Collaborative zine making night at the OTL
2025-12-06 14:00 - 17:00 (America/Toronto) | Ottawa Trans Library, 1104 Somerset St. West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 3C8, Canada
Come work on zines with us as we work on the next issue of The Dragon Flyer, the Ottawa Trans Library’s community zine. Write, draw, scan, cut, and paste with us on our community zine or your own project, or just come hang out with us. We are collecting stories, jokes, poems, art, and more from the trans and non-binary community in Ottawa and our friends and families.
The zine workshop is a collaborative event to discuss, share, and work on zines together.
Come tell your story.We will provide paper, templates, and whatever art supplies we have. No experience necessary. All ages welcome, children under age 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
Masking the day of the event is encouraged. Accessibility note: There are two stairs at the door entrance. We have a ramp we can bring out for the door on request. There’s a washroom but it’s not large enough for many mobility devices.

Book Launch with David McNally - Slavery and Capitalism: A New Marxist History
2025-12-06 19:00 - 20:00 | Atelier of the Mauril-Bélanger Social Innovation Workshop, at Saint Paul University, 65 Clegg Street, Ottawa, K1S 1C4
On Saturday, December 6th, David McNally will be in Ottawa to discuss his latest book, Slavery and Capitalism: A New Marxist History. He will be in conversation with Adrian Harewood, Professor of Journalism at Carleton.
Time: 7-8 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM)
Location: The Atelier of the Mauril-Bélanger Social Innovation Workshop, at Saint Paul University. The Atelier is accessible from 95 Clegg Street, the street adjacent to the University.
Organized by Octopus Books (Copies of the book will be available for purchase at $47.99.) RSVP: https://octopusbooks.ca/events/3862520251206
Co-sponsored by the Atelier of the Mauril- Bélanger Social Innovation Workshop and the institute of Political Economy at Carleton University
About the Book
Slavery and Capitalism provides the first systematic Marxist account of the capitalist character of Atlantic slavery.
Karl Marx’s writings on enslavement and labor have fallen out of favor among historians, but David McNally injects new life into them. Slavery and Capitalism gives the first systematic Marxist account of the capitalist character of Atlantic slavery—using colonial travel literature, planter records and diaries, and slave narratives—to support the provocative claim for enslaved labor in the plantation system as capitalist commodity production.
Weaving together history, political economy, and radical abolitionism, McNally demonstrates that plantation slaves formed a modern working class. Unlike those scholars who insist that enslaved people were too sensible to set their sights on liberty, he highlights the self-activity of enslaved people fighting for their freedom and reframes their resistance as labor struggles over production and reproduction, with significant implications for US and Atlantic history and for understanding the roots of racial capitalism.
About the Author
David McNally is Cullen Distinguished Professor of History and Business at the University of Houston, where he directs the Project on Race and Capitalism. He is the author of seven previous books and more than sixty scholarly articles. David is also the founding editor of Spectre, a journal of Marxist theory, strategy and analysis.
Reviews
“With rich and well-chosen evidence, McNally establishes the ways in which the history of enslavement is best understood within Marxist categories. He writes of unspeakable exploitation and human drama in a frame that never loses track of constant resistance.”—David Roediger, author of An Ordinary White: My Antiracist Education
“David McNally’s deft application of Marx’s theory and method not only unearths the hidden dynamics of slavery’s political economy but radically broadens our understanding of modern capitalism and its class struggles. The result: a new history of slavery that centers the enslaved—the chattel proletariat—not as ‘constant capital’ or fungible cogs in the machine but as its gravediggers.”—Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class
“Slavery and Capitalism powerfully employs Marxist categories to provide new insights into the capitalist nature of New World slavery, the lives and labor of the enslaved, and, fundamentally, their resistance.”—Pepijn Brandon, Professor of Global Economic and Social History, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and lead investigator of Amsterdam’s historic connections to slavery
“What a remarkable book. Grown from the theoretical soil of C.L.R. James, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Sylvia Wynter, Slavery and Capitalism nourishes readers with example after thrilling example of how to think dialectically. McNally’s archival evidence tells stories he uses to make a compelling, cumulative argument about class composition centered on the chattel proletariat. Suggesting critical elements of internationalism, the book invites methodological extension and substantive debate to connect his cases to the vast South Atlantic world where most enslaved people lived, worked, and fought. Fresh historical understanding of past social reality can refocus contemporary political analysis of racial capitalism. McNally sharpens dynamic awareness of highly differentiated sectors and regions of value production and social reproduction—the overlapping and interlocking realities where people self-consciously make freedom by remaking place.”—Ruth Wilson Gilmore, author of Abolition Geography
“This is that rare object—writing that is scholarly and gripping, crammed with insight and the engaging detail of the best history writing. Reframing the non-debate about race and class to return to questions of agency, McNally reminds us that the question is how to become free.”—Gargi Bhattacharyya, author of Rethinking Racial Capitalism: Questions of Reproduction and Survival

