By Hope Berk and Justine Ricketts

There’s a certain vibrancy that fills the ByWard Market at night which proves that Canada’s capital is anything but boring.

Here’s a look at what goes down in ByWard when the sun follows suit.

A crowd gathers around the popular BeaverTails pastry stand at the corner of William and George streets after other food stands have closed for the day. [Photo © Justine Ricketts]

“There’s a lot of drunk people, though,” says Rowland.

Ed Rowland poses with his electric guitar gear after another night of busking. Rowland has been playing on the streets for 10 years. As for playing at night in ByWard, he chuckles and says he’s not talking about what he has seen after hours. [Photo © Justine Ricketts]
The Chateau Lafayette’s neon sign illuminates York Street on a busy Saturday night. Opened in 1849, and known affectionately as The Laff, this bar is the oldest in Ottawa and a favourite spot for many in the ByWard Market. [Photo © Hope Berk]

Hillary Lansfield and Carley Pearce, third-year University of Ottawa students, wait to meet up with friends at The West on George and let loose after a long week of classes.  [Photos © Justine Ricketts]

“I think we definitely prefer being here at night,” Pearce says, though she adds that things can get crazy in the late hours: “I’ve literally seen a man snort coke off of a planter! This was in first-year!”

The line-up for El Furniture Warehouse bends around the corner into a dark alleyway on Clarence Street. The bar offers what some might consider an ideal recipe for a night out: cheap food and strong drinks. [Photo © Justine Ricketts]
On George Street, a man bows his head while an extended cap and an accompanying note asks for spare change. [Photo © Justine Ricketts]
Partiers buzz past security outside Pub 101 as clock ticks to midnight. [Photo © Hope Berk]

Timor Delhi, 21, wanders around the corner of Dalhousie Street and York Street in the late hours of the night. [Photo © Justine Ricketts left, Hope Berk right]

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