Things to Do in Ottawa

In personally licensing and graduating more than 1,000 black belts, Hanshi John Therien has been honoured with an elite rank of his own. As hanshi, or leader of leaders, he guides students and fellow instructors through a practical self-defense program that incorporates fighting styles including judo, karate, boxing, and pressure-point tactics. Professional Kickboxing Association champion of the world Jean-Yves Theriault also lends his expertise to students. Theriault teaches kickboxing classes that focus on staying in shape and gaining control of techniques that can effectively disable assailants and aggressive heavy-bags. As students learn the practical safety techniques, they also glean values that can be applied to everyday life, such as discipline and self-confidence.

Familiar places such as Gatineau, the Ottawa River, and the Hull Casino shrink as the R44 helicopter speeds up to 180 km/h above the Ottawa area. Pilots and their headset-clad passengers peer out the aircraft’s large, panoramic windows during such year-round flights that range from 10 minutes to an hour. Héli-Tremblant's personalized tours whisk passengers away to special events, and aerial photography and filming sessions accommodate homeowners and real estate agents craving overhead shots of their backyard polar bear tank. In addition to sightseers, pilots escort jetsetters on chartered flights anywhere in Canada and offer transfer flights between Ottawa and Montreal.

The founder of the Ashtanga form, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, proclaimed once that "yoga is 99% practice, and 1% theory." For Janice DeFilippi, a more appropriate ratio would be 99 per cent practice, and 1 per cent airfare, as she took several yoga retreats to Mysore, India, to study under the late Pattabhi Jois directly. When she's not furthering her knowledge of the Ashtanga philosophy or practicing overseas, she's working alongside her team of certified instructors to expand this powerful practice throughout Ottawa. They teach the arts of proper alignment and breath-linked movement during Ashtanga and Mysore classes, doling out personal attention and hands-on corrections. To help further the mental and spiritual development of this practice, the studio's resident lama, Dr. Bob Kapitany, leads meditation classes to help students get in touch with their inner selves without swallowing correspondence letters.

Empower Me Yoga's crew of 16 instructors guides students through gentle, moderate, and intense yoga courses. Budding yogis and those that prefer a relaxed approach can try the Yoga for Everyone session, during which a guru guides students through the basic precepts of meditation, breathing, and postures. Moderate classes build on these foundations, and yogis who want to oust toxins along with tension can sweat through a slightly heated take on the classic version of Hatha in warm yoga. Marla Ericksen, the studio's program director, also mints brand new yogis in programs that take place at the studio's Teacher Training Academy.

First held in 2011, the Ottawa Tea Festival steeps visitors in an enticing blend of scholars, performers, and tea enthusiasts from near and far. Guests can explore exhibitions and presentations on the art of the ancient beverage or take in showcases of East Asian dance companies, performances from world- and folk-music acts, and demonstrations by professional pinkie-extenders. This annual event affords plenty of opportunities to taste unfamiliar brews and explore the traditions of far-flung cultures, all while rubbing elbows with local tea merchants.

The most extensive reptile zoo and rescue facility in eastern Ontario, Little Ray's Reptile Zoo is a grand hotel for cold-blooded critters overseen by animal enthusiasts Paul "Little Ray" Goulet and his wife Sheri Goulet. Born from the joy Little Ray experienced sharing his personal collection of reptiles with school children, the zoo now encompasses a variety of exhibits and daily feeding demonstrations showcasing more than 150 tenants. The Goulets' expert staff—which has trained keepers at other animal facilities on proper husbandry and correct presentation—safely introduces visitors to the tenants which include 500-pound alligators, giant snakes, and monkeys. Each day corporate groups, birthday parties, and everyday animal lovers tour the reptile environs and educational displays. A recent large-scale renovation has increased public access to the building, putting in place improvements that include large private-function rooms, special animal exhibit spaces for attractions about animals of the rainforests, and a jungle spa where pythons receive hydrating wraps to combat scaly skin.