from Australia to Lapland.

The wow factor is also high with the photographs by Maori artist Fiona Pardington from New Zealand. She has photographed the life-casts of the heads of some Maori and other South Pacific indigenous men that were created between 1837 and 1840 under the orders of French explorer Jules-Sebastien-Cesar Dumont d’Urville.

By chance, the artist discovered a trove of these heads — some of her own ancestors — at a Paris museum in 2007. The resulting photographs of these heads are simultaneously horrifying and hypnotic and definitely a reminder of the colonial era when indigenous peoples were treated more like wild animal specimens than humans.

Two Ottawa artists are in the exhibition. There is a Jeff Thomas photograph from a series he did spoofing the statue of Samuel de Champlain on Nepean Point. And there are two drawings by Ottawa-based Inuit artist Annie Pootoogook, one a self-portrait lying down and another unusually large one for her (about 3 metres by 1.5 metres) showing a scene in Cape Dorset of Inuit shoppers peering into a large freezer in a grocery store. That scene naturally makes one think of that old joke about a salesman who was so skilled he could sell “a refrigerator to an Eskimo.” These drawings are two of the most technically skilled I have seen Pootoogook do. She has had a rough patch the last few years, basically living on the street. Let’s hope she gets back to a stable life and lots of drawing.

Sakahan continues at the National Gallery until Sept. 2.

The post ARTFUL BLOGGER: “Wow factor” is high at the National Gallery’s new international indigenous exhibition appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

CHINATOWN REMIXED (FREE!)
The fifth annual arts festival on Somerset Street West, aka Chinatown Remixed, launches this weekend. This unique month-long event includes exhibits of visual and performance art of all kinds located in various establishments from restaurants to hair salons. Take a stroll through Ottawa’s vibrant Chinatown to experience over 40 artists’ works in unconventional locations. One of many displays is Christine Mockett’s The Machine Project, a video installation presented at Tang Coin Laundry. Live music, workshops, and local foods are all part of this one-of-a-kind celebration. Takes place on Somerset Street between Bay and Preston streets. Grand opening and vernissage from 1:30-5:30, May 18. Exhibits continue until June 18th. www.chinatownremixed.ca

Get to know Star Wars on a whole new level at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum.

STAR WARS™ IDENTITIES
See the characters of Star Wars like you’ve never seen them before at the traveling exhibition currently at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. This weekend, discover how Luke and Anakin turned out to be such different people, view the vast collection of over 200 iconic props, and engage in a multi-media identity quest to see what you would look like as a Star Wars character. $24, teens and senior $20, children (3-12) $13.25. Friday, May 10 to Monday, September 2. See website for hours of operation. Canada Aviation and Space Museum, 11 Aviation Pkwy. www.aviation.technomuses.ca

INTERNATIONAL MUSEUMS DAY (FREE!)
Thanks to the International Council of Museums, we have International Museums Day on Saturday, May 18. In Ottawa, two museums are opening their doors to the public, free of charge – Museum of Nature and Bytown Museum. Educational, fun, and free! The Canadian Museum of Nature is at 240 McLeod St.; find Bytown Museum below the locks at 1 Canal Lane.

MISS CALEDONIA AT THE NAC
Written and performed by Melody A. Johnson, this 70-minute play set in 1955 tells the true story of a woman desperate to escape her dull life by setting out to win the local beauty pageant in hopes of getting closer to Hollywood fame. The hilarious story of Peggy Ann Douglas’ quest to obtain the tiara at Miss Caledonia is surely to be one entertaining adventure. Tickets starting at $30. Tuesday, May 14 to Saturday, May 25. See website for show times. National Arts Centre, 53 Elgin St. www.nac-can.ca

KON-TIKI AT THE (NEWLY RENOVATED) BYTOWNE THEATRE
Check out the newly renovated and historic ByTowne Cinema as it re-opens this weekend, May 17. The makeover includes installations of 435 brand new seats that are wider and more comfortable with greater legroom than what was previously in place. (Unlike before, you now have the option to raise the armrest if you want to get extra cozy with that special someone.) Premiering on May 17 for the re-opening are Canadian drama, Still Mine and the Oscar-nominated adventure, Kon-Tiki. See website for ticket information and show times. ByTowne Cinema, 325 Rideau St. www.bytowne.ca

VICTORIA DAY FESTIVAL (FREE!)
Take advantage of the long weekend and head over to this family-fun event right by Dow’s Lake. With plenty to do and see, such as rides, musical and bandshell entertainment, a petting zoo, face painting, concessions, and fireworks, this is a guaranteed good time. With the Canadian Tulip Festival just steps away, the gardens can serve as a getaway from the crowds. Wednesday, May 8 to Friday, May 24. Victoria Day Festival, Queen Juliana Park near Carling and Preston.