Protest and Sit-in at CBC
2025-12-08 12:00 - 14:00 | CBC Ottawa, 181 Queen St, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
We’re holding a protest and sit-in outside the CBC Ottawa building (181 Queen St), on Monday December 8, 12PM-2PM, to hold our national public broadcaster accountable and demand they cover the latest Arms Embargo Report — Exposing the U.S. Loophole: how Canadian F-35 parts and Explosives Reach Israel.
Why we’re taking action:
The report, released on November 18, exposes a pipeline of ongoing shipments of explosives and military aircraft parts from Canada to the US and then on to lsrael.
The government hasn’t been able to refute the claims. In conjunction, Parliament is currently debating Bill C-233. If passed, it would take real steps toward ending Canada’s export of military goods and technology to Israel via the U.S.. but the public has barely heard about it. When a national public broadcaster ignores a report with clear, irrefutable evidence of Canada’s war crimes, people must step in to make the issue visible.
Closing loopholes that allow Canadian military exports to keep flowing to Israel requires public pressure, and public pressure requires public information.
That’s why we’re gathering where the media can’t ignore us, outside the CBC headquarters in Ottawa. When you and your comrades show up in numbers, we shift what is possible.
CBC! Tell the Story! Canada Arms Human Rights Violators
What you can do:
Bring people with you — community members, coworkers, neighbours, friends. Share this call on your social channels. Come ready to chant, hold signs, and take up space!
Learn more and take action to close the loophole enabling military exports to flow from Canada to Israel via the U.S. at: armsembargonow.ca/nomoreloopholes

Alex Neve: Renewing human rights in a fractured world
2025-12-10 16:30 - 18:30 | FSS Building, Room 4007, University of Ottawa, 120 University Private, Ottawa, Canada
Join CBC’s 2025 Massey Lecturer Alex Neve for a discussion of his book Universal, hosted by Ottawa University’s Human Rights Research and Education Centre in partnership with the Centre for International Policy Studies.
Free registration required
At a time of a deepening climate crisis, genocide and mass atrocities, and the rapid rise of hate and divisiveness around the world, his five lectures explored what we need to collectively do to renew and strengthen the vital promise of universal human rights. Marking International Human Rights Day, Alex’s talk will offer an overview of the lectures, including the fractured state of our world and a hopeful way forward. He will be joined by four other members of the uOttawa community, reflecting on what universality means in their human rights work and studies:

Mayyu Ali – Rohingya refugee, poet and human rights defender
Anne Levesque – Holder of the Gordon F. Henderson Chair in Human Rights & Associate Professor, French Common Law Program, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa
Valeria Navarette – Master’s degree candidate, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), University of Ottawa

Alex Neve is a visiting and adjunct professor in international human rights law at the University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University, and a Senior Fellow with the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He served as Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada from 2000 – 2020. He is a lawyer, with a Master’s Degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex. Alex is an Officer of the Order of Canada. He has honorary doctorate of law degrees from the University of New Brunswick, the University of Waterloo and St. Thomas University.

