Ottawa Tourism Announces Recipients of the 200th Tourism Animation Fund
January 23, 2026
To kick off Ottawa’s 200th anniversary, City of Ottawa delivery partner, Ottawa Tourism, has announced funding support for fourteen projects through its 200th Tourism Animation Fund. The purpose of the program is to catalyze the development of quality products and experiences by tourism businesses and organizations that will stimulate increased overnight visitation and visitor spending and support private sector investment in our destination as the city celebrates the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bytown (September 26, 1826).
Notable nightlife projects of the 200th Tourism Animation Fund recipients include…
- Ottawa 200+: Portraits, Places, and People (begins May 15) – an immersive outdoor gallery led by the Bytown Museum, transforming storefronts and public spaces along Rideau Street and the ByWard Market with large-scale archival images, animated projections and bilingual stories celebrating Ottawa’s communities.
- Shawarma Fest 2026; World Record Attempt (June 7) – Giza Entertainment will host a Guinness World Records™ attempt to build a 160-metre shawarma in the ByWard Market, accompanied by 60 vendors and live programming, with all portions donated afterward to local food security partners.
- Debaser – Pique (June 12–13, 2026) – During this bicentennial edition of Pique, Debaser will animate the Arts Court with Indigenous-led performances and site specific installations celebrating the building’s layered history, including projection mapping, and artwork specific to the 200th.
- A Night of Inuit Excellence (July 11 and November 8) – a concert series presented by Qamaniq Records, bringing together Inuit musicians, storytellers and multidisciplinary artists from across the circumpolar Arctic to celebrate Inuit musical culture and its influence in Ottawa.
- Indigenous History in Motion (July–December) – at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg illustrator and animator Jay Odjig will create two short animations projected nightly on the OAG White Cube façade and the National Arts Centre Lantern, illuminating Ottawa’s history from Indigenous perspectives.
- Happy 200th Birthday, Ottawa! (August 29) – a Capital Pride drag talent showcase featuring all six Ottawa queens from Canada’s Drag Race and a birthday-themed takeover of the festival’s main stage to celebrate Ottawa’s history through queer and trans artistic expression in both English and French.
- O-Town Animated (September 18–December 31) – the Ottawa International Animation Festival will activate a Public Art Trail, featuring three original animated short films created from archival Bytown photos and displayed on Rideau FX Poles for three months. This free downtown experience will connect cultural sites through animation and digital storytelling in English and French.