Ottawa, meet your nightlife council

(Ruiqing Bi/Pexels)

Members of the Ottawa nightlife council have been announced.

The City of Ottawa said in September it would create a volunteer council of people connected to Ottawa's nightlife economy to work alongside Mathieu Grondin, the city's appointed nightlife commissioner.

Grondin told the Canadian Press that more than 500 people applied to be on the council.

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"The Ottawa Nightlife Council, established on November 4, 2024, is a recommendation contained in the Nightlife Economy Action Plan adopted by City Council in 2023. The Nightlife Council is composed of 12 at-large members, and representatives from six organizations actively engaged in Ottawa’s nightlife economy," the City of Ottawa says. "A department-led working group, the Nightlife Council will provide the Nightlife Commissioner Office with feedback on the commercial and cultural vibrancy of Ottawa’s nightlife economy and the advancement of nightlife management best practices, policies, safety programs, and promotion."

According to the city, the nightlife council will meet at least four times per year to "identify shared objectives for the development of commercial and cultural vibrancy at night; identify systemic barriers to commercial and cultural growth; propose actions and initiatives for consideration by the NLCO (nightlife commissioner office); and support the implementation of actions and initiatives undertaken by the NLCO and contribute to ongoing evaluation and impact measurement."

These are volunteer positions with no remuneration. The appointees will be on the nightlife council for two years.

At-Large Members:

1. Aidan Kallioinen – Associate Vice-President, University and Government Relations, Carleton University Student Association

2. Alex Sirois – Managing Partner, Ottawa Venues

3. Christopher Wong – Co-Director, Asinabka Film & Media Festival

4. Claudia Balladelli – Co-Founder & Executive Director, Axé Worldfest

5. Eric Vance – Drag Performer and Co-Owner, Glittershaker Events

6. Feza Lugoma – DJ and Co-founder, Pass the Vibes

7. Lisa Zbitnew – Owner & Operator, Bronson Centre Music Theater

8. Mat Beausoleil – Critic and consultant for the food, beverage, and travel industry

9. Michaela Domenico – Founder & Project Manager, Safe Raving

10. Patrick McCormack – Managing Director, Cranium Festival & Capital Rap Battles

11. Rachel Weldon – Director, Debaser and Pique

12. Richard Laplante – Owner & CEO of White Rabbit Events

Economic Development and Cultural Industries Organizations Members:

13. Arts Ottawa – Cassandra Olsthoorn, Co-Executive Director

14. ByWard Market District Authority – Zach Dayler, Executive Director

15. Ottawa Coalition of BIAs – Brad Fougere, Executive Director

16. Ottawa Festival Network – Tara Shannon, Executive Director

17. Ottawa Music Industry Coalition – Melanie Brulée, Executive Director

18. Ottawa Tourism – Kelleagh Alexander, Director of Experience Development

Grondin said a council of citizens with a stake in the city's nightlife is not an unusual proposal, telling Newstalk 580 CFRA in September that several cities around the world have similar boards.

"We're not reinventing the wheel here," he said.

Grondin said nightlife is not just about students or young people and it's also not just about the downtown core.

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"If you want to stay in the suburbs, if you want to stay in the countryside … you should also have a little nightlife hub there. A couple of restaurants that are open a little bit late. Maybe there's a pub where a couple of artists can perform, so you don't really need to come downtown all the time if you want to experience nightlife. That's something that I'm going to be looking into, as part of my mandate," he said.

The first meeting of the nightlife council has yet to be scheduled, but they are expected to meet before the end of the year.

--With files from The Canadian Press