Pique - Winter Edition '25
2025-12-13 18:00 - 2025-12-14 02:00 | Arts Court, 2 Daly Ave, Ottawa, ON K1N 6E2, Canada
Not your average holiday-season party, Pique winter edition returns to Arts Court on December 13, 2025 with a unique and eclectic program celebrating underground music, forward-thinking art and bold performance. Designed for discovery, community connection and radical self-expression, Pique brings together some of the boldest ground-breaking artists from across Canada to experiment and engage with the local artistic community.
This season, Pique features emergent innovators in the fields of pop-avant garde, ambient-electronic, contemporary installation, afro-rap, and more. They include genre-fluid electronic producer Korea Town Acid, ethereal club angel Monsieurmadam, electrifying R&B/noise artist Quinton Barnes, Afrobeats scene stealer Banggz, global south sound selector TRINIDADDY, fractal ambient brainfeeder 16:9 ratio, cyborgian new media artist Ajeebsir, anti-disciplinary installation collaborative Sabrina Ferrari & Evalyn Shields, and eclectic songwriter Sandour.
Plus, back by popular demand, Pique will host the Queertopia kiki ball presented by Legendary Mother Maldita and Yéila Siriano, welcoming legends and leaders from ballroom scenes across Canada to not only host a ball, but also mentor emerging ballroom artists through skill-building workshops presented by MAX Ottawa. Community members can sign up to walk the ball here. More information about workshops coming soon.
Tickets to Pique are pay-what-you-can (PWYC), with sliding-scale and subsidized options available. Our PWYC ticket keeps the festival open to everyone while inviting those who can pay more to help cover the cost for others. Every contribution above the minimum goes directly toward fair artist pay, inclusive programming, and supporting independent culture in Ottawa.
Featuring performances, exhibitions and interactive presentations by 20 participating artists, Pique winter edition is not to be missed!

Book Launch: The Sound My Heart Makes
2025-12-14 14:00 - 16:00 | Christ Church Cathedral, 414 Sparks Street
Join Albert Dumont for the launch of his latest book The Sound My Heart Makes.

Demand Warming Centres!
2025-12-14 17:00 | Minto Park, 315 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Warming centres are an absolute need. If the city won’t act, we will.

Join us at Minto Park (Elgin St./Lewis St.) on Sunday, December 14th at 5 pm to make our demands loud and clear.

Shelters are at maximum capacity. The City insists that there is room for everyone, and that no one who calls 311 for a place to stay warm will be turned away.

People are being turned away. Even people with a shelter bed are left to wait in the cold for hours – because our city does not have 24 hour warming centres.

It is the city’s responsibility to ensure that nobody dies from homelessness. While they delay and insist existing shelters are enough, we have no choice but to do what we can.

We need your help! We need:
VISIBILITY: Share this and spread the word.
SUPPORT: Show up in numbers on December 14th and/or make a cash donation
WARMING SUPPLIES: Bring donated blankets, tarps, and sleeping bags to give to people who need them.

People are suffering in the freezing cold right now.

We don’t have the luxury of time. A cold weather plan that actually meets the needs of unhoused people in Ottawa must be activated immediately to prevent cold-related deaths and injuries. We cannot stand by while people suffer.

To learn more, visit linkt.ree/wtwp.ottawa. If you want to get involved organizing with us, email wtwp-ottawa@proton.me

Module 3 - What is Science? P1
2025-12-15 20:00 - 21:30 | Online
This is module 3 of a reading group series. Follow Register link for more details!
This reading group continues SftP’s tradition of running a reading group alongside our local organising, and the goal of this series is to better link our collective education with collective action, bringing together members to deepen our shared understanding of science, power, and liberation.
Developed and maintained by the Science for the People – New Haven Chapter, this curriculum investigates how Marxism, science, and capitalism intersect — and how these forces shape both knowledge and the material conditions of our world. Through discussion and reflection, we’ll consider what it means to reclaim science as a tool for social transformation.
Science for the People ‘Canada’ has grown, both in number of chapters and membership, and now is a crucial moment to clarify our strategic goals and direction. This series is one way we can do that together.
All members, new and old, are warmly invited. Each module will include two readings; participants are encouraged to complete both, and facilitators will provide summaries to guide discussion. Note:
To help foster an atmosphere of comradely curiosity:
Please come prepared with:
– One open-ended question about the readings to share with the group
– One response or connection to organizing you have done or would like to do locally
Module meetings will occur monthly on Monday evenings at 8pm EST.

