Bluesfest kicks off at Lansdowne: Here's what you need to know about the festival
Ottawa Bluesfest returns to the stage this weekend for the first time in two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It's the second weekend of the Ottawa Fall Festivals, put on by the organizers of RBC Ottawa Bluesfest and CityFolk. Three nights of music are set for the Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The 2020 and 2021 Ottawa Bluefest events at LeBreton Flats were cancelled due to COVID-19 and the public health measures restricting crowd sizes.
For the next three nights, Canadian singers Jann Arden, Barenaked Ladies, Half Moon Run, Tokyo Police Club, MonkeyJunk and Tom Cochrane and Red Rider are among the acts set to perform at Lansdowne.
COVID-19 restrictions include only fully vaccinated fans allowed to attend the festival, all patrons must wear a mask at all times except while eating and drinking and capacity is capped at 5,000 people a night.
"We were pleasantly surprised that people were ready to show their proof of vaccination," said Bluesfest executive director Mark Monahan about last week's CityFolk.
"There were no extensive lineups at the gate. It was really just a lot of positive comments about coming out again and listening to live music outside."
With rain in the forecast for the next three days, Ottawa Fall Festivals says the event will go on "rain or shine." Announcements on any delays will be made through social media channels and at the festival.
Musician Lauryn Macfarlane is looking forward to performing at Bluesfest.
"This is definitely the biggest gig with my own tunes that I'm playing," said Macfarlane. "And it's just me and my guitar so I'm like, OK, excited."
Macfarlane adds, "I’m gonna be like, just stay in your body, it’s just you in your body, don’t freak yourself out too much about it. But I am very excited."
Here is a look at what you need to know about RBC Ottawa Bluesfest.
OTTAWA BLUESFEST LINE-UP
Thursday
- Lauryn Macfarlane
- Aysanabee
- Tokyo Police Club
- Half Moon Run
Friday
- Ryland James
- Barenaked Ladies
- Jann Arden
Saturday
- MonkeyJunk
- April Wine
- Tom Cochrane and Red Rider
TICKETS
Tickets are only available online for RBC Ottawa Bluesfest. There will be no box office onsite to purchase tickets.
Visit Ottawa Fall Festivals to purchase tickets.
NO CASH
Ottawa Fall Festivals are completely cashless for all purchases on the site, including drinks, food and merchandise.
You can use Apple Pay, Google Pay, tap to pay and all major credit cards at RBC Ottawa Bluesfest.
ATTENDANCE ON THE GREAT LAWN
Attendance will be capped at 5,000 patrons each night during RBC Ottawa Bluesfest to ensure enough space for physical distancing.
Organizers say this is below 50 per cent of the Great Lawn's full capacity.
COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY
Only fully vaccinated COVID-19 fans will be allowed to attend RBC Ottawa Bluesfest this weekend.
"There are no exemptions (religious or medical reasons) without proof and (patrons) will be required to prove status at the gates either through a digital or printed copy," says a message on the website.
Attendees must comply with the Festival Fan Health Pledge.
Everyone must wear a mask onsite at all times. Organizers say the removal of a mask is allowed as per provincial guidelines when you are eating, drinking, or for other medical reasons.
TRAVELLING TO THE FESTIVAL
OC Transpo service is free to and from the festival. Show your ticket to board transit from three hours before gates open and three hours after the final performance of the night.
Parking is available at Lansdowne Park.
There will be no supervised bike parking at Ottawa Bluesfest.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Disability Benefit needs to be safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
TikTok, ByteDance sue to block U.S. law seeking sale or ban of app
TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance said on Tuesday they filed suit in U.S. federal court seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the divestiture of the short video app used by 170 million Americans or ban its use.