Ottawa: A triumph of mediocrity?

Despite the downturn in temperatures this week, the favourite flower of the nation's capital has begun to bloom all over the city. This is the first one to appear in our garden (though by the time I took this photo, he had become a bit camera shy), but the green stalks standing nearby are a dead giveaway that more will follow.

And not a moment too soon, what with the launch this weekend of the annual Canadian Tulip Festival. The festival will run until the long weekend and, in addition to the city-wide tulip viewings, this year organizers are building on a component added last year - Celebridée: A Celebration of Ideas.

Basically, it's a thinking person's speakers series with the likes of Salman Rushdie, Jared Diamond and Richard Florida, among others. There's also an international pavilion in Major's Hill Park, a performance by "ABBAMANIA!" and a noticeable focus on chamber music. The latter shouldn't come as a total surprise considering the former boss of the city's famed chamber music festival is now working for the tulip festival.

I'm sure lots of people will enjoy themselves at this year's festival and I imagine it is a sign of things to come for future tulip festivals. But frankly, it sounds to me like a total borefest. And that's a shame because the festival at one time incorporated larger outdoor concerts and other activities. Sarah Harmer, Hawksley Workman, Kathleen Edwards and others have all played evening shows during the festival, but for some reason, they've been replaced by chamber musicians.

This piece from Profit Magazine attempts to explain the reasons behind the changes to the festival's format. And I agree that change could very well have been necessary. I'm just disappointed that the change was in the direction of something safe, something so typical of Ottawa, instead of something more original and exciting.

The Capital got somewhat of a back-handed compliment earlier this week when MoneySense Magazine released its annual list of Canada's Best Places to Live. Ottawa topped the list, even though it did not make it into the top ten of any of the categories, which included weather, crime, income levels, the number of doctors, and the affordability of homes. Basically, because we were above average in all categories, we beat out cities like Victoria (2), Vancouver (10), Toronto (51), and Montreal (82). I know, it left me scratching my head, too.

In the week's most stinging soundbite, MoneySense editor Ian McGugan called Ottawa's first-place finish a "triumph of mediocrity." My only hope is some feisty entrepreneur turns that into a sticker for bikes and bumpers and decals for all City of Ottawa vehicles. Oh, and maybe some t-shirts, too.