Psychic Death and Transitions
2025-12-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Badly Licked Bear loves death. As a transsexual person, as an Indigenous person, as an adoption survivor, as someone who works with the knowledge of the body and of bodies, death is a constant companion in her work.
Participants will be held in exploring psychic deaths, what it means to be “once dead and twice born,” and how our sexuality often skirts, confronts, plays with, or outright embraces death.
What does it mean to bring death and the process of death consciously into one’s daily life and practices?
Queer Death Salon is a community space for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people to come together to discuss death, dying and grief. It is a facilitated drop-in discussion space, with the purpose of building connection, skill, and resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ people navigating end of life in our personal lives and in our communities.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own questions, stories, and complexities to share.

Demand Warming Centres Phone Zap
2025-12-22 18:00 - 19:00 | Online
With the cold weather hitting Ottawa early this year, concerned residents are raising the alarm about the City’s abandonment of unhoused residents. The city has responded to the freezing temperatures by pointing to their existing policies and claiming it is enough. But these same policies left unhoused neighbours to die in the cold earlier this year. And with renovictions, and austere social policies, we see unhoused neighbours freezing in the streets.
Join Horizon, the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, and the What’s the Winter Plan team for a virtual phone zap session where we will get together online, go over the details of what our city is lacking, and then spend some time calling the offices of City Councillors to make sure they hear our concerns.

Fire Station Tour - Emergency readiness for the Disabled Community
2026-01-08 18:00 - 19:30 | Fire Station 12, 635 O'conner, Ottawa
Thursday January 08
6:15-7:30 pm
Station 12 635 O’Conner Ottawa
Fire station tour for service dog teams and disabled people. Tour of the station + Q&A. Open to all ages. Suited for service dog teams who are public access ready. Learn how to prepare yourself and your service dog for a fire / emergency!

Streets Reimagined: for People and Planet
2026-01-13 11:00 - 12:00 | Zoom
Streets Reimagined: for People and Planet will explore the powerful role urban streets play in shaping human and environmental health and well-being. Led by Skye Duncan and Fabrizio Prati, this session highlights how streets—our single largest network of public space—represent one of the greatest untapped assets for cities.
By reimagining this vast “real estate” to serve more people, more functions, and more sustainable modes of movement, cities can unlock transformative benefits for safety, equity, climate resilience, and everyday quality of life. Join us as we share global insights, practical tools, and inspiring examples of how streets can truly be redesigned for people and the planet.

Write Your Grief
2026-01-13 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Queer Death Salon is a community space for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people to come together to discuss death, dying and grief. It is a facilitated drop-in discussion space, with the purpose of building connection, skill, and resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ people navigating end of life in our personal lives and in our communities.
Participants will be led through a short meditation/reiki offering to ground and center in the space, followed by some intentional and prompted writing time, where we’ll pick a source of grief, or grief itself, and write letters. There will be optional time for sharing about the experience itself or what you’ve written and some additional prompts for continued writing practice. Participants are also invited to submit completed letters to a queer grief zine for publication.
Facilitator Melissa Delizia, MSW, LSW, DSW (she/they) is a writer, witch, social worker, educator, death doula, and Reiki Master Teacher whose work lives at the intersection of sacred care, social justice, and transformative education. Their practice centers queer and transgender experiences of death, dying, grief, and ritual, with a deep commitment to equitable, accessible, and community-rooted death care.
Queer Death Salon takes place over Zoom, in English, with Automatic Closed Captioning

