Serving the Glebe community since 1973 www.glebereport.ca ISSN 0702-7796 Issue no. 466 FREE
Vol. 43 No. 1
PHOTO: courtesy of Don cummer
January 16, 2015
Ice sculpture of a kilted skater. Left to right, Jacob Cummer, Don Cummer (one of the kilt skate organizers) and ice sculptor Suguru Kanbayashi. The sculpture was displayed at the New Year’s Eve Hogmanay celebration at Lansdowne in honour of Sir John A’s Great Canadian Kilt Skate to be held on the canal on the morning of January 31. Wear your tartan and bring your skates!
Celebrating Sir John A. with bare knees and ice By Don Cummer
On the morning of Saturday, January 31, hundreds of skaters will take to the ice in Ottawa and other cities, braving the elements with bare knees as a special way to celebrate the birthday of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. In Ottawa, “Sir John A’s Great Canadian Kilt Skate” will be held in partnership with Winterlude. The Scottish Society of Ottawa, which is organizing the event, will welcome skaters at their tent near the Fifth Avenue entrance to the canal. Register for the skate and receive a memento. Register wearing a kilt, and you’ll get a special prize. Mayor Jim Watson will officially launch the skate at 9 a.m. Skaters are encouraged to make their way at their own pace from Fifth Avenue to the changing rooms at the National Arts Centre end of the canal. Bring your boots along, because you’ll want to change and join in on the Scottish birthday celebrations for Sir John A. at Confederation Park. There will be cake and hot chocolate and an opportunity to sign the giant birthday card. From 10:30 to 11:00 a.m., and again from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m., Scottish entertain-
MARK YOUR CALENDARS Jan. 4 Jan. 21 Jan. 22 Jan. 25 Jan. 26 Jan. 27 Jan. 31 Jan. 31 Feb. 10 Feb. 14
Jennifer Staszewski art exhibit, GCC Art Gallery “Vivaldi Gloria Redux” concert, Southminster United Church, noon Taste in the Glebe, GCC, 5:30–8 p.m. Atlantic Voices concert “Many Atlantic Voices” Centretown United Church, 3 p.m. Topical Talks: Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, Abbotsford House, 10 a.m. GCA meeting, GCC, 7 p.m. Capital Ward Councillor’s Cup hockey game GCC/St. James Tennis Club Rink, 12:30–3:30 p.m. Sir John A.’s Great Canadian Kilt Skate Rideau Canal at Fifth Ave., 9 a.m–1 p.m. GNAG registration for summer camps begins online www.gnag.ca, 7 p.m. Family Community Skating Party GNAG/St. James outdoor rink, 2–4 p.m.
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February is Valentine month!
How we met… how we fell in love – or almost didn’t. Send us your tales of romance, by January 23, and we’ll publish a selection in the February Glebe Report.
ers will take to the Confederation Park stage. The Scottish Society of Ottawa, which hosted Hogmanay at the Aberdeen Pavilion on New Year’s Eve, has helped other Scottish societies and community organizations across Canada put together kilt skates to honour Sir John A. – including events in Montreal, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary. The Ottawa event is expected to be the biggest, however, and not just because we have a UNESCO World Heritage Site as the world’s largest skating rink. This is a city that recognizes the tremendous achievements of Sir John A. Macdonald, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on January 11, 1815 and came to Canada with his parents as a young boy. Come join us in your kilts. If you don’t have a kilt, sport something tartan or other Scottish wear. And if you don’t have anything Scottish, come join us anyway! For further information, follow Scottish Society of Ottawa on Facebook, or see www.thescottishsocietyofottawa.com. Don Cummer is one of the organizers of “Sir John A’s Great Canadian Kilt Skate.” He lives in Old Ottawa South.
WHAT’S INSIDE Abbotsford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22–23 Babies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18–19 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 8 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 16–17 Councillor’s Report . . . . . . . 12 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 GACA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 GCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Glebous & Comicus.. . . . . . . 30
GNAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28–29 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Memoirs . . . . . . . . . . . . 26–27 MP’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20–21 Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–3 Schools . . . . . . . . . . 13, 31–32 Skating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
next issue: Friday, February 13, 2015 EDITORIAL DEADLINE: Friday, January 23, 2015 ADVERTISING DEADLINE: Wednesday, January 28, 2015
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Home is where the heart is, so they say. Look for a special feature on the Glebe real estate scene in the March Glebe Report.