Tag: Charity

Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival Takes Over Mooney’s Bay

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

Ottawa, ON – The Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival took over Mooney’s Bay this weekend marking the 20th Anniversary of the Festival and the 10th Anniversary for Festival CEO, John Brooman at the helm. In the 20 years of the event it has grown from a half-day event with 27 teams, to what it is today, a four-day event with 200 teams, 5,000 paddlers, 500 volunteers and over 85,000 attendees, making it North America’s largest dragon boat festival.

In addition to the non-stop racing, the festival offered free admission to multiple stages with world-class entertainment, amusement attractions, extreme sports demonstrations, family fun in the children’s area, a variety of artisans, exhibitors, food and drink vendors, including the beach side bar.

The CTV Main Stage saw headliners, Sam Roberts Band, Born Ruffians and Sloan. The main stage also saw The Balconies, Sam Cash and The Romantic Dogs, The Joynt, The Treasures, Kalle Mattson, The Matinee, Great Lake Swimmers, Devin Cuddy, Autumns Cannon, and Raine Maida.
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Since the Ottawa Dragon Boat Foundation was established in 2003 to-date, $2.5 million has been raised through the annual Pledge Challenge, benefiting 29 Ottawa area charities. The 20th Anniversary edition will benefit the Youth Service Board, ArtsSmarts, Bruyère Foundation, CHEO Foundation, Debra Dynes Family House, Ottawa Humane Society and the University Of Ottawa Institute Of Mental Health Research.

WET CONDITION DON’T DAMPEN SPIRITS AT SUBWAY® CHEO BBQ

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

Ottawa, ON – On Saturday, June 8 despite the wet and muddy conditions over 1,500 people gathered at Ottawa’s east-end Shefford Park for the 21st annual CHEO BBQ with the new title sponsor SUBWAY®.

CHEO BBQ is Ottawa-Gatineau’s only volleyball and ultimate Frisbee event, as well as a 5km family, walk around the streets surrounding the park presented by RBC. Other event festivities include the Wireless Amber Alerts Family Zone with activities for kids and entertainment by Radical Science, Little Rays Reptiles, Yaki, Capital City Garrison and great food from the Bytown Catering barbecue pit, including chicken, sausages, veggie kabobs, hamburgers, hot-dogs and a steak dinner, all with the hopes of this year raising $75,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

This year Mike Machargo was able to present a cheque to CHEO from last year’s event during the CHEO Telethon in the amount of $65,000.

The CHEO BBQ was also happy to welcome back Ottawa’s CTV Morning Live host, Lianne Laing returning as honourary chair. “I am thrilled to be back again this year as honourary chair of the CHEO BBQ. As a mother of two, I know how important CHEO is here in our community and what it offers to parents, patients and our future.  I am blessed to have two healthy daughters, but understand this is also something that can’t be taken for granted. I can only imagine how crucial this is for families who rely on these services day in and day out.”

The CHEO BBQ is a far cry from 1993 when it began as a 15-person backyard gathering organized by Mike Machargo and co-founder Johnny Hunt, where a fishbowl was passed around to collect donations for the hospital during the CHEO Telethon. Since then, the CHEO BBQ has grown bigger every year with over 1,000 participants, 40 sponsors and 200 volunteers, and a grand total of $425,000 raised for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) over 20 years.

Meet The 501st Legion – Capital City Garrison, “the bad guys who do good.”

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

Ottawa, ON – The 501st Legion is an international fan-based organization dedicated to the construction and wearing of screen-accurate replicas of Imperial Stormtrooper armour, Sith Lords, Clone Troopers, bounty hunters, and other villains from the Star Wars universe.

The 501st Legion was formed by Albin Johnson and Tom Crews in 1997, the Legion now has over 6,500 active members worldwide, with nearly 11,000 approved costumes among them. The Legion is active on 5 continents, with Garrisons and Outposts in over 50 countries around the globe.

Legion members make appearances at casual, promotional, and charitable events, often at the request of Lucasfilm’s Fan Events department. Although not officially affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or Lucasfilm LLC., the 501st Legion is Lucasfilm’s preferred Imperial costuming organization.

Giving back to the community is one of the 501st Legion’s highest priorities. Members regularly participate in events to raise awareness of charitable causes, from walk-a-thons to blood drives. Because of this, the 501st Legion proudly refers to themselves as “the bad guys who do good.”

*UPDATE* In 2012, the members of the 501st donated almost six million hours to raise over $184,000 in direct charitable funds and participated in events that helped raise $14.7 million for charity worldwide.

Capital City Garrison, which covers eastern Ontario, saw its beginnings in late 2004 and its first “major” event in 2005, assisting the “power of the force” toy line launched by Hasbro. May 2005, the group was contacted by Pepsi to help assist in marketing events surrounding the release of the final prequel star wars movie, “Revenge of the Sith”. In 2007, the group decided to form the Capital City Squad within the Canadian garrison. This permitted the group to become more self-sufficient at various local events and gave the local members a distinct identity in the 501st legion. In early 2010, the local membership voted to become an independent unit separate from the Canadian Garrison.