Best of Ottawa '09 photos
Cormac Rea
What can I say? It's The Balconies on a balcony, baby. It would appear that the band are poised on an edge in more than this photo, given the overwhelming community support behind them - this Ottawa indie act laid claim to Best Rock/Pop/Dance/Other Album with their self-titled debut, before winning in the Best Rock/Pop/Dance/Other Band and Best New Musical Artist/Group categories. It's a perfect trifecta for The Balconies, whose eyes are trained on a bright horizon.
Best Up-and-Coming Restaurant may seem like a funny category for the Black Cat to be winning - after all, this Black Cat has already earned it's stripes in the city for many a year. However, the new Black Cat Bistro (recently relocated to 428 Preston) has clearly raised the bar a notch - chef Steve Vardy (left) and owner Richard Urquhart (right) couldn't be more chuffed with the results.
Author of Egg on Mao: The Story of an Ordinary Man Who Defaced an Icon and Unmasked a Dictatorship, Denise Chong (winner for Best Work of Fiction/Non-fiction/Poetry by a Local Writer) poses in front of Octopus Books (winner for Best Bookstore). Chong's non-fiction book traces the incredible tale of Lu Decheng, a small-town Chinese mechanic whose act of political
defiance is rendered beautifully by Chong's intimate narrative. We're very glad you thought so too.
Winners for Best Live Music Show, KISS at Bluesfest were, well, an unforgettable 2009 highlight. Whether it was Shannon Tweed's return to Ottawa and corresponding debate over inaugurating a "Shannon Tweed Day" or Gene's iconic observations of Parliament Hill, KISS made an enormous splash wherever they went. Above is KISS emerging from what appears to be a summer blizzard - is that the snow-maker from Camp Fortune in the background?
A totally unique and inspirational company, Propeller Dance has been providing dance programming to people with and without physical disability for the past five years. This year's Lift performance was a culmination of sorts: Ottawans felt strongly that it was the Best Dance Performance of 2009, clearly beating out the likes of Vancouver's 605 Collective @ Hip Hop 360 and Grupo Corpo from Brazil.
From left to right, owners Regine Paquette and Katie Frappier were sanguine about their business, Victoire, winning Best Women's Clothing Store. I mean, really, Regine and Katie are used to winning trophies - iPod battles, skeet shooting and bowling are but a few of their top events. After all, the name "Victoire" is derived from "victory"!!
