While 2024 will forever be remembered as the year of the first total eclipse to pass over Canada since 1979, it will also be remembered for the devastating wildfires in Western Canada and intense rain storms in both Toronto and Montreal, and the on-going Canada Post strike.
Here in Ottawa, 2024 will also be remembered as the year the LRT expansion moved one step closer to becoming a reality.
Thankfully, 2024 was also an Olympic year with the Summer Olympics in Paris providing the perfect mid-summer distrac-tion from reality. Unfortunately, Canada was also responsible for th biggest scandal of the Olympics when the Canadian female soccer team got caught using a drone to spy on the team from New Zealand resulting in three coaches being banned from the sport for three years and sent home, including head coach Bev Priestman.
Mercifully, the scandal was overshadow-ed by the performance of Canada’s athletes who won nine gold, seven silver and 11 bronze medals, with the highlight being the gold medal won by Canada’s 4x100 men’s relay team.
The Summer Olympics also provided the stage for 16-year-old swimmer Summer McIntosh to become Canada’s latest sport-ing sweetheart when she won four individual medals, including three gold.
The only thing that could have surpassed Canada’s performance at the Olympics in the hearts of Canadians would have been a Stanley Cup win by the Edmonton Oilers who came back from a 3-0 deficit in the final series against the Florida Panthers to force a Game 7, only to come out on the losing end of 2-1 score, breaking the hearts of millions of Canadian hockey fans in the process.
But the biggest event by far of 2024, by far, was the total solar eclipse which took place on April 8. Totality could be seen along a wide swath of Ontario which ran from Niagara Falls across Lake Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River into Quebec, which had people flocking to every small town along the St. Lawrence Seaway from Kingston to Cornwall. In Ottawa, there was 95 per cent totality.
Closer to home, 2024 was marked by a two-week LCBO strike in the middle of July and the news that there are hundreds of unexploded bombs buried in the Mer Bleue bog that are left over from the Second World War when it was used a practice bombing range.
The biggest story in Orléans in the past year was the news of Orléan.
SAVED BY THE BELL 90s DANCE PARTY at St. Peter High School on Charlemagne Blvd. featuring DJ Mace, DJ Kam and DJ Bounce from 7 p.m. to midnight. Must be 19+. ID required at the door. This is a fundraising event hosted by the St. Peter High School Parents Council. For advance tickets visit 
CUMBERLAND FARMERS MARKET from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the R.J. Kennedy Arena in Cumberland Village with 85 local farmers and vendors ready to showcase their freshest produce, handmade goods, and unique finds.
90s HITS MUSICAL BINGO 7:30 p.m. at the Orléans Brewing Co. 4380 Innes Rd., next to McDonalds. Hosted by Shine.
OYSTER NIGHT every Wednesday from 6-9 pm at the Orléans Brewing Co. Two types of oysters served with lemon, Tobasco, horseradish, salt and mignonette. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd., next to McDonalds.
ORLEANS FARMERS MARKET every Thursday from 11 am to 4 pm in the parking lot at the Ray Friel Recreation Centre on Tenth Line Road. Shop the freshest seasonal produce, meat and dairy, baked goods, prepared foods, crafts and more while getting to know the folks who grew and made it.
