Art adventures abound this weekend in Ottawa

On the list this weekend: an experimental music festival, a unique art pep rally and a Broadway show on Gladstone Avenue.

Gimme an O!

Local band Jumpin' Joel Flash & The Magic Machine invites you to the Ottawa Art Pep Rally Saturday night at Queen St. Fare.

Lead singer and guitarist Jumpin' Joel a.k.a. Joel Elliott says they're throwing a party bursting with musical acts, dance works, cabaret, visual art and hands-on arts activities to both celebrate and stimulate the city's thriving arts community.

"I'm trying to spread local love," Elliott said.

He hopes to get people "excited about art that's being made by neighbours and friends."

Expect plenty of razzle-dazzle and honky-tonk from Jumpin' Joel and musical friends The Monotymes, Beaugé and Tev.

• When: Saturday, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Where: Queen St. Fare, 170 Queen St.
• Cost $10. Tickets can be purchased here.

Open your ears

Musicians who embrace exploration — eschewing the bland pre-packaged predictability of popular music — are banding together this weekend for IMOO Fest.

The festival is a group of multi-disciplinary musicians dedicated to exploring the limits of music by defying categorization.

"This is music that is made in the moment," said David Jackson, co-creative director of IMOO Fest.

"It's a creative endeavour that relies upon an intuitive interaction between the musicians to decide where the composition in the moment is going to go."

Musicians from New York City and Montreal will join local artists on the journey into new musical territory for the three-day festival.

• When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting at 7 p.m.
• Where: Friday at The Record Centre, 1099 Wellington St W. Saturday and Sunday at GigSpace, 953 Gladstone Ave.
• Cost: Friday night is pay what you can.  Festival pass for Saturday and Sunday, is $75 or $40 a night. Tickets can be purchased here.

Broadway by Orpheus

It takes a community of dedicated actors, singers, stage hands, costume designers and prop makers to put on a big Broadway show. For more than a century Ottawa's Orpheus Musical Theatre has been giving its best regards to Broadway. Its latest latest adaptation is Falsettos, the 1992 award-winning musical set in New York City in the late 70s and early 80s.

The plot revolves around the struggles of Marvin, a loving father and husband, who has left his wife for a man. It's a story about following your heart, and finding the true meaning of family, set against the emergence of the AIDS epidemic.

"I wouldn't call it a musical comedy, more a dramedy," said Joseph Stone, who plays Marvin.

• When:  Friday 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Gladstone Theatre, 910 Gladstone Ave.
• Cost: Tickets range from $21 to $38 and can be purchased here.