Jane’s Walk Burritt’s Rapids is a community-wide festival organized by the people, for the people in partnership with the Burritt’s Rapids Community Association, Inc. (BRCA)
Excuse me, but who is this Jane person?
Jane’s Walk is a global movement of free, citizen-led walking tours inspired by legendary urbanist Jane Jacobs.
Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urban writer and activist who championed new, community-based approaches to planning for over 40 years. Her 1961 treatise, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, became perhaps the most influential American text about the inner workings and failings of cities, inspiring generations of urban planners and activists. ((http://www.pps.org/reference/jjacobs-2/))
The walks get people to tell stories about their communities, explore their cities, and connect with neighbours. This festival takes place on the first weekend in May in cities all over the globe.
We’re calling our event “Jane’s Walk, Run, Yoga, Hike, Paddle, Ramble, Lecture, Listen, Learn, Potluck, Play & People Watch”
Catchy title, no?
2015 marks the first year of Jane’s Walk in Burritt’s Rapids, offering up a tabla rasa – a clean slate – with no preconceived notions about how things “should” be done. So we’ve assembled a variety of walks, talks and other activities that leverage the unique attributes and resources of our teeny-tiny village.
If you bring a unicycle, horse or Segway we’ll gladly expand the title.
Click here for the full schedule of events and activities.
If you’re looking at a map, it may be hard to believe that Burritt’s Rapids is part of the City of Ottawa.
Give or take, we’re about 40 minutes from the Parliament Buildings. But I can assure you that I, and roughly half the village, render unto Ottawa that which belongs to Ottawa. We are one of 26 villages in the rural city, brought into the fold during amalgamation in 2001. Historically, Burritt’s has always been split between two townships – north of the river lies Ottawa, south of the river is North Grenville. This unusual dual-government arrangement creates a few, shall we say, anomalies which we all master sooner or later.
Living in Burritt’s is like having one foot in the city and one in the country. Being on the river and canal, surrounded by forests and fields, it’s like year-round cottage living. It’s beautiful, but like anywhere, there are always advantages and disadvantages of life in a small place.
Here’s what another day at the office looks like for us. And, yes, we do get an inordinate number of rainbows.
Want to find out more about Jane Jacobs, Jane’s Walk and Burritt’s Rapids? Check out these links.