I visited Ottawa recently to stay with my aunts and their families, and also to get to Parliament Hill for the Canada 150 concert.

• The crowds were pretty thick by Ottawa standards…

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

• There were stories of immigrants posted downtown.

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

• A speech by the Prince of Wales was going on while we were walking downtown.
• There were lots of trained stilt walkers.

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

• On Parliament Hill, it was burning hot throughout the afternoon.
• I stood on the stone fence of the Parliament… until the guards told people to get down.

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

• The view was ok while it lasted.

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

• Many presenters, even the ones that weren’t explicitly anti-colonial, made it a point to mention that Ottawa was built on Algonquin land.
• SNOW BIRDS: apparently Serena Ryder tours with these jets all the time :D

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

• Can you identify this flying object?

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

• The rain came fast, but most were prepared.

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

• There were some charming details you’d miss if you saw this on TV.

Image credit: Ratan Abraham Varghese

• The evening events were delayed for a long time, everyone got drenched. The organizers seeded false hope by starting an announcement every few minutes … just to tell everyone that events were delayed “due to weather”.
• A group of ravers on the side of the stage started singing the national anthem a few times while the organizers failed to deliver. It was really touching.
• They also sang Hakuna Matata.
• My fam and I left the scene at 21:00 as there was nothing going on, so we didn’t get to see Cirque du Soleil or the fireworks.