The humble beginnings of a land once called Bytown have blossomed into a city of great magnitude 200 years later. Saturday was the official bicentennial for Ottawa, filled with festivities and tributes on Parliament Hill, Marion Dewar Plaza and many other places. Appearances were made by mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Chief Greg Sarazin of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation and musician Jamie Fine, among many others. Alongside the city block party, Nuit Blanche lit up the downtown core on Saturday night, OC Transpo celebrated with free rides all weekend, and the 163rd edition of the Carp Fair closed its successful season on Sunday.

The OPP, Ottawa Police and city paramedics were occupied with two incidents this past weekend. The first was the stabbing of a teenager on Saturday evening in the 1200 block of Donald Street. Police did not announce any arrests, but paramedics said that the victim was being treated for “penetrative trauma” and was in serious but stable condition. The second incident was a two-vehicle crash on Sunday morning near Kemptville, resulting in the death of one person, and five others leaving with “varying injuries” according to the OPP. A road closure took place but was eventually reopened, although no further details were released following the investigation.

An Ottawa Baby could take the prestige of being named “Baby of the Year”. The contest, hosted by Jessica Alba and run annually by Variety magazine supporting a non-profit cause, includes five-month-old Sasha Vuk Spelliscy of Ottawa, whose smile could light up any room, in the running for the top prize of an ad campaign and $25,000. Sasha’s mom, Danijela, said that he had to undergo a stay at the NICU for “the first 12 days of his life” following complications just after being born, but she considered his smile as a form of resilience. He is currently fourth (as of 5am today) out of the remaining 10 candidates, with voting (by donation or with two free daily votes) to round off the top 5 babies set to close on Thursday.