Can jewellery making help keep at-risk kids off the streets? Ottawa’s Operation Come Home offers homeless youth a fresh start, through beading.

Ottawa has never lived up to its potential as a location for movie shooting. But some people now hope to change that.

As former venues of Ottawa live music either shut down or go DJ, opinion is mixed on whether ‘live’ can stay alive much longer.

The arrival of Terra20, Ottawa’s first green department store, has put eco-friendly products — formerly the domain of feisty, independent boutiques — at centre stage. But will the “friendly” megastore kill small business?

How a subversive digital-art movement has become the latest look in art and advertising, by mocking our drive for technological perfection.

As e-reading soars in popularity, libraries lag far behind, largely due to publishers’ tight controls on e-books. So what can Canadian libraries do, to liberate e-reading?

After decades of barren lots, Canadian drive-ins are now getting sellout crowds. Yet how do these moviegoers’ relics survive, even as theatres everywhere are going digital?

Ottawa may not be known traditionally as a hotbed of comic-book culture, but a smash-hit recent convention and an indie publisher have helped put the capital on the map.

The DJ era is here — and not just on dance floors but in dining rooms also, as Ottawa restaurants compete for a younger crowd.

Could an enlivened street food scene transform old Ottawa into Fun City? City council is trying at least to give some help.

Shopping for second hand has now claimed respect in Ottawa, borne on a new breed of shopper and a new breed of consignment store that more resembles a high-end boutique.

“Gangnam Style” — the most-viewed music video ever — took over YouTube and then impacted world culture in 2012.  How a viral video can affect us all.

Branded unfairly as dull music town, Ottawa suffers from comparisons with Toronto and Montreal.  True, it may never be a national magnet, but this small-town city thrives on local talent.

Who ever thought of knitting as hip, even dangerous? Yet knitwear has become the new “tag,” as women and men, the world over, now leave their mark by putting sweaters and cozies on statues, lamp posts and trees.

With “buy local” food movements sweeping North America, Ottawa got a much-needed injection of farm-fresh culture with fall 2011’s Harvest Noir—the city’s first pop-up, flash mob picnic. Guests celebrated local food with ball gowns, black ties and a big brass band.

Grandma, move over. Across North America, a rejuvenated sewing scene now attracts more young people, to learn this age-old, hands-on skill.