Things to do in Ottawa Nov. 9-15

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ART

The art of Japanese floral design returns to the Canadian Museum of Nature this weekend after a four-year pause prompted by the pandemic. Ikebana: Encounter with Nature finds the members of Ikebana International’s Ottawa chapter using natural materials, such as branches, leaves, dried plants and fresh flowers, to create more than 30 asymmetrical arrangements that reflect a sense of harmony between the materials, container and setting. Both contemporary (Sogetsu) and traditional (Ohara) approaches to the art will be illustrated. The exhibition runs through the weekend, from Nov. 9-12, and is included with regular museum admission (remember it’s free 5-8 p.m. Thursdays). Book a ticket at nature.ca. 

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BLUES

Downchild, the veteran Canadian blues band that inspired Hollywood’s Blues Brothers, returns to Meridian Centrepointe Theatre on Thursday, celebrating 50-plus years of music-making on their Happy Trails tour. Still led by Donnie “Mr. Downchild” Walsh and singer-harmonica player Chuck Jackson, but lamenting the 2021 death of keyboardist Michael Fonfara, the band is now on the road with a couple of new members and some high-profile guests. Joining them for the Centrepointe date are Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster and Ottawa singer Kelly Lee Evans, plus an opening set by Ottawa’s Jeff Rogers, who recently released a fine new album called Dream Job. Tickets are $63 ($20 for students with I.D.), available at meridiancentrepointe.com. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.

FOOD AND DRINK

The second annual CRAVE Food & Wine Festival, a successor to the long-running Ottawa Wine and Food Festival last held in 2017, returns to the Shaw Centre this Friday and Saturday, running from 4 to 10 p.m. both days. The event’s website, craveottawa.ca, currently lists 30 exhibitors including restaurants such as Raphael Peruvian Cuisine, Datsun and El Camino, breweries including Dominion City Brewing Company and Broadhead Brewing Company, and beverage-makers such as Dunrobin Distilleries, Lailey Winery and Sandbagger Hard Seltzer. Entry tickets for each day are $45 including fees, available at ticketweb.ca. Sampling tickets, which must be used to sample the wares of exhibitors, are available at the venue. 

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CIRCUS

A troupe of circus performers discovers the magic of the upcoming season in Holiday Wonderland, a show that tumbles into Algonquin Commons Theatre for two performances on Saturday. Produced by Cirque Musica and featuring a cast of acrobats, aerialists and clowns, the show infuses the holiday classics with some daredevil athleticism, graceful mid-air choreography and a healthy dose of humour. Showtimes are 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets range from $35 to $80, available at ticketmaster.ca. The theatre is located in the Robert C. Gillett Student Commons (E building) at the main campus of Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Ave. 

JAZZ

Quebec City-based electric bassist and bandleader Carl Mayotte, a specialist in intricate yet high-energy electric jazz, brings his sleek, powerful quintet to the intimate setting of Record Runner Rehearsal Studios (159 Colonnade Rd. S., Unit 6) on Saturday night. Mayotte, who was named the Radio-Canada “jazz revelation” several years ago, is touring in support of his just-released album Carnaval. The group’s previous album, Escale, won the Felix Award for Quebec’s jazz album of the year. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $25 at recordrunner.ca.

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