Gils Hootenanny

Gil’s Hootenanny ends with performers, organizers, volunteers and sponsors on stage, singing and encouraging the audience to join in the evening’s finale song. ​This year’s finale song will be “Solidarity Forever”, a well-known anthem of both protest and hope, commonly...

The Gil’s Hootenanny stage always includes a small table featuring a loaf of bread and a vase of red roses. ​The slogan and the song, “Bread and Roses” began with the successful 1912 textile strike by immigrant women workers in...

A beloved element of Gil’s Hootenanny is the opening procession. The performers promenade into the hall singing and playing, inviting the audience to join in the music, as they weave through the crowd. The beginning of this year’s hootenanny will...

Ken Whiteley, a prolific songwriter, gifted and versatile musician and powerful singer, will headline the 17th annual and last Gil’s Hootenanny on Friday, May 1st at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa. Called “one of the best” by Sing Out!...

When Gil Levine died at 85 in 2009, three words in his obituary, “…plan a hootenanny”, were the beginning of Gil’s Hootenanny. The 2026 concert will be the 17th annual and last year of this engaging and entertaining sing-along of...

Ken Whiteley, a prolific songwriter, gifted and versatile musician and powerful singer, will headline the 17th annual and final Gil’s Hootenanny. Whiteley delights his audiences with his participatory humour, grace, and energy. His music communicates themes of freedom, love and...