I hope everyone has been able to stay cool during this heat wave. If you need a break from the heat, City Hall is open Friday as a cooling centre. It will stay open until 4 in the evening. To maintain physical distancing, you will need to enter through Lisgar Street. Keep washing your hands and drink lots of water! 

This week Dr. Etches joined other regional public health officials to make masks mandatory in indoor public spaces. This will allow us to keep each other safe.  

The Ottawa Humane Society is ready help you bring a furry friend into your family. This includes some pretty great physical distancing measures like a virtual meet-and-greet with a four-legged pal.  

And, Bank Street will be closed to traffic between Queen and Flora every Saturday for the rest of this summer. This will give you room to safely walk, bike or run.  

What to watch, listen to, read and eat this weekend 

Watch: I watched Booksmart this week and thought this was such a fun feel-good. Beanie Feldstein stars as a type-A high school grad who wants to make the most of her last day of high school. The movie features a beautiful friendship and a lot of girl power, plus its Malala approved. You can watch Booksmart on Prime. 

Listen: I love a good audiobook. There’s something special about getting to hear an author tell their story the way it was meant to be read. ELMNT has rounded up the best audio books from Indigenous authors.  

Read: If you grew up reading the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing or Otherwise Known as Sheila The Great, you’re likely a Judy Blume fan. But the author who defined our preteen years wrote a gorgeous adult fiction piece called In the Unlikely Event. This was actually based on a series of extraordinary events that plagued her own hometown.  

Eat: Nothing gets me through a heat wave like some ice cream. The Merry Dairy has become my family’s go-to. Mint chip and coffee are my favourites at the moment.