Canada’s capital city remixed by Spins & Needles at Winterlude 2010 festival

(OTTAWA – February 5, 2010) This February, the snowy landscape of Canada’s capital city will be transformed when Canadian arts collective Spins & Needles remixes the winter cultural experience with cutting-edge programming at the 32nd edition of Winterlude in Ottawa, Canada. The collective will present a series of free outdoor interactive events combining DJs and workshops at several festival sites, alongside a large-scale, winter-themed urban art installation which connects festival visitors and artists around the world.

Recognized in Canada’s capital region for its unique take on nightlife and culture, Spins & Needles will host interactive late-night Friday parties in outdoor festival spaces around the city. DJs will spin the latest underground beats while creative types, nightlifers and snow lovers gather and participate in winter-themed do-it-yourself art and craft projects. Events include Opening Night festivities at Majors Hill Park on February 5th and the Crystal Lounge DJ series at Confederation Park on February 12th.

For the first time at Winterlude, Spins & Needles will present a large-scale public art installation that integrates current movements in urban art, craft and design with social media technologies. The Winterlude Urban Cozy Project will transform the wintery landscape of Canada’s capital region. “Urban cozies” have been submitted by artists, crafters and designers from across Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe. Australia, Africa and the U.S. and will be wrapped around trees, lampposts, benches and other urban elements on festival grounds. As a way of connecting makers living outside Ottawa and abroad, as well as offering an off-site glimpse into the project in real time, an online photo album will feature photos of each contribution. Each photo will be geotagged with the maker’s name, city of residence and location of cozy on festival grounds. Visitors are encouraged to contribute to the installation by participating in urban cozy-making at weekend craft lab workshops during the festival.

EVENT AND PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION SCHEDULE
• Friday, February 5th: Winterlude Opening Night Party (7-10 pm), Majors Hill Park
• Friday, February 12th: Craft + DJ Party (8-10:30 pm), Crystal Lounge, Confederation Park
• Weekend Craft Labs: Saturdays + Sundays during the festival (12-4 pm), Maison Charron, Parc Jacques-Cartier
• The Winterlude Urban Cozy Project: runs during entire festival, Parc Jacques-Cartier and Confederation Park

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ABOUT SPINS & NEEDLES

Spins & Needles Craft + DJ Night is a travelling creative night out that mixes hip do-it-yourself projects with underground beats spun by DJs in museums, bars, clubs and other public spaces. The first initiative of its kind in Canada, it was founded in 2005 in Ottawa and has since travelled to other cities in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Past collaborators include the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Ontario Crafts Council and Etsy. In 2010, Spins & Needles is celebrating its five-year anniversary with a year of innovative programming in Canada and abroad.

ABOUT WINTERLUDE

Every February, Canada’s Capital Region is host to Winterlude, Canada's winter celebration. Presented by the National Capital Commission (NCC), three fun weekends of excitement and activity await hundreds of thousands of local and out-of-town Visitors, including skating the world’s largest rink in the heart of Ottawa. The festival runs from February 5 to 21, 2010.

PRINT MEDIA RELEASES

• Spins & Needles @ Winterlude 2010 Media Release - Local (English)
• Spins & Needles @ Winterlude 2010 Media Release - National (English)
• Spins & Needles @ Winterlude 2010 Media Release - International (English)

CONTACT SPINS & NEEDLES

Melanie Yugo + Jason Pelletier
Producers, Spins & Needles Craft + DJ Night
E-mail: spinsandneedles [at] gmail [dot] com
Web: www.spinsandneedles.com

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Quotes
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"Spins & Needles has an enormous amount of cultural currency. " - National Gallery of Canada

"One of Ottawa's hottest new social events...arts and crafts can be cool." - The Ottawa Citizen

"A special treat for all the music-loving craft addicts" - Torontoist.com

Links
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Tags / Keywords: spins and needles, craft night, DJ night, art, music, interactive party, creative, Winterlude, Urban Cozy Project, street art, urban, city, Ottawa, Canada, capital, National Capital Commission, knit graffiti, yarn bombing, international

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