Ottawa (Canada) –The National Arts Centre (NAC), with the help of Presenting Partner Sun Life Financial and generous partners and donors, is bringing the magic of live performing arts this holiday season and throughout the year to hundreds of deserving children and their families in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.

This is the fourth year for Share the Spirit, an initiative aimed at families who, for economic or health reasons, may not have the opportunity to enjoy live performances at the NAC.  Share the Spirit will enable them to attend performances of holiday classics such as Handel’s Messiah, The Nutcracker, Canadian Brass Christmas with the NAC Orchestra, as well as Pride and Prejudice, and other wonderful productions throughout the NAC’s entire performance season – for free.

Ticket recipients will be chosen by the NAC’s community partners including Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa, Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Candlelighters, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Foundation, Children’s Aid Foundation of Ottawa, Community Living Renfrew County South, the Ottawa Food Bank, the Sens Foundation, the Snowsuit Fund and United Way.

Through the Share the Spirit program and thanks to the support of our generous partners and donors, the NAC was able to hand out more than 1,810 tickets last year to deserving families to performances at the NAC.

“Share the Spirit has touched so many hearts,” said Jayne Watson, CEO of the NAC Foundation. “We’re proud of the success of the program over these last three years and hope to reach even more deserving families this holiday season and throughout the entire year.”

Share the Spirit’s new honourary chair is none other than Spartacat, the beloved mascot of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club. He will greet NAC patrons as they arrive at some of the holiday performances.

"Sun Life is pleased to partner with the National Arts Centre. The holidays are a special time of year - and present a great opportunity for families to experience the arts," said Mary De Paoli, Sun Life Financial’s Executive Vice-President, Chief Marketing Officer and Public & Corporate Affairs. “As part of our Making the Arts More Accessible program, Sun Life is committed to enriching lives in the communities where we live and work by bringing arts and culture to those who might not otherwise be able to enjoy them."

Share the Spirit is made possible through the support of Presenting Partner Sun Life Financial, Major Partners Tim Hortons and Trinity Development Group, and Supporting Partners St. Laurent Volvo and the Hon. John Manley and Judith Manley as well as other donors who have contributed to Share the Spirit through the NAC Foundation’s Donors’ Circle.  

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For more information, please contact:

Carl Martin
Communications
613-947-7000, ext. 560
613-291-8880 (cell)