Mattawa, Ontario

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Downtown Mattawa on Highway 533.

Mattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada at the confluence of the Mattawa and Boom Creek in Nipissing District. Mattawa means "meeting of the waters" in Ojibwa. Etienne Brulé and Samuel de Champlain were the first Europeans to come to this area, which they did in 1615.

The town of Mattawa, like many towns in Northern Ontario is facing hardships, as there are few jobs available in town. Mattawa, however in the past has been an important place, due to its location at where the Mattawa River flows into the Ottawa. In the past, it was a hub for both fur and lumber trade.

Mattawa was the home of the "Timber Train" which takes you up the Ottawa River to Temang, Quebec. It is also home to the Mattawa District Museum which has a wooden statue of Big Joe Mufferaw. In fact, the town itself, and the countryside around it is dotted with wooden statues celebrating the region's history.

Mattawa was at one time known as a ski town thanks to the once successful but now closed Mount Antoine.

1 Festivals
- 1.1 Voyageur Days
- 1.2 Cinefest Champlain
2 Demographics
3 External links

[edit] Festivals

[edit] Voyageur Days

In every year since since 1999, the residents of Mattawa have organized a late-July (usually the last weekend of the month) festival named Voyageur Days, which takes place behind the museum on Explorer's Point. Some main events include a lumberjack competition, canoe race, pancake breakfast, fishing derby,dog sled racing,the Super Bowl and a battle of the bands. The major highlight of the weekend is the live performances of Canadian artists such as April Wine, Jason McCoy, Honeymoon Suite, Kyle Michaud, Friends By Fault, and more. The festival takes place over 3 days, Thursday through Sunday.

Each night has a different type of music. Thursday nights are reserved for local talents, Fridays for country music artists, Saturdays are rock nights, and Sundays are mix of all other types.

As part of tradition, every Sunday at dusk there is a choreographed fireworks show.

[edit] Cinefest Champlain

During the summer of 2005 the Champlain Theater hosted a Film Festival showcasing a variety of Canadian movies. However there wasn’t a second film festival due to lack of funding. Yet it is rumored one is to come.

[edit] Demographics

According to the Canada 2001 Census:

Population: 2,270
% Change (1996-2001): -0.5
Dwellings: 1,016
Area (km²): 3.66
Density (persons per km²): 621.0

Additionally, 40% of Mattawans are Francophone, although the seasonal nature of local employment results in population and demographic fluctuations throughout the year.