Special free night at Ottawa hotels (after you book 2-nights). Get to Know Canada!

Ottawa Tourism launches two new getaway packages that help you discover your Canada -- Book two nights and get the third night free!

Toronto, December 17, 2010—When it comes to Canadian history and culture, there is no city like Ottawa. Museums. Galleries. Theatre. Music. Festivals. The world’s largest skating rink. First class hotels. And, just in time for the holidays, Ottawa Tourism offers two new getaway packages that make discovering (or re-discovering) your Canadian identity an affordable and fun experience.

Participating Ottawa hotels are now offering Get to Know Your Canada and Taste of Canada packages. Both are two-night getaway packages, which offer a Third Night Free at participating hotels for visitors wanting to extend their stay in Ottawa one more day. The Third Night Free promotion is valid at participating hotels for bookings made until March 31, 2011—but the actual travel can take place anytime. Each package starts at $116 per night based on a 2-night stay for 2 adults.

GET TO KNOW YOUR CANADA … If you’re new to Canada or simply in need of a pleasant refresher course, this two-night Ottawa getaway package is the perfect choice. Immerse yourself in Canadian history, culture and achievement at national museums and galleries. Tour the Capital’s famous national sites and landmark attractions. And join in the celebration at seasonal festivals and national events all year round. It’s all about getting to know Canada—and doing it all in one quintessentially Canadian place! Book your two-night getaway package and extend your stay with a 3rd night free at participating hotels.

Taste of Canada … Sample some of the best of Canada with this two-night getaway package in the Capital. If you’re into the great Canadian outdoors, just step outside your Ottawa hotel and go skating and skiing this winter and enjoy great golfing, cycling, running, hiking and water sports next summer. Your tastes tend more toward arts and culture? Ottawa’s got you covered with the country’s biggest lineup of national museums, galleries and performing arts. Want a taste of Canadian culinary excellence? Ottawa’s community of renowned chefs is happy to oblige. Come experience a taste of Canada, whatever your pleasure! Book your two-night getaway package and extend your stay with a 3rd night free at participating hotels.

Visitors wanting information or to reserve the Get To Know Your Canada and A Taste of Canada packages can visit www.ottawatourism.ca, a powerful website operated by Ottawa Tourism and supported by the region’s tourism industry.

There are many other packages available as well, including Hockey Night in the Capital, Rendezvous for Two, Family Discovery, and Cultural Odyssey.

Ottawa Tourism provides destination marketing, strategic direction and leadership in cooperation with members and partners in order to service the travel media and attract visitors, tours and conventions to Ottawa and Canada’s Capital Region. Its vision is to build recognition of Ottawa as an outstanding four-season tourism destination.

Cutline: Cool hotel deals. Skaters on Ottawa's Rideau Canal. World's largest skating rink. Stock Footage.

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For more information and Ottawa-area images, please contact:

Jantine Van Kregten
Chris Ryall
Public Relations
Ottawa Tourism
Jan 613-237-5150, ext. 116
Chris 416-861-1022 / 888-423-3995
media@ottawatourism.ca
chris@travelmarketingexperts.com

Blog-Vite to Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction Press Conference January 11th Friday 2011

The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation
request the honour of your presence at a news conference
to announce the finalists for the
2011 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 • 10:00 a.m. sharp
Consort Bar • Main Level • Le Meridien King Edward Hotel
37 King Street East • Toronto, Ontario

Media contact: Stephen Weir & Associates:
Stephen Weir: 416-489-5868 or 416-801-3101 / stephen@stephenweir.com
Linda Crane: 905-257-6033 or 416-727-0112 / cranepr@cogeco.ca

Prize contact: June Dickenson: 647-477-6000 / junedickenson@cogeco.ca

Events and Shows at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection this winter

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Family Events and Show Listings at the McMichael in early 2011

February 13 Family Sunday Valentine’s Day
Celebrate the season of love and friendship by creating seasonal crafts,
engaging in a family performance by Washboard Hank and playing in the
discovery space.

February 21 Family Day
Family comes first at the McMichael. Drop in on February 21 to celebrate
Family Day and the opening of our new exhibitions. Take a family tour or
join a family silk screen workshop at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Participation for workshop will be on a fist come first serve basis, please
pick up tickets at the front desk.

