Baconpalooza Filled the Achin’ for Bacon

 Ottawa Life’s Festival City Series is back! We'll provide a unique look at some of your favourite events. We’ll go beyond the music with artist interviews, volunteer profiles, concert reviews and spotlights on the tastes, sights and sounds of the festival season.  Your city! Your festivals! Like a good sunscreen, Ottawa Life

From Farm to Table to Community

 All photos by Andre Gagne. Raw oysters, seared salmon, turkhetta, Jamaican style goat curry, and cake in a jar… all in one place? Last Wednesday, Ottawans indulged in an evening of gourmet food and drinks prepared by some of this city’s most well-known culinary masters. The entire evening, Ottawa City

Old Favourites and New Horrors at Saunders Farm

 Photo courtesy of saundersfarm.com. That chill in the air is a spine-tingling reminder that Halloween is approaching, and the place to be during the ghoulish season is Saunders Farm. It’s a little known fact that Mark Saunders, the Director of Fun and co-owner of Saunders Farm (along with his wife

The Farmer’s Ghost

 I once heard a story About a ghost Who defied the fates And lurked about Fields and pastures And farm yard gates Each morning The phantom So the locals state Haunted farms And worked the fields Until very late Legend claims A farmer took his life After going insane When

Moving the Crops that Feed the World

 One of the romantic visions often held of Canadian railways (and American for that matter) is that of the long lines of hopper cars filled with gleaming golden wheat and other grain and oilseed crops, on their way to feed people all over the world. That vision was challenged in

Mayor’s City Builder Award Shines Light on Vulnerable Youth

 Bill Robinson receives his Mayor's City Builder Award from Mayor Jim Watson and Councillor Marianne Wilkinson. Image courtesy of City of Ottawa.  When Bill Robinson meets me for coffee, he talks youth at-risk. Who are these children? Robinson replies: It’s a baby born into poverty. It’s a kid facing family

Harvest Noir 2014: Make Magic

 The countdown is on to wear your best dark frock for Harvest Noir and take part in the annual pop-up Ottawa event. Here is just a little video of what you can expect: Harvest Noir 2014: Make Magic I will be judging the fashion show and there will be lots

Farmers In Crisis: While the Provincial and Federal Government Argue – Farmers Pay the Price

 Ontario's leading agricultural agencies recently signed a joint letter to Ontario Agriculture Minister, The Hon. Carol Mitchell, expressing their concern that the McGuinty government and the federal government do not have a strong enough sense of urgency about Ontario agriculture. "We are living the crisis every day on our farms