Ottawa Winter Drive & Teach-In: Raiding Homes, Raiding Lives
2026-01-15 18:30 - 20:30 | Happy Goat Coffee Company, 35 Laurel Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Join Justice for Anthony Aust and Ottawa PYM on Thursday the 15th of January at Happy Goat for an evening of charity and political education on no-knock raids on Turtle Island and Palestine. We will host a panel of incredible speakers: Nhora Aust (JAA), criminal law specialist Michael Spratt and a PYM representative.
Drop off donations for Justice for Anthony Aust’s winter drive to support unhoused, newcomer, and marginalized people across Ottawa. And if you have time, stick around to hear a panel discussion that will explain the concept of no-knock raids, share personal experiences and bridge struggles across the world.
Register here: https://www.simpletix.com/e/ottawa-winter-drive-teach-in-raiding-homes-tickets-252992
Entry Fee: Minimum 1 Donated Item

Ottawa screening of The Sun Quartet
2026-01-15 18:30 - 20:30 | Digital Arts Resource Centre, 67 Nicholas St.
Please join us for a rare Ottawa screening of The Sun Quartet (2017) by Colectivo Los Ingrávidos (Tehuacán), a Mexican collective of anonymous filmmakers founded in 2012 to, as they put it, “dismantle the commercial and corporate audiovisual grammar and its embedded ideology”.

This screening is curated by Adam Saulis, a Master’s student in Carleton’s Film Studies Program. The Sun Quartet engages with the horrifying disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa in 2014 and the protests that followed. Across its four parts, The Quartet remains true to the collective’s poetic approach, weaving the documentation of the protests with poetic texts, improvised music and superimposed cinematography.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with Professor Sonya Lipsett- Rivera, Malini Guha and Adam Saulis.

This event is taking place at the Digital Arts Resource Centre or D.A.R.C. (67 Nicholas Street) on Thursday January 15th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm and is sponsored by the Film Studies Program, the Ruth and Mark Phillips Professorship in Cultural Mediations and D.A.R.C.

Film Screening: Gaza - Doctors Under Attack
2026-01-18 18:30 - 21:00 | The Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank St, Ottawa, K1S 3X3, Canada
Ottawa Join IDRF and Ottawa Healthcare Professionals for Palestine for a special screening of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack – an award-winning BBC production shedding light on the reality faced by medical workers in Gaza.Sunday, January 18, 2026Doors open 6:30 PMMayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank St, Ottawa K1S 2W3$10 per personPurchase your ticket here: https://idrf.ca/event/gaza-doctors-under-attack-ottawa/All proceeds support IDRF’s Gaza Appealhttps://www.instagram.com/p/DSISoALDdDs/

Al-Funun: An Evening of Solidarity with Palestine
2026-01-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Club SAW, 67 Nicholas St, Ottawa, K1N 7B9
We invite you to join us in solidarity with Palestine, for an engaging evening of music, dance, film, art and culture.
To help cover the costs of the event, and to ensure all artists are equitably compensated for their work, time, and energy, there will be a $10 admission fee or pay-what-you-can at the door – cash and Square payments (debit or visa) accepted.
Masks required and provided. There will be air purifiers in the space as an additional measure. We ask that attendees avoid wearing scented products to this event. We look forward to seeing you there – please bring along friends or family.
ID: The text on the image reads: الفنون Al-Funun An evening of solidarity with Palestine, Jan 18 | 7-9 PM | Doors 6:30 pm, 67 Nicholas St, Club SAW. *masks required and provided. The background colour of the image is magenta. At the bottom left are a cluster of bright red poppies, and on the bottom right are light pink carnations. The logo for Palestine Solidarity Ottawa Centre is on the top right.

Launch Party: A New Vision for Transit
2026-01-19 19:30 - 22:00 | Irene’s Pub, 885 Bank St, Ottawa, ON
Join us at Irene’s Pub on Monday January 19th for an evening of music, speakers, and community. For too long, the City of Ottawa has lacked vision on how to deliver a public transit system that is truly universal, reliable, and accessible.
By launching our New Vision for Public Transit, we intend to build a movement around a set of bold ideas that will deliver the transit we deserve – without barriers and good enough to become a real alternative to high emissions private vehicles.
Line Up/Programme
7:30 – 7:45: DJ
7:45 – 7:50: Welcome & Introduction
7:50 – 8:00: Nick Grover, Free Transit Ottawa
8:00 – 8:10: B.A.E. Marie
8:10 – 8:15 : Noah Vineberg, ATU 279
8:15 – 8:20: Kassidy Ransom, CAWI
8:20 – 8:30: Break/DJ
8:30 – 8:45: King Kimbit
8:45 – 9:00: Cody Coyote
9:00 – 9:30: DJ
9:30 – 10:00: Open Mic/J.Morris

