April’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Rachel Conlon and the Cirquonscient collective to support free circus faerie pop-up picnics in Strathcona Park.

“We plan to present three whimsical faerie picnics this summer,” explains Rachel, “suitable for all ages and community members to attend. The acts will include aerial silks, lyra, and trapeze, as well as various flow and glow animations from a diverse group of faerie characters.”

“The audience will be invited to picnic in the surrounding park,” Rachel continues, “and enjoy the aerial show. We will also invite local costume groups, such as Steampunk Ottawa and Cosplay Meetups, to join us and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.”

“The participants will be both emerging and veteran local circus performers,” says Rachel, “including students from local aerial classes. We value our artistic skills, but would like to offer a free-to-attend model to engage the community and bring them a circus experience that is not always economically accessible. And performances like this not only provide entertainment for the audience, but creative opportunity and community to the performers as we share skills and perfect our acts.”

The three pop-up events will take place on the evenings of June 20, July 18, and August 22, starting at 6:30 PM.

Rachel is a founding member of Cirquonscient, and a performing aerialist since 2015. She is also a federal public servant.