Jack Hanna
Farmers market reopens
The Elgin Street Market is back on Sundays for the summer.
The market, in Boushey Square at Elgin and Waverley, gets started Sunday, July 9.
There will be vegetables, both organic or not; gourmet mushrooms; herbs; artisanal breads; and apple pies. There will be craft beers and ciders, and take-home Italian and Lebanese foods. Artisans will offer candles, soaps, and lotions.
The CCA-sponsored market will run every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ottawa’s shot at a Champs-Élysées
A new history walking tour, out of the Elgin Street Market, launches in July. It will feature Ottawa’s failed dream to have a Champs-Élysées of its very own – a grand avenue.
Metcalfe Street runs between two icons: Parliament Hill and the Victoria Memorial Museum building. In the early 1900s, it was well on its way to becoming the Grande Allée of the nation’s capital. It was a tree-lined boulevard perfect for the gentry to take a genteel carriage ride. Some of Ottawa’s biggest industrialists and politicians built their mansions there.
Hear all about it every second Sunday through the summer. Alternate Sundays will feature the walking tour Canal and Communities, an exploration of early villages in Centretown and the challenges of building the local stretch of the canal.
See the CCA’s website or the meetup app for a schedule. To join a walk, be at the Elgin entrance to the Elgin Street Market at 11 a.m., starting July 9.
The only cost is an optional donation to the CCA.
Sunday gardening in Dundonald Park
Throughout the summer, volunteer gardeners will be busy in Dundonald Park Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings. Newcomers are welcome. Bring gloves and small gardening tools.
On Sundays, gardeners maintain and enhance the park’s big beds from 2 to 4 p.m. On Thursdays, they work from 4 to 7 p.m. There’s also a need for volunteers to water the beds, at times to be determined.
For information, email: dinahrob@sympatico.ca
Build the big bee garden on Frank Street
The gardens on the edges of Frank Street near Bank are looking for volunteers. Folks are needed to tend the gardens, help organize events, and maintain the survey of which plants that bees and other pollinators are visiting.
For information, or to volunteer: ray673294.wixsite.com/frankstbbg
High school volunteer hours
The CCA could use volunteers this summer, so if you are a high school student looking to chalk up volunteer hours, email: membership@centretowncitizens.ca
Volunteers might help publicize CCA events by stuffing flyers in mailboxes, putting up posters, or chatting with people and handing out materials at the CCA table at the Elgin Street Market.
Live Music, and more, in Dundonald Park
There’s free live music in Dundonald Park Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons throughout the summer.
On Friday evenings, the music starts at 6:30 p.m. The series includes everything from solos to quartets, and covers genres from Celtic to R&B, folk, jazz, and pop.
Saturday mini pop-up concerts at 1 p.m. will feature local groups through the Music and Beyond festival, Sax Appeal, and the Odyssey Showcase.
There also are regular fitness activities in Dundonald Park. A walking group sets out from the park each Thursday at 5:30 p.m. On Saturdays, there are two opportunities to get fit outdoors. Soungui Fitness provides a workout Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. in the park. Cattleya Yoga Studio does downward facing dog Saturdays at 5 p.m.
The fate of Wellington Street
The CCA’s Transportation Committee will meet on the evening of Wednesday, June 28, to discuss the future of Wellington Street and formulate a CCA position. Should ownership of Wellington be transferred from the city to the federal government?
To take part, email transportation@centretowncitizens.ca