Every summer, a corner of Ottawa briefly feels like a transplanted Lebanese town square. The Ottawa Lebanese Festival, held at Saint Elias Cathedral on Ridgewood Avenue, has become a fixture in the city’s cultural calendar – and a lifeline for the local Lebanese community.
As The961 reports, the festival marked more than three decades in the region by announcing a five-day programme from Wednesday, July 13 to Sunday, July 17. The event is designed to showcase the diversity of the Lebanese-Ottawa community through food, music, dance and family activities.
Since 1990, the festival has celebrated Lebanese heritage and traditions while welcoming thousands of visitors each year, Lebanese and non-Lebanese alike. The grounds around Saint Elias Cathedral transform into a mix of grill smoke, music and conversations in multiple languages.
Opening hours are tailored to both after-work crowds and families: weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., and weekends from 11:00 a.m. through to late evening. Across those hours, guests can expect classic Lebanese dishes, desserts, children’s games, live performances and community dance moments that often end with dabke lines forming spontaneously.
For Lebanese-Canadians, the festival is more than entertainment. It is a place where children who have never lived in Lebanon can hear the music, taste the food and see the symbols their parents talk about. For Ottawans from other backgrounds, it offers a chance to discover that Lebanon is far more than the headlines they may have seen.
Events like this also underline the strength of the diaspora. Even as Lebanon goes through severe political and economic turmoil, its culture continues to travel and adapt – whether through restaurants, music or large festivals that bring an entire neighborhood together for a week.
Leave a Reply