Algonquin College Emerging Stars (ACES) had their in-house competition to decide which three student acts will be performing live on the Ottawa Grassroots Festival stage this year. The competition took place on Wednesday, March 30th, at the Algonquin College campus and was the third edition of the collaboration with OGF.
This year’s judges from Algonquin College were, Teri Loretto-Valentik, Coordinator for Scriptwriting and Performing Arts, Hannah Gibson-Fraser, Professor, Performing Arts, Danielle Allard, Professor Public Relations, Music Industry & Performing Arts, Wayne Hawthorne, Professor, Music Industry Arts, and Kevin Burton, Professor, Digital Practicum. Each one of these folks is an accomplished artist in their own right! Alison Bowie, OGF producer, was also a judge, representing the festival.
Congratulations to the winners!
- They UKE! Ukulele trio – Chloe Tutor, Tea Wentz, MJ Dagget
- Keys Please! : Robin Castelle – piano, Douglas Campbell, Sidney Moon
- Mags Tags: Maggie Decady – piano, Ramze Cochrane, Jay Quesnel
Runner up: Magann Baptiste for a pair of tix to Twin Flames
We must extend congratulations to every participant in this year’s event. Each and every student did an amazing job especially considering it was the first time we have been able to hold a live (limited attendance, with masks & social distancing) event since the creation of this event. Kudos to all, you were magnificent!
Thank you to Teri, Hannah and the entire Algonquin team and judges for putting this together once again. This partnership is extremely important to OGF and we are grateful for each one of you.
The idea behind ACES originated when Teri Loretto, a Professor at Algonquin College, pitched the concept of the event to Bob Nesbitt and Grace Smith in the summer of 2019. Sadly Bob Nesbitt passed away in February or 2021. OGF is committed to continuing this event that Bob was so pleased to have brought to the festival.
From the onset, the idea was to have Performing Arts students create material and perform it live, which would expose them to additional opportunities, build self-confidence, and give them real life experience they could add to their resumes. It was easy for Bob Nesbitt to support this event as including new artists in the festival has always been a core value, and the festival offered them a starting point in their artistic careers. This would be a chance to produce, perform and showcase their talent and creativity in front of a live studio audience.
The Performing Arts program at Algonquin College partnered with OGF just before the first lockdown, so getting to perform LIVE is hugely exciting for the students. You can see the top three students perform onstage at the festival this year which runs April 21 – 24. Stay tuned for information on the event and the winners to be posted on the website.
For more information about this year’s festival go to
All daytime events are FREE to attend!