Urgent Movement Briefing: Canadian weapons are being used to bomb Venezuela and Palestine
2026-01-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
Canadian weapons are being used to bomb Venezuela and Palestine…
We must stop the unregulated flow of weapons to the U.S.
Join to find out how.

One more month left to support the No More Loopholes bill before it comes to a vote in Parliament! This legislation is critical to stopping the flow of weapons to Israel and cutting off Canada’s role in fueling the U.S. war machine.

From Venezuela to Palestine: cut off the flow of Canadian weapons. Close the U.S. loophole.

Join us for an urgent movement briefing to delve into the current political context and plug into the next steps of our campaign to close the US loophole.

Ceasefire Violated: Ottawa Protest
2026-01-24 14:00 - 16:00 | Human Rights Monument, 220 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Join us at the Human Rights Monument on Saturday January 24 at 2:00 pm as we retake the streets to remind the public and elected officials that the genocide hasn’t ended. While the bombs may have slowed, they haven’t stopped. Israel has killed nearly 500 Palestinians in its over 1,000 ceasefire violations and continues to cruelly deny aid to Gaza’s population that are enduring harsh winter conditions amidst a decimated infrastructure. Infants continue to succumb to a man-made starvation.

All the while, the apartheid state of Israel has approved massive settlement blocks, effectively dividing the West Bank in two, and has killed over 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023.

We cannot remain silent and allow these crimes to go ignored. Join us as we once again demand accountability and real consequences.

Seniors for Climate Action Now Ottawa - MP Vandenbeld Office Action
2026-01-27 14:00 - 15:00 | 1315 Richmond Road.
Seniors for Climate Action Now Ottawa will be gathering in front of MP Anita Vandenbeld’s office on January 27. With other SCAN Ottawa members, you can let MPs know that climate action must be a priority. There will be signs to share, or bring your own.

We will also gather at a nearby cafe or restaurant for some socializing time so please join us and get to know your fellow activists better.
Bring a friend!

Can’t make it? Call her office at 613-990-7720 during the action.

"Climate in Therapy" FREE Film Screening
2026-01-28 19:00 | St. Paul Amphitheatre, 233 Main Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S1C4, Canada
Join the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) & the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome (CACOR) in Ottawa, ON for a screening of the award wining film “Climate In Therapy” directed by Nathan Grossman, Olof Berglind, & Malin Olofsson (https://www.climateintherapy.com/)

Following the screening of the film, there will be a panel conversation with local experts exploring themes and reflections from the film, and what it means for us all as global citizens moving forward.

When: January 28th at 7:00PM
Where: St. Paul University Ampitheatre, 223 Main Street, Ottawa ON
Entry: By donation, all donations contribute to funding for the event

*the film will be shown in English

Hope to see you there!

Noons for Now: AI and Climate Justice
2026-01-29 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
Join Carleton Climate Commons as we welcome Dr. Jennie Stephens to speak with us about the Climate Justice Universities Union. She will also examine the emerging impacts of artificial intelligence on climate, justice-centered transitions, and the future of collective climate responsibility.

Tea for Tara - Episode 1 - "WHERE OUR STORY BEGINS"
2026-02-01 13:00 - 15:00 | Ottawa Trans Library, 1104 Somerset St. West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 3C8, Canada
“Tea for Tara” is a year-long monthly program at the Ottawa Trans Library for gathering, sharing & publishing of Trans stories & history.

