Pride fest iced by 'rink of dreams'

An artists conception of what the city's 'rink of dreams' would look like.

The organizers of Ottawa's pride festival are scrambling to find a new venue.

Capital Pride staff had received permits to use Marion Dewar Plaza in front of city hall for the August festival.

But last week, the city told organizers it will begin building an outdoor skating rink there in July.

For the past eight years, the Capital Pride parade wound its way toward city hall, finishing with a big festival on the plaza.

Jason Hanson-Lavigne and his team at Capital Pride said Thursday the city should have given them more warning.

"At no point in that process did they say, 'Hey, you know, we should talk about this," Hanson-Lavigne said.

Production plans are now on hold.

Hanson-Lavigne said they need a large, central, open space, set back from homes, to set up stages.

With only eight weeks to go, he has his work cut out for him.

"If we can find another space that's adequate for our needs, we'd like to work with the city to make that happen," he said.

Hanson-Lavigne said there's no talk yet of cancelling the festival, but they may have to drop some events.

He said that could place them in a legal bind, since they've already signed contracts with sponsors and entertainers.

"It's a little disappointing and sad in fact for the community who's expecting a festival of the same calibre that we've been used to," he said

Hanson-Lavigne wrote a letter to Mayor Jim Watson, asking that construction of the rink be delayed until September.

Late Thursday, Watson tweeted that the two sides will meet on Monday.