Hintonburg Happening

Hintonburg Happening, otherwise known as The Happening, was an annual event that occurred in the Ottawa neighbourhood Hintonburg. It was a multiple day festival that consisted of music, art, food and fashion events that took place along Wellington Avenue. The main hub was The Somerset Square Park with the other locations being the local galleries and cafés. The festival's mandate was to showcase the works of local artists, musicians and businesses. The event was free for everyone to attend, with few paid events, and accepted donations. After a 7 year run, the festival voluntarily ended in 2019 so the organizers could focus on their personal projects. The remainder of the funds for the festival were distributed in the form of donations to local businesses. The event site has been removed and all future changes and updates are available on their Facebook page.
Hintonburg Happening thrived off of the enthusiasm of local residents, generous sponsors, and the help of dedicated volunteers as they had no paid employees. The co-founder of the Hintonburg Happening wsa Summer Baird. She is also the owner of the Hintoburg Public House and was named one of the 40 under 40 in the Ottawa Business Journal. Baird introduced the idea for The Happening when she created a food and art event in Somerset Square.
2017
The 2017 festival occurred over 3 days from May 3 to May 6. There were forty-one different locations for events including Cube Gallery, Railbender Studio, Ola Cocina, Wabi Sabi, Hintonburger, Parkdale Food Center, and more. They each hosted an array of “happenings” such as live music shows, art shows, colourblock parties and various workshops. Events included Scavenger Hunt and Draw for Local Handmade Prize, Art Show + Live Theatre + Yoga by , Around the Campfire: Stories with Andrew King, and The HAPPENING Park pARTy. The Big pArty, which typically occurred in Somerset Park, was moved to Hintonburg Park due to festival size growth.
This year's sponsors include Wellington West BIA, Desjardins, the Hintonburg Public House, Character Creative and CHUO 89.1 FM. Beyond the Pale, Bread By Us, Mint Hair Studio, Maker House Co., and more. They each held unique events such as weaving workshops, floral pop ups, live music and live street art.
This year's sponsors were Tamarack Wellington, HP Urban, the Hintonburg Public House, Beau's Brewery, Postering Ottawa, MASC and the Wellington West BIA.
There were two grants given this year that helped create projects that will be displayed during the Happening in 2017. The first grant was awarded to Daniel Martelock who, with the money, created the project "Tying Our Community Together". This will be a permanent installation made with nails and wire on wood shaping the outline of Wellington West. It will be installed in the Ottawa Bagelshop and Deli.
The next grant was awarded to Shanima Puppet Players which is a company which includes Anne Bourgault, Monica Bradford-Lea and Sheree Bradford-Lea. During the Happening 2017, there will be three puppets, ranging at about four feet tall, that will be walking around the neighbourhood meeting the festival goers and performing sketches.
2015
By the second year, the Hintonburg Happening had gained a huge following within the community. It occurred over the span of the first week of May. This year's sponsors included Tamarack Wellington, Beau's Brewery and Wellington West BIA. Seeing as Ottawa's summers are packed with popular festivals, this new one had much competition with Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival, Glow Fair and Rock Fest. The launch party on June 21 included performances by the Death Bob Trip free jazz band, the 613 Casual Choir, Brad Morgan and Peter Joynt.

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