A year-long, community-rooted storytelling program, centered on monthly gatherings where participants share, witness, and preserve lived experiences. The program functions as a living, breathing archive, shaped by personal truth, collective care, and trans cultural expression.
Join us for a lively conversation on Ottawa Trans History and the Ottawa Trans Community for Episode 1 – “Where Our Story Begins”.
Featuring facilitator Blue Petties in conversation with Ottawa Trans Library Founder, Tara Sypniewski and Gender Mosaic Member, Zelda Marshall.
This one hour story-telling segment will run from 1 pm to 2 pm and includes an audience Q&A followed by a 45 minute tea party with our live audience. You must register to attend the live recording, space is limited. Fully masked event. Must sign
‘Release of Image and Participation Agreement’ if taking part in live audience.
Donations accepted. Thank you.
To be as accessible as possible, each episode of “Tea for Tara” will be Live-Streamed to both the Ottawa Trans Library Instagram and Facebook Pages – please follow these pages to watch from home!
This program is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Produced, Directed & Mentored by Elaina Martin.

Workshop: Prioritizing for Organizers
2026-02-01 14:00 - 16:00 | Atelier of the Mauril-Bélanger Social Innovation Workshop, at Saint Paul University, 65 Clegg Street, Ottawa, K1S 1C4
This workshop is for organizers, especially those in formal and informal leadership roles, who are feeling overwhelmed and unsure about how to set priorities in their organizing. The workshop aims to create a space for organizers to reflect on their work and set their own priorities. The facilitator will guide participants through the following activities:
– Creating a list of current organizing workload and commitments
– Reflecting on this list
– Creating a list of priorities outside of organizing
– Identifying priority organizing tasks and roles
Format: In-person only
*Registration required*
If you would like to participate, complete this encrypted form by Sunday, January 25: https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/HmHjE-s373d7At8erIUcdkNl8PUD-8-6HIRS-cqUniY/
Other details:
– Masks required and provided.
– We are currently seeking air purifiers to use at the event.
– Snacks will be provided in an enclosed space separate from the workshop space.
– The Atelier is an accessible space with automatic doors and a fully accessible washroom. The floor is flat surface with no steps.
Please note: Space is limited, so we may not be able to accept all applicants for this offering. For those who can’t attend this offering, we will keep you in the loop about subsequent offerings!
If you would like to participate, complete this encrypted form by Sunday, January 25: https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/HmHjE-s373d7At8erIUcdkNl8PUD-8-6HIRS-cqUniY/
We will confirm participants’ registration by sending a follow up email.

Free Talk! Imagining Sex, Imagining Us: Pornography, Transnational Print Culture, and the Invention of “Gay Europe” by João Florêncio
2026-02-04 12:00 - 13:30 | carleton university art gallery, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, K1S 5B6
The circulation of gay erotica and pornography in post-war Europe was central to the development of a shared sense of identity and belonging among European gay men, one which often disrupted the Cold War geopolitical imaginaries of “East” and “West,” and thus their respective boundaries. In this talk, I will sketch those dynamics and the role of transnational print, consumer, and sex cultures in shaping “Gay Europe,” from the immediate postwar decades to the years following the fall of the Iron Curtain. In so doing, I will ask questions about the role played by sexuality and sex media in both reproducing and troubling ideas of European identity, belonging and citizenship that were being advanced at institutional levels as part of the postwar project of European integration. Ideas that remain, to this day, central to the ways in which we understand who counts as “European” and where does “Europe” instead end.

Snowscreen 2026
2026-02-06 18:00 - 2026-02-08 21:00 | Landsdowne – Aberdeen Pavilion, 1000 Exhibition Way, Ottawa, ON
Unikkaatuarniq | Stories of the North | Contes du NordExperience Indigenous films from the circumpolar North,Outdoors in a theatre made of snow!
-Date/Location(s)-Fri./Sat., Feb. 6, & 7, 2026, 6-9pmLansdowne Park (Outside the Horticulture building & Aberdeen Pavilion ) 1000 Exhibition Way, Ottawa, ON K1S 5J3&Sun., Feb. 8, 2026, 6-9pmBeandigen Cafe 106-900 Exhibition Way, Ottawa, ON K1S 5J3
*Films to be announced
WHAT TO EXPECT+ Free & Donations welcome+ Films shown outdoors (Approx. 1 hour)+ Post-screening DJ & VJ performances+ Hot Drinks+ Warming Stations* This event takes place outdoors on the Friday & Saturday, so please remember to dress appropriately for the weather! Sunday’s programming will take place indoors at Beandigen Cafe.

