THE BEST OF SUMMER ISSUE
• Best of Summer GOES TO CAMP
50 ways to pack your summer with adventure, education, and good times
• THE DRESSING GOWN
New short fiction by Elizabeth Hay
• The OUTSIDE GUIDE
Ottawa Magazine’s 25-page guide to everything outside
SUMMER WEB EXTRAS
• Throw your own Mad Men dinner party: a step-by-step guide with recipes
• Groove to DJ Zattar’s Sunshine Mix
• 16 must-try rural adventures
Letter from the Editor
The urban and rural mix. It’s what we love about Ottawa — and it’s what makes putting together a “best of summer” issue so much fun. Feel like hanging out in the city? Our “Best of Summer Goes to Camp” is an ambitious hot-season agenda for the urban camper. From late-night reveling to stand-up paddle boarding and middle-of-the-night star-gazing, we’ve got 50 ideas to keep you busy all summer long. Got the urge to escape? “The Outside Guide” focuses on more sedate pursuits — think fishing, picnicking, and pleasure boating. For those who like a country drive, there’s a three-month road-trip calendar and a delectable tour of foodie destinations within a two-hour drive of the city. Enjoy!
Me? I want nothing more than to relax with a good piece of fiction. That’s covered, too. I’m thrilled to be able to include in this issue a new short story by award-winning novelist Elizabeth Hay. Intimate and a little bit haunting, “The Dressing Gown” is best enjoyed solo, with a glass of wine and under a shady tree. For a longer read, note that Hay’s well-received new novel, Alone in the Classroom, is in bookstores. It’s on my summer list.
Congratulations to food editor Shawna Wagman and photographer Rémi Thériault, who have been nominated for National Magazine Awards for work that appeared in Ottawa Magazine in 2010. Wagman was recognized for “Is Fine Dining Dead?” — a top 10 restaurants list that singled out eateries that are taking local and seasonal cooking to new heights, while serving up a more convivial atmosphere. Thériault, meanwhile, gave his creative side free rein when he was assigned to shoot six gallery owners in their homes for the photo essay “TasteMakers.” The result was a spectacular nine-page spread nominated in the portrait photography category. Our fingers will be crossed on June 11 when the winners are announced at a gala evening in Toronto.
COMING UP: Every time you look around there’s another condo going up. Glassy towers, character-filled lofts, low-rise infills — the boom is transforming the downtown core as developers, emboldened by our seemingly insatiable demand for a little piece of downtown, rush to launch new projects. Ottawa Magazine launches its own tour of our increasingly vertical city, exploring the benefits and the costs of our new-found condo love.
Sarah Brown, EDITOR
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