Join OPPI for an evening out with the Eastern District Book Club!

On Thursday, May 24th, book lovers will meet from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the National Arts Centre’s newly opened Equator Coffee on Elgin Street.

This month’s meeting will feature Roberta Brandes Gratz’s We’re Still Here Ya Bastards: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City.

Unable to read the book before our meeting? No problem!
Within each monthly book, a number of planning themes will emerge. From these themes, our conversation will grow; reading the book is not necessary.

Themes from We’re Still Here Ya Bastards include,
• flawed governmental policies;
• disaster capitalism vs. the public good;
• violent and corrupt prison systems;
• hospital closings;
• the future of public education; and,
• the rise of gentrification.

About We’re Still Here Ya Bastards
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is one of the darkest chapters in American history…

We're Still Here Ya Bastards presents an extraordinary panoramic look at New Orleans's revival in the years following the hurricane. Award-winning journalist Roberta Brandes Gratz shares the stories of people who returned to their homes and have taken the rebuilding of their city into their own hands…

By telling stories that are often ignored by the mainstream media, We're Still Here Ya Bastards shows the strength and resilience of a community that continues to work to rebuild New Orleans, and reveals what Katrina couldn't destroy: the vibrant culture, epic history, and unwavering pride of one of the greatest cities in America.

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Please come out and join us on Thursday, May 31st, 2018 for our annual Spring Social.

This year we will be hosting our annual spring social in Ottawa starting at 5:00 PM at D’Arcy McGee’s located at 44 Sparks Street, in Ottawa.

Complementary appetizers will be served. Hope you can join us! Cheers.

As a special treat this year will be also be hosting a Haunted Walking Tour of Downtown Ottawa with a Planning focus. This walk will start at 4:45 PM and will last approximately 60 minutes. The walk will conclude near Darcy McGee’s where we will be able to join everyone attending the spring social.

The cost to register for the Haunted Walk is $27.58

The deadline to register for the Haunted Walk is May 24th, 2018. Please register early as space is limited. An email providing details will be sent out the week of the walk to all who have registered.

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On June 9th 2018, join us on a cycling tour of the recently-revitalized Lower Don Trail as part of Toronto’s ravine trail network and Pan Am Path in the Don Valley. Bryce Miranda, Partner and Landscape Architect with DTAH, Ruthanne Henry, Senior Project coordinator and Landscape Architect, and Julia Murnaghan, Natural Environment Specialist from Parks, Forestry & Recreation with City of Toronto will lead us through all the fascinating improvements along the multi-use path, all on two wheels! These include Belleville Underpass Realignment, new Pottery Road Pedestrian and Cycling Bridge, paved Bayview multi-use path, and new way-finding system.

We will meet and start from St Matthew’s Clubhouse (450 Broadview Ave) in Riverdale Park East, enter the trail from Riverdale Park Bridge, then cycle north along the east side of the ravine and around Pottery Road connection before turning south on Bayview multi-use path. We will conclude our tour at Evergreen Brickworks (550 Bayview Ave).

The tour will last approximately 2.5 hours and will be followed by networking at Café Belong at Brickworks. Participants are advised to bring helmets together with your bicycle, weather-appropriate clothing, water and snacks.

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