The post WEEKENDER: Chinatown Remixed, International Museums Day, Star Wars, and four more ways to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Shep Ysselstein, the owner and operator of Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese has partnered with Beau's to make a beer washed-rind cheese that will change with the seasons .

I guess the monks in the Middle Ages knew something that many of us are just starting to figure out: beer and cheese taste great together.

Back in the day, artisan monks brewed beer and made cheese in monasteries for their communities. Typically washed rind cheeses are bathed in saltwater brine; the washing helps break down the curd from the outside. It’s fun to imagine the day the monks discovered that they could use beer to wash the rinds of cheese during the aging process to influence the texture, aroma, and flavour of the cheese.

Flash-forward to today, to a small cheese plant near Woodstock Ontario, where the next chapter in the history of beer washed-rind cheese is being written.

There, 30-year-old Shep Ysselstein, of Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese (located on his family’s third-generation dairy farm nestled in the rolling hills of Gunn’s Hill Rd. in Oxford County, Ontario — the Dairy Capital of Canada), has been working over the past few months to create a cheese using Vankleek Hill’s beloved brew, Beau’s.

Beau's Beaver River--it's spring seasonal beer will be featured on the first batch of the new cheese that will be unveiled at the Great Canadian Cheese Festival

Ysselstein admits most small-scale cheesmakers don’t bother with washed-rind varieties because the process is laborious; it’s all done by hand. “We wash it every day and keep it moist so that more bacteria grows and the cheese gets more of the beer flavour.”

For Steve Beauchesne, Beau’s co-founder, the partnership is an opportunity to help more people make the connection. “Not enough people are onto the beer and cheese pairing yet and it’s one of the most exciting things about beer right now.”

The test batch began with Gunn’s Hill Oxford’s Harvest cheese, a semi-soft mild and creamy cheese washed with Beau’s Bog Water. For the next batch, Ysselstein switched to Beaver River, Beau’s award-winning IPA, described by Beauchesne as a relatively bitter beer with a nice caramel malty backbone and hop aroma. “Shep wanted a beer with a bold enough character — the flavours need to be bold enough to transfer over.” The idea is that Ysselstein will work with each of Beau’s seasonal beers — Festivale in the summer, for instance — creating a truly seasonal cheese.

Georgs Kolesnikovs, the engine behind what has become the largest cheese show in Canada — The Great Canadian Cheese Festival — says this is big news in the world of artisan cheesemaking: it’s the first collaboration between an Ontario cheesemaker and an Ontario beer maker. He is delighted that the yet-to-be-named cheese will be unveiled at the festival on June 1 and 2.

The cheese will then be released at Farm Boy stores across the city in conjunction with craft beer week (June 16th), but the first place to get a taste will be at the Cheese Festival in Picton.

Kolesnikovs can’t help himself from gushing about the young cheesemaker who “came out of nowhere” and is already winning awards for his Alpine-style cheese. He recently took top honours in the firm cheese category in the annual Dairy Farmers of Canada Canadian Cheese Grand Prix.

Ysselstein has only been at it for a year and a half. He took cheesemaking classes at the University of Guelph and then the University of Vermont before going to upstate New York to work at a small cheese factory for three months. From there was given the opportunity to make cheese in Switzerland using techniques passed down for centuries, where cows are sent from the valley up into the mountains and milked morning and night.

Now, running his own artisan cheese plant, he is freed from the task of milking (the milk comes from his parents’ farm, where cows roam outside in the summertime) to concentrate on making great cheese. He appears to genuinely love it. The fact that he has to bring beer to work every day now is just a bonus.

Details: The yet-to-be named Beau’s beer washed cheese will be available for sampling at the third annual The Great Canadian Cheese Festival: June 1 and 2; 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Crystal Palace at the Picton Fairgrounds in Picton, Ontario, in the heart of  Prince Edward County.

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased in advance online. Cost is $40 for a one day pass; $55 for a two-day pass. 

The post CRAFT BEER + ARTISAN CHEESE: Beau’s partners with Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese to create a new beer-washed rind cheese — just in time for the Great Canadian Cheese Festival appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Shop Talk is written by OM senior editor Dayanti Karunaratne and Sarah Fischer, OM account executive and fashion maven.

