Three-day event to honour the café
FROM THIS THURSDAY until Oct. 22, students will have the chance to sit back and enjoy good music at Café Nostalgica. While this is not an unusual occurrence at the small restaurant and bar run by the Graduate Students Association (GSAÉD) of the University of Ottawa, the three-day event, NoStock, will honour the restaurant before it is torn down to make way for the new Grad House.
“NoStock is a celebration of the café’s place within our community,” says Pierre St-Jacques, the advocacy and communications coordinator for GSAÉD.
Blank Canvas, a grassroots initiative focused on promoting the arts in Ottawa, organized the event to take place at the student-run restaurant.
Students and locals can look forward to seeing more than just an array of musicians at NoStock. The event will feature door prizes, a comedy show, and much more.
“[NoStock] will include 14 musical acts, an improvisation troupe, a marathon open mic night, staff Olympics, an art auction, a poetry session, a glow in the dark dance party, and a sunset ceremony featuring the café’s founder Marc Spooner,” explains Alexander Millaire, Blank Canvas’ co-founder.
Most artists who will be performing are no strangers to the Nostalgica’s stage. Many have played to crowds on campus before.
“The line up was organized with an emphasis on those artists and performers that had already been part of the café’s artistic landscape, with some newcomers as well,” says Millaire.
The line up may be already established, but up-and-coming local artists are still welcome to attend and contribute to the open mic sessions.
“Performers looking to participate can check out our Thursday Heroes Open Mic Marathon and sign up to play where slots will be raffled off on the day of,” adds Millaire.
NoStock, like Nostalgica, is very student friendly. Your wallet won’t take a beating—the event is free for anybody to attend.
“[Students] will have a chance to take a break from their studies, listen to great local music, appreciate local art, and dance their hearts out,” says Millaire.
