June 27, 2022 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Ottawa residents and visitors are invited to mark Canada Day at the NAC on Friday July 1^st, with a vast range of free activities including music, dance, and a sound and kinetic textile installation.

You can start your day at the Glass Thorsteinson Staircase with a Movement in Meditation class at 10 am and keep moving throughout the day at Peter A. Herrndorf Place with Powwow workouts, some fierce Waacking steps with Moov Ottawa Dance co-founder Alea “Didi” De Castro, Bollywood dance basics with Arohafest, and a Capital Sessions: Community house dance practice. Gospel Music is also on the menu, with Academy Choir joining us on the Canal Lobby Stage.

Later in the afternoon, the NAC Orchestra presents a free Canada Day concert hosted by YAO at 3 pm in Southam Hall, featuring soprano Jonelle Sills and trombonist Hillary Simms. At 4 pm, music lovers are invited to the Glass Thorsteinson Staircase as Unisong Choral Festival brings choirs from across Canada to sing Canadian music as one massed ensemble.

From July 1^st to August 31^st, the Canal Foyer will feature Heather Nicol’s sound and kinetic textile installation titled Mary, Anne, Joan, an homage to the artist’s elderly mother and her two younger sisters.

Full Canada Day programming details: Canada Day | Special Event series | National Arts Centre (nac-cna.ca)

The NAC’s free online activities are also a great way to get ready for Canada Day. Visit our website to learn how to make paper birch bark basket with Algonquin artist Simon Brascoupé, print out Indigenous language colouring sheets, or create your own Canada Day dance.

Our 1 Elgin restaurant proudly showcases the fresh flavours and ingredients of Canada, focusing on local seasonal ingredients. Join us in our dining room or on our patio from 11:30 am to 9 pm.

MAKE YOUR CANADA DAY WEEKEND COMPLETE WITH THE BIG BANG FESTIVAL!

The colourful and vibrant BIG BANG Festival! returns to the NAC. Expect concerts of all kinds, mysterious sound machines and musical surprises for the whole family: BIG BANG Festival | National Arts Centre (nac-cna.ca).

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Programming at the National Arts Centre is made possible through the support of many generous individuals and organizations from across the country. The NAC Foundation would like to thank Mohammad & Najla Al Zaibak (Bay Tree Foundation), The Azrieli Foundation, BMO Financial Group, John & Bonnie Buhler, Adrian Burns, LL.D. & Gregory Kane, Q.C., Meta, Mohammed A. Faris, Margaret Fountain, C.M., DFA (h) & David Fountain, C.M., Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, C.M., O.N.L., LLD (hc), Susan Glass, C.M. & Arni Thorsteinson, O.M., The Jennings Family, The Leacross Foundation, Mark Motors Group, Janice & Earle O'Born Fund for Artistic Excellence, The RBC Foundation, Rogers Communications, Dasha Shenkman, OBE, Hon RCM, The Slaight Family Foundation, TD Bank Group, Robert Tennant, The Vered Family, VIA Rail, and The Hon. Hilary M. Weston & the late Mr. W. Galen Weston. Thank you also to our many other supporters across the country.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre in collaboration with Black Theatre Workshop, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Julie Gunville
Communications Strategist
NAC Dance & BIG BANG Festival
National Arts Centre
julie.gunville@nac-cna.ca
613-668-2736

 

Mireille Allaire
Senior Manager
Strategy and Communications
National Arts Centre
mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca
343-998-4244