ottawa italian week festival: maybe next year
One thing I would have really liked to have gone to this year (had things not been so busy in my life) was the Italian Week Festival in Ottawa. As it turns out (and according to the web site) the Festival ran from June 5 to the 15 and was exciting as always.
Thing is, I’m actually half Italian and I love the food and culture so I’m really happy to see that not only does Ottawa have a Little Italy on Preston Street, but they celebrate the culture and lifestyle with pride.
That’s one thing that has disapointed me about Toronto over the years. There are TWO Little Italy neighborhoods – College Street (Little Italy) and St. Clair West (Corso Italia) – yet there’s hardly ever a real deal made about the street fairs when they have them. Crap like Taste of the Danforth (Toronto’s greek festival) which I can proudly say I have never and will never go to, gets media attention, but then again, none of the neighborhood fairs compare to Ottawa’s WEEK-LONG shindig. See to me, that’s a party!
So while it’s disappointing to have missed the Festival this year, – I had originally wanted to schedule my visit to Capital City in early June so I could enjoy the festivities – at least I know (and by that I mean I hope) I’ll be able to attend it next year.
oh you will love the italian festival. its a great one.
the greek festival is another one of my favs.. im a sucker for greek food.
I currently live in Ottawa, while I’m from Toronto, my gf is from Montreal. However, we both LOVE going to our annual trek to Toronto because of the Taste of the Danforth.
Unless you hate Greek food, I don’t see why you are so proud for NOT attending the Taste of the Danforth. Having been to Greek neighborhoods in Montreal (Laval), Toronto and NEw York, I can easily say that Toronto’s greek neighbourhood and the festival is among the best in North America.
Give it a try. Its good times! Having been to the Taste of Little Italy and the festival on Corso Italia, Greek FEstival gets more attention, because it deserves more attention! Its probably second only to Caribana in terms of International fame.
For me, Ottawa’s best festival is Canada Day, Prestons Little Italy is about as large as the Little Italy in Guelph, where I lived prior to moving to Ottawa. While you can find some gems on Preston such as Pub Italia, for the most part, I think Preston pretty dull compared Corso Italia or Toronto Little Italy… or even NDG and JEan Talon in Montreal