March 13 Family Sunday
Illustration from Norman Rockwell to Michael Martchenko
Get a jump on March Break! Celebrate illustrations by Norman Rockwell and
meet one of Canada’s leading illustrators, Michael Martchenko, best known
for creating drawings that accompany author Robert Munch’s famous stories.
Create artwork based on the Norman Rockwell exhibition and illustrations by
Martchenko, and play in the discovery space.

March 15, 16, and 17 March Break Bonus Family Days
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Make art, play in the discovery space and watch live performances at 12:30
p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
On March 15, celebrate the life and joy of making music with Cosima Grunsky
and create Andy Warhol inspired art. On March 16, splash into some fun with
popular musical group, Splash’N Boots, and create artwork inspired by our
special exhibition, In Search of Norman Rockwell’s America. On March 17,
celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with traditional Irish music and crafts.

March 20 Discovery Days
End March Break with a bang! Touch artwork and objects from the McMichael’s collection, play in the discovery space, and take a family tour of the collection.

COMING 2011 EXHIBITIONS
Maria Chapdelaine
December 18, 2010 to February 27, 2011
Experience the world of Clarence Gagnon’s Maria Chapdelaine. Fifty-four of Gagnon’s original works will be exhibited in a chapterby- chapter sequence conforming to the narrative presented in the book written by Louis Hémon in the winter of 1912-13, depicting life in rural Quebec.

Marilyn Monroe - Two Shows
February 19 to May 15, 2011
In February 2011, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection will bring its visitors an unexpected and thought-provoking array of exhibitions, featuring contemporary art and pop culture with two exhibitions of works based on the woman who personified Hollywood glamour in the twentieth century: Marilyn Monroe. Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe (curated by Artoma, Hamburg, Germany and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC) and Marilyn in Canada (curated by McMichael Assistant Curator, Chris Finn, and organized by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection) will both be on display February 19 to May 15, 2011 at the Kleinburg gallery. A weekend of programs to celebrate the opening of the shows will take place Family Day long weekend, February 19 to 21,201.

George McLean: The Living Landscape
January 29 to May 22, 2011
George McLean has painted the landscape and animals around his home in Grey County, Ontario for over thirty years. Surveying the artist’s painting career, the exhibition draws in major works from private and public collections across North America and focuses on McLean’s prowess as an accomplished draughtsman and painter of the landscape. Although all of his paintings include an animal or bird, the artist takes great care to faithfully depict the dramatic light, colour and atmosphere of these wooded escarpment sites, not far from the shores of Georgian Bay.

George McLean: The Living Landscape has been organized and circulated by the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound. The exhibition George McLean: The Living Landscape is accompanied by a major publication consisting of almost 100 colour reproductions and curatorial texts that give McLean’s work its due attention and context in terms of contemporary Canadian painting. The book deepens the discourse around McLean’s practice, setting him apart from his wildlife art contemporaries as a painter of note. The book, by Andrew Duncan Harris and Virginia Eichhorn, is also entitled George McLean: The Living Landscape and is currently available in the McMichael Gallery Shop.

In Search of Norman Rockwell’s America
March 12 to April 25, 2011

Photojournalist Kevin Rivoli knows that the America painted by Norman Rockwell did, and still does, exist. He has spent the last twenty years documenting it. In Search of Norman Rockwell’s America juxtaposes Rockwell’s work with Rivoli’s photographs of spontaneously occurring moments of everyday life. These photographs are true to Rockwell’s form—storytelling in a single, spontaneous frame that captures and celebrates the ordinary. In Search of Norman Rockwell’s America was organized by Kevin and Michele Rivoli in collaboration with International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.

ABOUT THE McMICHAEL CANADIAN ART COLLECTION

The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking. For more information about the gallery, visit www.mcmichael.com .

Stephen Weir
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
stephenweir@mcmichael.com or sweir5492@rogers.com
Toronto Office:
2482 Yonge Street, Unit 45032, Toronto, ONT.
CANADA. M4P 3E3
Tel: 416-489-5868 | Gallery office: 905-893-1121
www.mcmichael.com