June 2025
Why We Did It—And Why We’d Do It Again
Ian Fraser, CEO
When we made the decision to host Escapade Music Festival, we knew it would raise eyebrows. But for us, it was never just about the event—it was about what it represents.
The RA Centre Ottawa has been building community since the 1950s, when Confederation Heights was created to attract a new generation of Canadians to serve their country. The RA Centre Ottawa was born from that vision: a place where public servants—and the broader community—could come together through sport, recreation, and connection.
Today, as an independent not-for-profit, we continue that mission. We host Escapade Music Festival not in spite of our values, but because of them. It brings thousands of young people together in a celebration of music, joy, and belonging. It reintroduces the next generation to the RA Centre Ottawa. It supports our ability to keep our doors open to everyone, every day.
This is the same spirit that led us to create the House of Sport, Canada’s national hub for sport leadership, and to welcome Ottawa Rapid FC and other community-driven programs to our campus.
Escapade Music Festival is bold. It’s vibrant. And it’s exactly the kind of energy we need. Community looks very different from decade to decade but it always feels exactly the same. It’s germain to the human condition.
And by the way, Escapade Music Festival was incredible!
That’s why we did it.
And that’s why we’d do it again.
Why We Did It—And Why We’d Do It Again
Ian Fraser, CEO
When we made the decision to host Escapade Music Festival, we knew it would raise eyebrows. But for us, it was never just about the event—it was about what it represents.
The RA Centre Ottawa has been building community since the 1950s, when Confederation Heights was created to attract a new generation of Canadians to serve their country. The RA Centre Ottawa was born from that vision: a place where public servants—and the broader community—could come together through sport, recreation, and connection.
Today, as an independent not-for-profit, we continue that mission. We host Escapade Music Festival not in spite of our values, but because of them. It brings thousands of young people together in a celebration of music, joy, and belonging. It reintroduces the next generation to the RA Centre Ottawa. It supports our ability to keep our doors open to everyone, every day.
This is the same spirit that led us to create the House of Sport, Canada’s national hub for sport leadership, and to welcome Ottawa Rapid FC and other community-driven programs to our campus.
Escapade Music Festival is bold. It’s vibrant. And it’s exactly the kind of energy we need. Community looks very different from decade to decade but it always feels exactly the same. It’s germain to the human condition.
And by the way, Escapade Music Festival was incredible!
That’s why we did it.
And that’s why we’d do it again.
