By Nathan Dubo
Mark your calendars for December 10
It’s no secret that for close to a decade now, the portion of Dalhousie St. embedded in residential Lowertown (north of Murray St.) has been developing as a go-to destination for locals and tourists alike. Slowly but steadily, the tide has turned and new life has emerged on the street. Cafés, restaurants, salons, spas, chocolatiers, yoga, fashion & specialty shops, including local and Canadian designers have made Dalhousie Street home, creating such a unique feel that it is now referred to with the collective designations of “North Dal”. As one of the merchants active in building up North Dal, this new column is my chance to share with you some of the efforts behind the story.
While the story of North Dal emergence goes back at least a decade, the clearest sign of revival came this past December, when growing participation in annual street events culminated in a Holiday Shopping Night with participation from 14 businesses. Seeing that this was a motivated group, North Dal merchants sat down together for monthly meetings to discuss common issues. Results came fast, with coverage by Ottawa East News, CBC Radio, the NY Daily News, and a visit from Ottawa Tourism. You can now learn more about street events by following NorthDal on Facebook and Instagram or by searching the NorthDal hashtag.
The next step was to reach out to the residential community, the ‘regulars’ that we see in our shops and who share our feeling for the street. Members of the Lowertown Community Association created a North Dal Heritage Walk, launched in conjunction with the merchants’ July 18th Avant Garden Party that saw the participation of over 20 businesses and the sidewalks and shops filled with smiling faces. With assistance from the ByWard Market BIA, this was our largest event yet and brought to the street balloons, musicians, demos, a fashion walk, the Ottawa Art Gallery Art Tent and a four-block sidewalk sale.
Meetings and street ‘walk-arounds’ have also been conducted with North Dal merchants and the LCA, as well as merchants, the ByWard Market BIA and City Councillor, Mathieu Fleury, all in an effort to build on the street’s strengths and to advocate for further beautification so that the welcoming feeling inside the shops is better reflected on the sidewalks. We have already seen more frequent visits from the BIA’s ambassador program. The street repaving and the placement of a bike corral at the Dalhousie/St. Patrick corner are making for a more inviting neighbourhood.
On December 10, from 4-9pm, an ever growing North Dal Holiday Shopping Night returns – this time with activities for families (story time and Santa), carollers and horse and carriage rides, a draw for $900 worth of gift cards from North Dal merchants, along with the usual shop discounts, treats and festive neighbourhood atmosphere.
This is just a taste of the work that has gone in to the building of North Dal. In future editions of the Echo, I’ll bring you behind the scenes with the merchants and their efforts to build an even more vibrant Lowertown and ByWard Market community. We invite our neighbours to get involved in the process. See you on North Dal!
Nathan Dubo is an Ottawa designer and co-owner of Wunderkammer, a jewellery, accessory & gift store at 234 Dalhousie St.