The 2019 Polaris Music Prize winner went to Haviah Mighty for her album, 13th Floor. She beat out the likes of Shad, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Pup and a whole other vying for best in Canadian music album of the year on artistic merit.

The gala was always full of excitement and great to see people I know from the media and musicians.

Congratulations goes out to Haviah Mighty and getting the $50,000 prize.

Without further ado, you can check out the photos from the 9 performers from the 2019 Polaris Music Prize gala.

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It’s been over 6 years in the making and Ottawa finally has LRT up and running. I got to ride the new trains and it was suppose to be open at 2pm for the public but I got in 15 mins before the official opening.

The O-Train routes spans 12.5 km and 13 stations. It took about 25 minutes to ride from Tunney’s Pasture to Blair. West to east and vice versa. Initial impressions from the trip was pretty good. No delays and hiccups throughout the whole trip.

I was able to capture photos and videos from the trip. You can view it below.

With that done, I am off to Toronto for the Polaris Music Prize Gala. It’s an exciting time for Canadian music fans to find out who gets the award for best in artistic merit in Canada.

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Another patio instameet was held at Copper, Spirits and Sights, located on top of Andaz Ottawa. Hosted by Ottawa Tourism.

It’s my first time to enter inside the hotel and on top of their floor for their patio. The event was another activity to promote tourism in Ottawa.

Some foods were served from the likes of charcuterie, mini burger sliders and mini lobster rolls.

For the time since purchasing, I was able to take photos with the Tamron 28-75mm lens for the Sony a7 III. The photos are posted below.

A nice way to start September thanks to Ottawa Tourism and Copper, Spirits and Sights at Andaz.

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As Summer of 2019 slowly winds down, I had the opportunity to attend an Instagram meetup hosted by Ottawa Tourism. It was at Tavern on the Hill. Got to meet the usual Instagramers and photographers at the meetup. The event was also a photo and video shoot promotional for marketing activities showcasing Ottawa.

As it was my first time being at Tavern on the Hill. The canteen serves drinks and food. I tried out the Das Dawg hot dog. That consisted of smoked meat, sauerkraut, pickles and mustard. The hot dog was pretty filling and excellent.
There was live music at Tavern on the Hill while we mingled.

I had the chance to use the DJI Osmo Pocket and take some photos and videos. A few have been posted on Instagram.

Overall, I had a good time at the event and you can check the photos. Thanks to Ottawa Tourism for holding the event.

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By way of Japan, Uncle Tetsu finally opened a new shop in Ottawa. Located on 280 Elgin St., it is the fourth Canadian city to bring the fluffy and light Japanese cheesecake.

Established in 1990, it wasn’t until 2015 that it first opened in Toronto as the first overseas shop.
Uncle Tetsu’s Japanese cheesecake is unlike the usual cheesecake served at restaurants and made at home. It has a less creamy texture and more of a fluffy texture.

I waited in line at about 7:50am and the lines started trickling close to 8:30am. There were fans of Uncle Tetsu willing to wait in line and crave for the cheesecakes. After purchasing the cheesecake, there was a line of about 50 people. There’s a demand for the cheesecake. No need to travel to Montreal or Toronto for it.

You can check out Uncle Tetsu Ottawa over on Instagram. Their opening hours are 9am-10pm.
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It’s been a long time I had stepped foot at Experimental Farm, which is currently named Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. The museum hosted an Instameet for their temporary exhibit, Edible Futures: Food for Tomorrow.

The exhibit is presented from the Embassy of Netherlands and curated by the Dutch Institute of Food & Design. The exhibit brings a unique take of how food is being made by displaying the look and taste of what we eat. There were two options of producers and consumers where they are various viewpoints of the food.

We were treated with a spirulina smoothie and ended with checking out the goats and sheep. 

Overall, it was nice to see how the museum has changed and having temporary exhibits like Edible Futures. The exhibit runs until September 2nd. You can check the photos from below.

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Random Play with CBC Ottawa’s Alan Neal made a triumphant return. It happened at the Ottawa International Writers’ Festival on Thursday, June 6th. It was in collaboration with RBC Bluesfest.

The venue was at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Ottawa. It’s definitely a hidden gem locations in Ottawa.

The musical guest lineup at Random Play had Lydia Ainsworth, Basia Bulat, Kathleen Edwards, Kobo Town and Tom Wilson.

Random Play is where Alan uses his iPod (surprised he’s still using one) and picks a song on random for the musicians to perform. It’s ranges from all kinds of musical genres. Hilarity ensues when it comes to a random song being chosen.

Being the first time to finally attend a Random Play event at Ottawa International Writers’ Festival, I didn’t know a funny tradition where the musicians do a radio play starring DC’s Aquaman.

Being away from going out to live music, it’s always great to see Basia Bulat and other people I know in the Ottawa music scene.

You check the photos from the event below.

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