ABOUTThe word Unikkaatuarniq is an Inuktitut word that means “Storytelling”. Storytelling is an ancient form of magic, with the power to connect the past with the present, teach lessons, impart values, heal, to explain the world and connect us to the universe through language and mythology. The stories, films, and music in this program, come from Indigenous peoples from the circumpolar north — such as the the Inuit of Canada and Greenland, or the Sami of northern Scandinavia — peoples that have thrived in the Arctic regions of the world for thousands of years, enduring the changing seasons of dark and light, of colonialism, and of climate change. Although these cultures live thousands of kilometres away from each other, they share a common history of resilience in their language, culture and magic through storytelling.

MIIGWECHThis event takes place on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Nation, and is being held in partnership with the City of Ottawa, Lansdowne Park, Winterlude, Beandigen Cafe, Tungasuvvingat Inuit, DARC, Gallery 101, and the NFB. A big thank you to our funders and partners.

Laylit
2026-02-06 21:00 - 2026-02-07 02:00 | Gridwrks, 221 Rideau Street, Ottawa, K1N 5X8
For the first time in Ottawa, Laylit takes over GRIDWRKS and ANNX for an unforgettable two-floor dance party.
Laylit is a platform and collective celebrating music and artists from the Arab/SWANA region and its diaspora. Over the last four years their dance parties in New York City and Montreal have carved out an unmatched place in North American nightlife, becoming an anticipated social gathering and unique musical experience.
Each party takes you on a genre-spanning journey, highlighting the incredible musical diversity, depth and richness that comes out of the region. Laylit has established its place on the scene with a signature electronic sound blending shaabi, dabke, mahraganat, Arabic pop and hip-hop with contemporary, boundary pushing dance music (techno, breakbeat, hyperpop…) inspired by New York and Montreal’s thriving underground clubs. Featured in multiple publications including the New York Times and Pitchfork, Laylit recently celebrated its 5-year anniversary with a tour across multiple North American cities. Laylit values inclusivity and unity across cultures, languages, dialects, religions, identity and sexual orientations.

Ana Falastini Canada Tour - Ottawa
2026-02-07 18:00 - 22:00 | Ben Franklin Place, 101 CentrePoint Drive, Ottawa
Ana Falastini is finally coming to Ottawa !
Brought to you by: Falasteen Lens Society & Inspirit Foundation.
In Partnership with the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians (APAC), Palestinian Students Association – UOttawa, Palestinian Students Association – Carleton University and Ottawa Run for Palestine.
Event Details:

Date: Saturday, 7-February-2026
Time: 05:30 pm
Location: Ben Franklin Place, 101 CentrePoint Drive, Nepean, ON K2G 5K7

Join us for the screening of Ana Falastini, a documentary that tells the Palestinian story like it was never told before!
You’ll be walking into a glamorous red-carpet Palestinian evening filled with performances, Palestinian Cuisine, art display and thought provoking discussions.
Ana Falastini is more than just a documentary screening; it is a celebration of cultural endurance and a platform for dialogue and understanding.
About the Documentary
Ana Falastini will take you through an exploring journey of the Palestinian diaspora community in Canada. It features three generations of displaced Palestinians and their stories of resistance. It is a six-episode series, with each episode diving into how the characters use aspects of the Palestinian culture to stay connected to their heritage and roots.

Palestine Teach-In
2026-02-10 09:00 - 16:30 | Dunton Tower, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, K1S 5B6
Faculty for Palestine at Carleton Presents: Palestine teach-in, a drop-in day of learning together about Palestine. Happening February 10th at Dunton Tower 2017 on Carleton campus. Details, along with the agenda, are available here. Looking forward to seeing many of you there!
