The first place to go to for arts performances in Ottawa is the National Arts Centre , which offers musical, theatrical, dance and variety performances year-round. It is also where many of the music festivals that the city hosts take place. Their website has an events calendar and online ticket office. Other good theatrical venues include Opera Lyra Ottawa , which serves up classic performances such as Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Verdi’s Othello and Ottawa Little Theatre , which features very affordable plays and summer drama camps for children. Classical music performances can be found at the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the Ottawa Chamber Music Society.

The number of festivals dedicated to the performing arts in Ottawa is huge. There is the bi-annual Canadian Dance Festival, which features contemporary choreographers and dance companies in performances at the National Arts Centre and National Gallery of Canada. For music, there is the CKCU Ottawa Folk Festival every August celebrating regional folk music. Ottawa also hosts the world’s largest chamber music festival, an outdoors Bluesfest (the largest blues festival in the country) and the Ottawa Jazz Festival, which attracts musicians from around the world. Slightly less mainstream performances can be found at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, an annual ten-day affair dedicated to “fringe” performing arts that began in 2004.

Live Theatre and Music:   ArtsCourt, just east of the Rideau Centre & canal, has art galleries and a fine little theatre;  an artist-run centre downstairs, (SAW ) usually has some exciting exhibits and events.

Listings of local events and entertainment can be found in the Ottawa Xpress, a free paper available downtown, and local daily papers such as Metro and Dose.  You can find everything from the traditional (National Arts Centre, Orpheus Musical Theatre), to the slightly strange  (Making Necrophiliac - a musical comedy).   Go to the Council for the Arts in Ottawa for listings of local theatre, music and arts happenings.