Colors of Ottawa - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

Ottawa id a scale modern city featuring unique culture, traditions and customs. Local folks are rather cordial and amicable towards foreign guests. Such an attitude is a result of multinationlaity of the local folks there. The city of Ottawa is home to immigrants from many countries of the globe including Portugal, Italy, China, Germany, Ukraine and others that is why foreign tourists will feel rather cozy and comfortable during the journey. To make the vacation even more pleasant and trouble free, tourists should learn several rules of conduct and keep to them during the vacations. These will help to quickly navigate in any situation without breaking conventional rules and laws.

It should be noted that a peculiar feature of all the establishments in Ottawa is long queues. If one finds a long line in a store or in a bank then one should just join the queue and patiently wait until all the customers in line will be served.

Ottawa residents are rather accurate and punctual. Despite a reason of a meeting one should come in time in any way. Local companies and offices feature strict rules and regulations of time tables and working hours, thus coming late to work may well become a cause of dismissal of an employee. Setting off to a shopping tour tourists should keep in mind that bargaining at local markets and in shopping centers is not customary. All the prices for goods are fixed and any attempt to bargain or reduce a price in any other way will just puzzle a merchant. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Local people are rather kind-tempered and understanding and always ready to help foreign guests. The only condition for successful communication and mutual understanding will be following the etiquette. Before addressing somebody and asking for help one should necessarily greet a person. Any favor and help should be rewarded as well.

Ottawa hosts a variety of wonderful festivals attracting tourists from all over the world. Among all these events, an outstanding one is the Ottawa Jazz Festival, which traditionally starts in late June and lasts ten days. Performers that have already been headliners in the festival are all eminent jazz and blues musicians whose popularity is evidenced by the number of visitors - about three hundred thousand people attend the festival every year. Another advantage of the music event is that it is held in the open air. This means that its visitors can enjoy the opportunity to have a picnic and set up a campsite while listening to high-quality music. Confederation Park is traditionally chosen as a venue.

They also love theater in the capital of Canada, and such an event as the Magnetic North Theater Festival is another confirmation of this. Its dates usually fall in mid-June when the audience will be entertained by artists coming from all over the world throughout one week. The program includes theatrical and dance performances, avant-garde metamorphoses - whatever floats your boat and doesn't let the audience get bored. Well, this never happens, as the festival organizers consistently surprise people with something fresh and unusual every year. Cultural institutions of the city serve as the venues, the main among which are the Gladstone Theatre and the National Arts Centre. Besides that, many artists show all their skills on the central streets of the Canadian capital.

Of equal interest is the Alterna Savings Crack Up Comedy Festival taking place in mid-February. None of its visitors have ever complained of boredom. On the contrary, be ready to laugh your head off - this is perhaps one of the main features of the festival. All because the best comedians and standuppers from all over the world are invariably invited as participants. Musical accompaniment is always present at the event. The festival is also interesting for Guinness World Records that have been set more than once here. For example, at one of the earlier festivals, the maximum number of snowmen was built of ice in an hour. Performances are held in Lansdowne Park, and the award ceremony marking the end of the event takes place in the Westin Hotel.

As is known, Mid-March is the time of St. Patrick. The saint is loved not only in Ireland but also in Canada - and its capital is no exception. A week before St. Patrick's Day (the second Sunday of the month), colorful fancy-dress parades are held in Ottawa, the central streets of the city are painted in all shades of green - from pistachio to emerald. Not only representatives of the Irish diaspora celebrate the holiday - all people join in the fun. Besides beautiful processions, the program also involves music and dance shows. Of course, music and dances correspond to the dominant theme - not a single visitor to the festival can resist the energetic beats of Celtic music. Also, no one should forget about a culinary program and an interactive one, consisting of games and contests.