Nightlife council members ready ‘to fight the perspective that Ottawa is boring’

While some people still think of Ottawa as a sleepy government town, the members of the capital’s new nightlife council have been awake and dreaming for decades about how to get more people out to enjoy everything the city has to offer.

While some people still think of Ottawa as a sleepy government town, the members of the capital’s new nightlife council have been awake and dreaming for decades about how to get more people out to enjoy everything the city has to offer. Last Monday, 12 community members from a pool of 500 applicants were announced as members-at-large for the city’s nightlife council. The 18-person council, whose members are unpaid volunteers serving two-year terms, also includes representatives from six local organizations.  Nightlife commissioner Mathieu Grondin said the selected members reflect the diversity of the city, bringing in a variety of expertise, experiences and interests in the nightlife economy, including hospitality, arts and culture, tourism, and public health and safety.  “They were residents that wanted more nightlife options, not just downtown, but in the suburbs and rural areas,” Grondin told OBJ last week. “I also heard from executive directors and CEOs, associations, not-for-profits, and businesses. They all understand the importance of the nightlife economy to quality of life, talent and economic growth.” He added: “Most people wanted to fight the perspective that Ottawa is boring. Most were really against that idea and know that Ottawa has lots of stuff to do and we need to amplify that … I’m encouraged by the enthusiasm for advancing nightlife priorities demonstrated by the stakeholders across the city.” OBJ spoke with three of the council’s recently announced members to understand the state of Ottawa’s nightlife and the ideas they’re bringing to their new role. 

Alex Sirois, managing partner of Ottawa Venues

There’s no better time to learn about nightlife than your university years, and that’s where Alex Sirois got his start.  Now a managing partner for Ottawa Venues, predominantly overseeing and managing Lowertown Brewery and Sky Lounge in the ByWard Market, Sirois began his nightlife career at the Carleton University staple Oliver’s Pub in 2007. As a student, he was elected vice-president of student life running events and concerts, then was named president of the Carleton University Student Association.  After graduating, he went to become general manager of a nightclub among other roles and has been involved in Ottawa’s nighttime economy ever since.   “The view that Ottawa is a sleepy town really just isn’t true,” he said. “There’s always a lot going on, (but) I constantly hear people say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that was happening last weekend – I would’ve loved to go.’ Exposure is super important.” Sirois said he was glad to see the city getting involved with nightlife issues, and that he hopes part of the council’s mandate will be to find ways to encourage people to get out and have fun in the city. Sirois said social media has been an underutilized avenue for drawing more eyes to what the city has to offer. While a business may advertise on one or two platforms, they may not be reaching all potential attendees.  “(Social media) is constantly changing and evolving,” he said. “It’s super important to really get the voice out there. A lot of these events … There are all-ages events, but also 19-plus events. If you only use one platform, you’re only going to hit one kind of demographic. We have duelling pianos upstairs and our regular group is 45 and up, but we’ve had younger generations come in and they absolutely love it. It’s just tackling that audience and really getting our voice heard by them.” As someone who is involved with local charities, Sirois said he’s excited to continue contributing and getting involved in the community.  “I really think it all starts with the mandate of us sitting down together and putting our ideas out there,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work to get done before we start putting ideas in place. I think top discussion points are going to be transit, safety and exposure.”

Claudia Balladelli, co-founder and executive director, Axé Worldfest

Axé Worldfest is small but mighty, according to co-founder Claudia Balladelli. The company has been running a concert series and organizing cultural and music events featuring diverse artists across the city since it started in 2019. For the last few years, that has also included a conference for women leaders showcasing artists from around the world.  “We just turned five years old,” Balladelli said. “We operate based in Ottawa but we also present in other parts of the world. We try to bring artists to showcase and present themselves and our focus is on BIPOC artists, newcomers, 2SLGBTQ+, and those who face systemic barriers to presenting their works. Basically, when other people say no, we say yes.” Balladelli has more than 22 years of experience in Ottawa’s nighttime scene in roles ranging from club promoter and programmer to international booking agent. She told OBJ that Ottawa has a lot to offer.  “Ottawa’s nightlife is diverse, and it has a lot of wonderful things happening,” she said. “We have fantastic people and organizations working on incredible music, art, dance, theatre, really high-level artists. I just think, of course, that we can always improve.” When it comes to hosting local artists and drawing in others from across Canada and abroad, Balladelli said a lack of mid-sized venues poses a significant barrier in Ottawa.  “We have very, very small venues, like pubs, then we have much bigger venues,” she said. “What we need more of are the medium-sized event spaces. We need to understand and identify possible venues, like studios, creative hubs, and ask if they can be transformed. They need help, support funding, so they can become that.” Permitting and other red tape at the municipal level are also roadblocks for potential events that could bring the city to life in the evenings, Balladelli said.  “We need to make it easier, cheaper to apply, with faster return, faster results. This would promote more spontaneous or temporary events – events that would happen in alleyways, rooftops, parking lots. And to facilitate these opportunities, of course, you need better transit options, including late-night options.”

Richard Laplante, owner and CEO of White Rabbit Events

Over 30 years embedded in DJ and dance music culture has taught Richard Laplante a lot about how to bring the night to life.  He started as a promoter for nightclubs and raves right out of high school and wore many hats as an independent entrepreneur. He’s since formalized his role in the community, incorporating his business, White Rabbits Events.  While Laplante loves the dance music community, he said the business side of things isn’t always easy in Ottawa.  “In the context of nightlife, there’s always been challenges in not just finding great spaces to host dance events, but to conduct and grow it on the business side as well,” he said. “Ottawa specifically is lacking in venues that can accommodate certain shows.” While there have been encouraging steps forward, such as the Bronson Centre and the Live Nation venue that’s expected to open on Rideau Street next year, Laplante said the community is often forced to split up between smaller venues due to a lack of infrastructure.  “The challenge in Ottawa, as we’ve all known, is it’s a bit of a bureaucratic town,” he said. “I think it would be great to be able to work with the City of Ottawa and work with the nightlife economy action plan folks to really try and remove barriers and facilitate these kinds of events.” Laplante said he’s seen how successful nightlife organizations, like his own, can have ripple effects on the surrounding community, including businesses.  Like the other new members of the council, he said Ottawa isn’t lacking in things to do.  “There’s something to be said for supporting these grassroots initiatives based around culture and community,” Laplante said. “That's what’s going to really help create this vibrant and diverse nightlife – which already exists. It just feels like we’re a little bit fractured, we’re a little bit spread out.”   He added the council members offer a broad range of perspectives, which he hopes will ensure that a variety of approaches and ideas are brought to the table. “There’s a lot of things I’d like to see, and I know that it’s going to be a very collaborative effort,” he said. “There’s a lot of great people on the council. For myself, I’ve been doing events in Ottawa consistently for 25 years now, and I’ve worked with quite a few of these folks. I know that they’re very much dedicated to fostering the culture and community in their respective spheres. We all kind of have our own little niches, and I’m really excited to be working with all these folks.”