Last week, we brought you news of retail changes in the trendy shopping districts of Westboro/Wellington West. This week, we turn our eyes to the ByWard Market. On the tony strip of Sussex Drive, any murmurings of change generally involve speculation of how the National Capital Commission, being the landlord for many of these storefronts, might have played a role.  Us, we aren’t even going to speculate! Sometimes we ask interview subjects about the reasons for closing or the ins and out of their lease agreements. But no one wants to talk about the NCC. Any anyway, there’s enough to talk about this spring, and many new spaces to explore.

Mellow par Melissa Bolduc closed earlier this year. Photo by Sarah Fischer.

Mellow closes
457 Sussex Dr.
We spoke with the Montreal-based designer behind this unique line last summer. Since then, they have closed shop. (Insert speculative gossip.)  Apparently, they are looking for another location in Ottawa because they were having such success. We loved what they did with the Sussex space — let’s hope they bring their minimalist-industrial style to another storefront soon.

Stunning opens
6 York St.
Mandy Gosewich, former manager of Michael Kors in the Rideau Centre, is opening Stunning, a shop for “accessories, and then some.” We hear May 22 is the opening date. Mandy comes from a long line of retailers, and has contributed to the development of a couple other local boutiques in the past year. So far she’s planning on bringing in Sibilia from Buenos Aries, By Boe from New York, Rita D from Toronto, and Charlotte Hosten from Montreal.

Renee Levesque relocates
From 1282A Wellington St. W. and 24 Murray St. to 419 Sussex Dr.
Earlier this year we wrote about the closure of not one, but two RL stores — and Renée’s vision for her new location. I guess the months-long closure was worth it, because she found an outstanding space in the address formerly occupied by Nicholas Hoare (in case you missed it, the bookseller claimed the NCC raised the rent 72% and wrote “good riddance to bad rubbish,” in an e-mail to the National Post). ST popped in this week, and found an all-white interior, with plenty of colourful jewellery, clothing, and art, as well as teas and housewares and an atelier.

Renée Levesque opened her new store/atelier last week. Photo by Sarah Fischer.

Stacaro closes
700 Sussex Dr.
What will go into this big space? So far the west side of Sussex doesn’t get too much action. At this time One Tooth is subletting space from Armen, but it’s fun to think what a major upscale retailer could do for the area. Maybe Ralph Lauren?

Modern Shop relocates
541 Susex Dr.
For the past ten years this popular home décor store helped build Old Ottawa South into the interior design mecca it is today. But Christine Shaikin is retiring from Justine’s — after 20 years! Her son Michael, the owner of Modern Shop, will move his modern furniture, lights, and accessories to this old stone building. (If you think the mix of old and new is strange, check out what neighbours McMillan have done with their space.)

Milk relocates
From 234 Dalhousie St. to 45 William St.
Their former location anchored the Dalhousie shopping district and beckoned those looking for an alternative to mall shopping off the beaten path. It closed at the end of February, but the new space isn’t too far away. And their social media indicates they’re getting along splendidly with new neighbours.

The post SHOP TALK: Sussex shuffle and other ByWard Market changes appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Urban Hippie by Jen Lahey is published every second Tuesday at OttawaMagazine.com. Follow Jen on Twitter ‏@Jen_Lahey.

Organic cotton collection by Feral Childe

The stereotype of eco-friendly clothes (the hemp-heavy, crunchy-granola kind of stuff worn by the hacky sack crowd) is something that Sarah Barr is out to change.

She’s the owner of Green Tree Eco Fashion,(358 Richmond Rd.) a boutique for those with a bent for both the environmentally friendly and the fashion-fierce.

The passionate fashionista, who has worked at Chanel and Holt Renfew, amongst other notable companies, describes the clothes at her store as “edgy, modern, current, and funky,” and one gets the sense that she wants customers to feel that way, too, when they’re done shopping at Green Tree.

Barr clearly wants women and men to look outside their pre-conceived notions. She encourages people to dress for their body type — which often results, she says, in customers having a new, more positive, perspective on how they look.

Barr, who grew up sewing, and still does the tailoring for the shop, says that fit is key when it comes to clothes. “Tailoring is very important,” she explains. “If it doesn’t fit perfectly, it’s just a piece of fabric.” She often fine-tunes items for customers so they fit just so.

Sparkle shift dress by Sugarbum

Barr even encourages customers to bring in clothing items they already own so that she can help clients see what new items will work best with they already own. “A lot of customers will bring in a piece from their place, and we’ll tweak what they have,” says Barr.

