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After the first Nuit Blanche in Ottawa, in 2012, I came home with heavy feet, after walking for hours through crowds that came out to share the exciting, overnight extravaganza of art.

After the second Nuit Blanche, I came home with a heavy coat, for it had rained all night, but still the crowds had come to see the art temporarily installed in spaces expected and unexpected.

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After the third Nuit Blanche, which wrapped up early Sunday morning, I came home with a slightly heavy heart, and now I wonder if the pop-up festival of art on the streets is losing momentum in the capital, and whether changes are needed if there’s to be a fourth and a fifth.

This is not to say the third Nuit-Blanche Ottawa Gatineau was a flop. There was buzz on George Street, which was blocked to vehicles and dotted with installations and performances. Nearby, the Ottawa Art Gallery, SAW Gallery and the rest of the Arts Court building were busy with people taking in the eclectic entertainments. The Rectory Art House, next to the St. Brigid’s Centre for the Arts, was moderately busy when I visited, though, I was told, it had been much busier earlier in the evening.

Yet, everywhere I went, from Wellington West to Gatineau to downtown Ottawa, there seemed to be a little less of everything that was Nuit Blanche during its first two years in the city — fewer pedestrians, fewer exhibits, less artistic inspiration overall, and less of the atmosphere of a giant, roaming party. I had a greater sense of emptiness in spaces that been filled with art and people in previous years. With every step my feeling grew that Nuit Blanche needs a shot of something to survive and grow — more volunteers, more staff, more marketing, more money?