Music Beneath The Bridge

 September 26th was the date of a big party downtown, marking the bicentennial of Ottawa. What became the city dates back to 1826 and the beginning of the Rideau Canal project. The city put on multiple events in an area ranging from City Hall up through the Byward Market. I was able to get to some of it. My first stop was at Plaza Bridge, which spans the Rideau Canal as it begins its descent down to the Ottawa River. The space beneath the bridge, alongside the Canal, is wide and ideal for acoustics. A company called SoundScape put together music beneath the bridge for the occasion, with blues and purples projected within the space. When I arrived, Indigenous music was being played. When I later left the area, it was definitely East Coast Atlantic music.

The line was long, and I decided to go back up and photograph from above. I paused to take a shot of the nearby War Memorial, dramatic at night.

There is a wide central staircase leading down into the underside of Plaza Bridge. It turned out to be a good way to frame the coloured lighting down below. A careful eye might pick out busts and statues ringing this staircase at street level. They are The Valiants- Canadian military figures from across our history.