Awesome Ottawa

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Awesome Ottawa

$1,000. no strings attached. srsly. Awesome Ottawa awards $1,000 every month to forward the interest of awesome in the universe.

10/03/2025

Need $1,000 to make your awesome idea a reality? Get your application for October's award in by Tuesday.

09/03/2025

Need $1,000 to make your awesome idea a reality? Get your application for September's award in by Monday.

08/27/2025

July’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Liz Wheeler to support the Secondhand Stories chicken sanctuary’s second annual open house.

“As one of the only sanctuaries in Canada devoted exclusively to chickens,” explains Liz, “we offer care and advocacy for a species often overlooked in animal welfare conversations.”

“Last year,” she continues, “our open house welcomed more than 250 guests, and this year we’re expanding with new youth-focused, culturally inclusive programming. Kids and teens will enjoy hands-on activities like a chicken origami workshop, an Indigenous-led dreamcatcher workshop, and children’s story time with the chickens.”

“We're aiming to inspire empathy and introduce humane education through craft, storytelling, and direct interaction with rescued chickens,” she says.

The open house takes place Saturday, August 30, near Perth, with tickets still available at secondhandstories.ca.

Liz is a long-time animal advocate, mental health activist, and self-described passionate believer that kindness and compassion begin when children connect with animals.

08/08/2025

Need $1,000 to make your awesome idea a reality? Get your application for August's award in by Sunday.

07/22/2025

June’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Colleen Gray and the Ottawa High Hookers to support the local arm wrestling community.

The Ottawa High Hookers are a wrestling club operating out of an inconspicuous suburban garage in Nepean. Club members get together twice a week not only to practice but also for pot-lucks, BBQs, and more.

“We celebrate birthdays, special occasions, and even a marriage through our club,” says Colleen. “I actually married my best friend, who is also an arm wrestler!”

The club is holding their first annual High Hookers Day celebration on July 26, with food, drinks, music, and, of course, lots of arm wrestling.

07/04/2025

Need $1,000 to make your awesome idea a reality? Get your application for July's award in by Wednesday.

06/27/2025

May’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Nieve Xiao to bring young musicians together with seniors through Sound of Life.

“Sound of Life,” explains Nieve, “is a group of youth musicians from across Ottawa bringing music and joy into retirement homes. We have over 50 volunteers and are entirely organized and run by our board of seven high school students.”

“Our organization brings about intergenerational learning and interaction,” she continues, “fuelling connection across the community. Music has also been shown to have an immense benefit to dementia and other memory related illnesses that come with old age.”

“I am in grade 11 at Lisgar Collegiate Institute and have volunteered in retirement homes for three years,” she says. “I have had many interactions with people with dementia or forms of it, and have realized the need for adaptive therapies to aid them in their wellbeing. As an avid musician and two-time provincial finalist in piano, I decided to bring two aspects of my life together to found Sound of Life.”

Nieve and the team plan to use the award to build homemade instruments to give to residents so they can play along during performances.

05/09/2025

April’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Velvet LeClair to support political art using papier mâché and cardboard.

“One of my talents is making masks or heads of politicians,” explains Velvet, “and I have been known to wear my art to make statements and raise awareness about various issues.”

“The movement has arrived in Ottawa,” she continues, “and the participants have enjoyed my most recent performance. I dressed up like Donald Trump and danced like him for the crowd. They appreciated the art, the fun, and the subversive style. I am currently finishing up an Elon Musk mask and his child, X.”

“My goal,” says Velvet, “is to make memes for social media to show an Ottawa reaction to all the craziness right now. Our country needs to be uplifted and united, and using art as a way to bridge a connection with the alt-right is needed. We also need to connect with the American people.”

“I’ve already made at least 25 papier mâché masks of politicians. This funding will help me invest in the art supplies and teach other people the skills behind making art out of garbage.”

Velvet describes herself as a middle-aged single mom who runs a home daycare. “I started making political art as a hobby when I was separating from my son’s father,” she says. “It was part of my healing journey and helped me through a difficult time. Over the years my hobby has become a coping mechanism for dealing with this world.”

05/07/2025

Need $1,000 to make your awesome idea a reality? Get your application for May's award in by Monday.

04/10/2025

Need $1,000 to make your awesome idea a reality? Get your application for April's award in by Sunday.

04/07/2025

The second of two Awesome Ottawa awards for March goes to Patricia Oliveira to support new mesh nets for basketball courts across the city.

“Mesh Up Ottawa is a community-based initiative run entirely by volunteers,” says Patricia, “dedicated to improving local courts and supporting community organizations through sports and teamwork.”

“We focus on basketball courts,” she continues, “especially in equity-deserving neighbourhoods in Ottawa. Our efforts include installing mesh nets on hoops, donating basketballs and water bottles, and cleaning the parks as a team.”

“While volunteering with Shelter Movers Ottawa,” she says, “I saw a basketball court that needed improvement. I decided to return in summer to put up new nets. Along the way, I gathered volunteers from Helping with Furniture, and we haven’t stopped since. My goal is to create positive change through meaningful actions, because even the smallest initiatives can make a big difference in the community.”

Patricia is the founder of Mesh Up Ottawa.

04/07/2025

The first of two Awesome Ottawa awards for March goes to Susan Johnston to support walking tours of Ottawa fiction and poetry.

“Ottawa has featured in fiction and poetry since long before it became the political capital and city of neighbourhoods we know today,” says Susan.

“While hundreds of works are set here,” she continues, “few of them are an active part of the iconography of our daily life. I want to change this by highlighting the inspiring range and breadth of fiction and poetry set across Ottawa.”

Susan is developing an open-source map so readers and walkers can connect works of fiction and poetry with locations across the city, and setting out self-guided walks so people can see the locations in person.

This spring, Susan will also host a live walk, featuring authors whose work references sites within central Ottawa. It will be offered through VERSe Ottawa in April, and again through Janes Walk Ottawa-Gatineau in May.

Susan hosts a morning show on CKCU FM and co-founded Ottawa (de)tours.

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Ottawa, ON

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http://awesomeottawa.ca/

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