But why emphasis on environmentally friendly wares? Barr says she “want(ed) to have a store that could be sweatshop-free, fair trade, with natural fabrics, and that doesn’t leave a footprint on the earth.” In keeping with this, the store carries only natural fabrics such as bamboo, cotton, lyocell, modal, wool, and silk, and the store’s cosmetics are organic and paraben-free. Barr’s big on supporting local and Canadian designers, but also brings in items from New York, Spain, California, France, and Italy.

So what are the trends in eco-fashion for this season? According to Barr, it’s all about colour. “If you’re not wearing bright colours, you may as well be living under a rock,” she laughs. “Bright, beautiful, vibrant colours, and that’s going to continue right into the fall.” Think corals, teals, cobalt blue, and even hot pink. Also de rigour? Maxi-dresses, which Barr says make everyone look long and lean, and are scandalously comfortable.

The post URBAN HIPPIE: A trip to Green Tree Eco Fashion in Westboro — enviro-friendly and fashion fierce appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

This story appears in the May edition of Ottawa Magazine. Click here to order the back issue or an online edition. 

By Elisabetta Bianchini

Dress by Park Lane, purchased at Roadtrip; Braided Belt: purchased at Roadtrip; Necklace: Purchased on a recent trip to Grand Cayman; Gold Cuff: Purchased in Paris; Shoes: BCBG; Lipstick: "Vegas Volt" MAC. Photography by Rémi Thériault.

You’re the director of marketing for ModBox, the company you and your husband [architect Andrew Reeves] became partners in when you moved to Ottawa a year and a half ago. What is ModBox?

It’s an urban property development company that specializes in high-end urban developments. It’s an alternative to moving out to the burbs — people can stay in the city where the energy is.

How do you distinguish between your workwear and your weekend wear?
When I started working at TIFF [Toronto International Film Festival], after working on Bay Street, I began to meld both closets. I no longer need two closets for my work suits and my day-to-day wear. I just have one wardrobe now.

What influences your style?
My primary influence is street-style — looking at how people dress in cool cities around the world. Being married to an architect also causes me to look at cut and detail differently. And the music I’m listening to somehow translates to what I wear. I’m listening to Serena Ryder, The Sheepdogs, Dragonette, and Brazilian bands. They make me feel different, and that translates to my clothing.

Neon Tee and camisole - "Wilfred", purchased at Aritzia; Belt: Purchased in Singapore; Skirt: BCBG; Shoes: BCBG; Necklace: Urban Outfitters; Lipstick: "Kinda Sexy" & Gloss: "Floating Lotus," both by MAC. Photography by Rémi Thériault.

How would you describe your personal style?
Like a city hippie. I like things that are on trend, but not too trendy, and I like the eclectic, hippie stuff. I also mix in elements from places I’ve travelled or lived.

How did living in Paris during your year-and-a-half exchange at the Université Paris-Sorbonne and your Brazilian heritage impact your style? When I lived in Paris, it imparted to me the value of day-to-day style. The importance of looking put together — you put on a little blush and lipstick, you brush your hair. It’s not that you’re trying hard or you have anyone to impress — it’s just what you do before leaving the house. Brazil has a huge impact on my style in terms of fun and musicality — movement in clothes and pops of colour.

What are some of your favourite places to shop?
Working the amount that I do and having two kids at home, I do a lot of online shopping from J. Crew, Anthropologie, and Simons. In Ottawa, I like Roadtrip, Magpie Jewellery, and Slaysh.

The post MY LOOK: ModBox’s Melissa Reeves on how music and architecture influence her personal style appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Amber Westfall offers both plant walks and workshops through her company The Wild Garden

By Anne DesBrisay

Walking in the weeds inWindsor Park

Amber Westfall is a weed eater. An hour in her instructive company and I was too — now unable to amble through an urban greenspace without salivating at the prospect of all those edibles underfoot.

Armed with a Hori Hori, a very cool Japanese knife/digging tool, and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the urban backyard’s bounty, Westfall led a “Jane’s Walk” last week through Windsor Park. We were a group of maybe 20, keen to hear about urban foraging — what are the weeds we walk on daily that can be used as food and medicine. It was very cool.

Garlic mustard can be eaten raw, lightly sautéed or made into a garlic mustard pesto

Here’s what I learned. Garlic mustard with its kidney shaped leaves is entirely edible and can’t be overharvested. It’s an invasive species with a chemical in its roots that discourages native plants. So with this one, you can go wild harvesting with the Hori Hori. Best taken in early spring, when the plant is young and tender, you can eat it raw, or lightly sautéed or you can make a garlic mustard pesto with it as Amber does.

