OTTAWA, January 20, 2026 — To kick off Ottawa’s 200th anniversary as a partner of the City of Ottawa in the development of programming, Ottawa Tourism is announcing funding support for fourteen projects through its 200th Tourism Animation Fund. The purpose of the program is to catalyze the development of quality products and experiences by tourism businesses and organizations that will stimulate increased overnight visitation and visitor spending and support private sector investment in our destination as the city celebrates its bicentennial.
Through this funding program, recipients are receiving grants of up to $20,000 per project, supporting up to 50% of eligible expenses for each selected initiative. The fund prioritizes projects that create new tourism-oriented experiences to celebrate Ottawa’s rich culture and history and foster collaboration across the tourism sector. All funded projects will take place between March 1 and December 31, 2026, as part of the city’s bicentennial celebrations. Details on the projects that will animate our city over the course of the calendar year are as follows:
- Deux Voix, Une Capitale (March–December) – a monthly music series produced by the Bronson Music Theatre, showcasing the diversity of French music through nine performances featuring established francophone headliners and local opening acts, celebrating the cultural richness of Ottawa’s francophone heritage.
- Saunders Cider TulipFest (begins May 1) – a new three-week spring festival at Saunders Farm, featuring nearly half a million tulips, artistic photo installations, live entertainment, storytelling in English and French and culinary experiences in a six-acre circular orchard anchored by a 30-foot windmill.
- Requiems: Jim Logan (May 1–June 27) – S.A.W. Gallery will present a major retrospective of Métis artist Jim Logan, bringing together 40+ artworks from across Canada and wrapping the exterior of Arts Court with a 200-foot outdoor banner accompanied be free public programming.
- Ottawa 200+: Portraits, Places, and People (begins May 15) – an immersive outdoor gallery led by the Bytown Museum, transforming storefronts and public spaces along Rideau Street and the ByWard Market with large-scale archival images, animated projections and bilingual stories celebrating Ottawa’s communities.
- Shawarma Fest 2026; World Record Attempt (June 7) – Giza Entertainment will host a Guinness World Records™ attempt to build a 160-metre shawarma in the ByWard Market, accompanied by 60 vendors and live programming, with all portions donated afterward to local food security partners.
- The Voices of Bytown (June 11–13, 2026) – A 360 degree immersive VR experience at the Festival Franco-Ontarien’s 51st edition in Major’s Hill Park, where four musical voices guide visitors through two centuries of local history through the voice and traditional music of an Algonquin, a French Canadian canal worker, an Irish immigrant and a contemporary Ottawa performer.
- Debaser – Pique (June 12–13, 2026) – During this bicentennial edition of Pique, Debaser will animate the Arts Court with Indigenous-led performances and site specific installations celebrating the building’s layered history, including projection mapping, and artwork specific to the 200th.
- The Chief Speaks (June–December) – Indigenous Experiences will operate a touring Algonquin cultural installation, featuring a moveable wigwam and a hologram voiced by Elder Merv Sarazin sharing stories about Algonquin life past and present at various events across the city.
- Bytown 200 – A Musical Journey through Ottawa’s History (July 4–17) – a five-concert classical music series presented by Music and Beyond, exploring different eras of Ottawa’s history though performance, French and English narration, archival imagery and new commissions.
- A Night of Inuit Excellence (July 11 and November 8) – a concert series presented by Qamaniq Records, bringing together Inuit musicians, storytellers and multidisciplinary artists from across the circumpolar Arctic to celebrate Inuit musical culture and its influence in Ottawa.
- Indigenous History in Motion (July–December) – at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg illustrator and animator Jay Odjig will create two short animations projected nightly on the OAG White Cube façade and the National Arts Centre Lantern, illuminating Ottawa’s history from Indigenous perspectives.
- Ottawa 200 Corn Maze Festival (July 10–September 7) – Saunders Farm will transform a three-acre cornfield into an Ottawa 200-themed maze, featuring fully bilingual interpretive installations, soundscapes, performers and family activities along the path, exploring Ottawa’s past.
- Happy 200th Birthday, Ottawa! (August 29) – a Capital Pride drag talent showcase featuring all six Ottawa queens from Canada’s Drag Race and a birthday-themed takeover of the festival’s main stage to celebrate Ottawa’s history through quest and trans artistic expression in both English and French.
- O-Town Animated (September 18–December 31) – the Ottawa International Animation Festival will activate a Public Art Trail, featuring three original animated short films created from archival Bytown photos and displayed on Rideau FX Poles for three months. This free downtown experience will connect cultural sites through animation and digital storytelling in English and French.
“The diversity of the projects supported by the 200th Tourism Animation Fund showcases the creativity of Ottawa’s tourism community and will help make this anniversary a truly memorable experience for residents and visitors alike,” says Michael Crockatt, President and CEO of Ottawa Tourism. “We are excited to see these initiatives come to life across the city this year to help make Ottawa a can’t-miss destination in 2026.”
About Ottawa Tourism
Through its values of inclusivity, trust, collaboration, and innovation, Ottawa Tourism pursues its vision to be one of Canada’s most visited, vibrant, and appealing urban destinations, as well as the tourism authority for key economic development and city-building decisions in Ottawa. Canada’s capital welcomes an estimated 10 million visitors annually who spend $2.6 billion in the community.
For more information, please contact:
Jérôme Miousse
Director, Public Affairs
Ottawa Tourism
corporate@ottawatourism.ca
