Four things to see and do this weekend in Ottawa

Trip the light fantastic

Girls in white dresses swaying to the dulcet music of Strauss. Couples gliding in across a ballroom in a nostalgic dream. The Viennese Ball returns to Ottawa this Saturday with all the romance and elegance of a musical night in 19th century Austria.

Local high school students have been rehearsing their waltz moves for months, and on Saturday they will transform into the courtly debutantes and cavaliers who traditionally perform the opening dance. Music will be performed by Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra and The Stevens & Kennedy Band.

'When I want a melody Lilting through the house Then I want a melody By Strauss'- Ira Gershwin

The charity event, hosted by Austrian Ambassador Arno Riedel, is raising funds for the Music and Beyond Festival, OrKidstra and Junior Thirteen Strings — organizations dedicated to keeping the classics alive, and exposing the music to new and younger audiences.

The price, however, is a kingly sum — tickets are $450 and a table for eight is $3,500.  Tickets are on sale until Friday at noon.

The Viennese Ball begins at 6:30 p.m. at The Westin Hotel located at 11 Colonel By Drive.

Noisy cooking and unexpected creations

Dicing, slicing and mixing, never sounded like this before.

In Noise Cooking, artist Autumn Chacon prepares a meal of manoomin (Ojibwe wild rice) and blueberry dessert using cooking equipment fitted with contact mics. 

Chacon is one of seven contemporary artists drawing from surprising raw materials to make art in All you can touch, a new exhibition at the Ottawa Art Gallery.

Reels of film, antlers, blueberries, cooking instruments and the artists own bodies are employed to create sculptures, musical instruments and installations.

All you can touch is part of a series of Winter Exhibitions at the Ottawa Art Gallery, located in Arts Court at 2 Daley Ave.

Dreaming of summer

It's still a dream, but sooner or later the lakes and rivers will be free of ice and ready for the pleasures of sailing, cruising and fishing.

The Ottawa Boat and Sportsman Show has a sea of the latest water equipment, from high- tech kayaks and high-powered speed boats to new-fangled fishing lures.

The show runs from Feb. 18 to 21 at the EY Centre at 4889 Uplands Drive.

Love + Peace

John and Yoko did it, now Ottawa artist SOKOLOWSKI and his partner "Ona" are doing it too.

The couple is taking part in a bed-in to celebrate the themes of love and peace at Alpha Art Gallery in the Byward Market, and they are inviting idealists and skeptics alike, to join them.

The bed is surrounded by 40 vibrant paintings of hearts by SOKOLOWSKI. "Ona" is actually SOKOLOWSKI's  muse and wife, Alpha Art Gallery director Edith Betkowski. Events at this weekend's bohemian love-in include readings of poetry and erotica, musical performances and discussions on the role of art in promoting world peace.

The exhibition and accompanying gala has already raised $20,000 for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. The bedded duo will remain under the covers until Feb. 28.

Alpha Art Gallery is located at 25 Murray St.