In amongst the garlic mustard if we looked closely, were fiddleheads. From the ostrich ferns, discernible due to the deep groove in their celery shaped stalk, fiddleheads are the tightly curled sprouts of very early ferns — the smaller the better — typically found right now in deep shady forests.

Boil fiddleheads, then fry them up with lots of butter and salt

Respectful harvesting is required to protect next year’s population. Best to boil them – never eat them raw – and then fry them up with lots of butter and salt.

In the same patch of shaded green were raspberry bushes. Most of us wait another month or two for the berries to come. Amber loves the leaves harvested before flowering in early June. Raspberry leaf is high in magnesium, potassium, iron, and b-vitamins and makes a marvellous tea. Long recognized as of benefit to women in pregnancy, birth, and beyond, you can use the leaves freshly plucked, or dry them out completely for a cuppa later on.

Fifty feet away was a patch of stinging nettles. We learned how to “grasp the nettle” before the nettle grasps you: its formic acid can produce a rash, welts, and a nasty prickly burning sensation. Amber went right in, crushing the hairs before they did any damage. Cooked or dried, it loses its sting. Great in soups, loaded with iron, nettles are a non native weed you can pick pretty freely. And if it does get you before you get it, no worries. Growing nearby, you will find likely find the ridged, bell shaped plantain leaf. Pick it, crush it, spit on it and rub it on the sting. Gone.

Nettles are great in soup and loaded with iron

And I’m sorry to have to tell you that you are probably too late for this tip. The flower of the young budding maple tree is entirely edible. Plucked and put into salads they are not just terribly pretty, but filled with sweet nectar. Who knew? The great Canadian tree that keeps on giving…

If you’re keen to learn more, Amber Westfall offers lots of green walks.

You can find her here: www.thewildgarden.ca.

The post ANNE’S PICK: Anne DesBrisay learns to forage in Windsor Park appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

The new Little Italy burger joint takes the Five Guys burger experience up a notch

Happy National Burger Month!

What — you didn’t mark your calendar?

Okay, technically it’s an American holiday, but I bet there are plenty of people in the National Capital Region who would be willing to join in the festivities. We do love a burger.

It’s no surprise to see new burger joints popping up like crazy, even as we gear up for the invasion of a new fleet of food trucks to help diversify the world of fast-food eating in this city. The burger trend is indeed mushrooming (mmmm, mushrooms are great on burgers) and shows no signs of burning out. Ottawa’s own burger chain, The Works, at 19 locations and counting, has apparently had about 600 franchise requests from across Canada. Holy cow!

I wish I could find some local statistics on our burger consumption habits, but I suspect we’re in line with the results of a recent foodservice consultancy survey of more than 2,250 online US and Canadian consumer: it revealed that 91% of people that responded said they eat a burger at least once a month, and 44% said they consume burgers at least once a week. The report claims: “burgers are one of the hottest trends on today’s dining scene.”

Again, no surprises there.

I had TWO burgers last week. Both of them were from the new Little Italy gem, Beech St. Burger.

The charming eat-in/take-out shop was formerly called Danni Panini. The amiable owner (Danni?) is still behind the bar, but he replaced the diner-style breakfasts and Italian deli meat sandwich shop with a classic American-style no-frills burger joint. And while business hasn’t quite picked up to what it was (presumably we eat more sandwiches than burgers per week), he seems pleased to be bringing something new to the neighbourhood.

Chatting while he cooked, he told me he had originally planned to go with a charcoal grill but then realized that all of the tastiest burgers he tried were made on a griddle. He says he uses fresh local beef for the patties — nothing but pure meat. It’s what I’ll call “meat forward” — in other words, it’s a burger that’s about the taste of the meat, not the toppings (only the basics on offer here). There’s no brand name-dropping going on, but it’s delightfully apparent that the meat is treated with respect.

I’m guessing one of Beech St.’s inspirations is the mega-franchise Five Guys Burgers and Fries because it’s practically a clone — and slightly better. Buns are still industrial-squishy, cheese is processed and orange, and each patty is flattened with a heavy press so it cooks evenly and gets a fantastic sear on the surface. There is no pink left in the centre of the patty (it’s not trying to be that kind of burger) but it remained juicy, properly seasoned and the flavour was really good.

Also Five Guys-esque is the way a regular burger (here it’s called Beech Size) is actually two patties, while a single burger is called Baby Size. Both rings and fries are excellent: crisp, hot, and solid. There’ a black bean veggie burger on the menu for, well, you know.

Cost: Beech St. cheeseburger $7.75; fries $2.50; rings $3.25

Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Beech St. Burger, 40 Beech St., 613-237-1641.

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