Sharing the ByWord - July 28th
Announcements:
Pride Night Market at Parkdale!
Saturday August 20th 5pm-9pm
@Venusenvy, @LittleJoBerrys, @Homo_Phono, and @OttawaMarkets are teaming up to bring you a night full of local artists, makers, music, small businesses, restaurants, bakeries and more!
Enjoy a night of shopping and snacking while listening to our DJs @DJdelpilar, @Oknaledi, & @_Celestialbean_.
Ottawa Markets is looking for 2SLGBTQIA+ makers and vendors !
The Vegans Who Snack Food Festival returns for its second iteration of the season on August 5th!
Swing by the Parkdale Market on August 5th from 4pm-9pm for a day of yummy vegan snacks and take home goods brought to you by our community's small businesses! Follow @VegansWhoSnack and @LittleJoBerrys for additional info and listed vendors attending!
Neighbourhood News:
BYWARD BOPS ALL SUMMER LONG! ✌️
Get ready for a thrilling market experience with new and returning vendors accompanied by weekly FREE public concerts that'll have you howling.
Ottawa Markets is bringing you stellar performances every Thursday from June to September in celebration of the new ByWard Night Market.
As part of the all new ByWard Night Market - Thursdays from 5-9!
🛍 Swing by York Street to shop the ByWard Night market.
🎤 Visit George Street Plaza for live performances.
🧱 Support ByWard's area businesses. Have a drink, enjoy the ambiance!
*Special thanks to our partners at the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition for their collaboration.*
94.5 Unique FM Bingo is now available at Ottawa Markets!
We're happy to announce that we've partnered with Unique FM as a purchase point for their exciting weekly bingo! Stop by 55 ByWard Market Square to get your sheet of 4 bingo cards for only $5.00! (Cash only).
Play for your chance to win $1,450 every Saturday from 10 a.m. on 94.5 Unique FM!
Pop in at Parkdale:
So much fresh local produce!
As we are over 50 days in to the Ontario growing season, we can find such a wide variety of produce at Byward and Parkdale markets, including the first local tomatoes of the season!
The Parkdale Night Market Continues to grow!
Find out what all the hype is about. Stop by the Parkdale Market on Wednesdays from 5PM-9PM and fill your boots with local treasures.
Saturday Morning Yoga in Parkdale Park is back!
Back by popular demand: Saturday morning yoga sessions with Hintonburg's own Prana Shanti Yoga Centre return to Parkdale Park, every Saturday at 9:45am from July 2nd to August 27th!
Join us for an early morning stretch and visit The Hintonburg Community Association's website for details.
Music in the Park is Back!
Community Spotlight:
As part of our Community Spotlight, we chatted with Will and Tamara of Valley Sausage Co. and asked them the following questions:
When did you start your business/operation?
We started our business in June 2022 right here in Ottawa!
How did you learn? Who taught you?
Will worked as a butcher for 5 years in Toronto, learning from the best in the business at Sanagan’s Meat Locker. Tamara worked as a private chef and dietitian over the last 3 years and in recipe development for the last 6 years. We’ve always loved experimenting in the kitchen and with Will being a butcher, a meat/butchery based business became the dream!
What did you produce first?
We started with sausage and we are sticking with sausage (for now!) we hope to expand into offering other fine foods & prepared foods as we grow.
What do you currently specialize in making?
We currently specialize in sausage. We both have a culinary background so we love developing new exciting sausage recipes, along with the classics - a couple of our favourites include our Al Pastor sausage, Beet Dill & Fennel sausage, Calabrian chili Honey & Mozza sausage. We focus on quality, flavour and balance !
What’s the one thing that surprised you the most about your industry?
The support from our fellow food industry pals. We both grew up in Ottawa but moved away for 8 years, so we really didn’t know many people in the Ottawa food industry starting our business. But everyone we’ve met and networked with has been so supportive and helpful, and it has really allowed us to get off to a great start! We love collaborating with other businesses and are so happy we have found so many like minded people in Ottawa that want to help one another.
What’s been your proudest moment as a business owner?
At the moment, not so sure... But the fact that we built a business that we both love and we get to work together every day is something we’re very proud of and excited about. Working with your spouse isn’t always easy but we’re lucky that we both have very different, but complementary skill sets that allow us to succeed together.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
If you’re passionate about something, just go for it! You will find every excuse not to start now, but truly the time is now. Nothing is perfect at first, you learn as you go, but if you don’t try then you’ll never know what could have been. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your friends, family and local community are (for the most part) very happy to help, but sometimes you just need to ask! 😊
Find Will and Tamara at the Parkdale Night Market on Wednesdays!
Learn more about Valley Sausage Co. on their website.
For more information, or to speak with a representative of Marchés d'Ottawa Markets, please contact:
Zackery Liberty, Communications and Events Coordinator, Ottawa Markets, zackery.liberty@ottawamarkets.ca.
