Ottawa summer unlikely to include large public festivals
OTTAWA — Warmer weather continues to transition the capital towards summer, marking an end to the skating season on the Rideau Canal and leaving some wondering about the city’s many summer festivals.
Despite current health guidelines, epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan says there’s still a chance for a close to normal summer.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see a comfortable family barbecue on Canada Day,” Deonandan said.
The associate professor at the University of Ottawa says the summer of 2021 should be an improvement on our first COVID-19 summer.
“Much like last summer when we saw almost normality. If people could cast their minds back; we had barbecues and we saw our friends at a distance, but things were comfortable to some extent. It will be better than that,” Deonandan added.
So what does that mean for Bluesfest, Canada Day, or any of the multitude of cultural events the city usually plays host to in the warmer months?
Festival organizers say it’s too early to tell.
“I think that everyone is longing for the day when we will be in a large field listening to some great music and enjoying some wonderful entertainers but I think at this point, as far as summer is concerned, it’s just a little too early to tell,” Carol Anne Piccinin, executive director of Ottawa Festivals says.
Piccinin says organizers are planning for a number of eventualities, although at this stage, it’s hard to be certain which plans will come to fruition.
“We know that festivals have multiple event scenarios that they’re working with currently. We know that some of them are thinking about potentially coming out with a smaller event this year. But for the most part we are going to see great digital events,” she said.