OTTAWA, ON — September 5, 2026 — Ottawa Strong: After the Storm Community Recovery Benefit Concert & Media Production concluded at Britannia Park after bringing residents, flood victims, artists, volunteers and supporters together through music, recovery and community.
The event marked the culmination of a 60-day citizen-led response that began following the July 1 flooding.
Residents including Jamie Hill of Ahearn Avenue in the Britannia area joined others in supporting the recovery effort, while volunteers helped bring the production to life.
For full transparency, H2OBoy Inc. raised $20.00 toward its $200-million recovery objective on September 1.
The result fell far short of the target. H2OBoy also experienced an unresolved Shopify checkout issue that prevented the organization from processing planned online orders before and during the event, materially affecting the online sales component of the campaign.
Despite that setback, the recovery mission remains open.
The Ottawa Strong production ticket remains available through H2OBoy.ca, and H2OBoy's stated objective is to continue building qualifying production and platform sales toward $200 million, with the designated recovery portion intended for the Citizen Recovery Fund, subject to final accounting, costs, taxes, governance and distribution arrangements.
"We raised $20 toward a $200-million objective," said Bernard Couchman, founder of H2OBoy Inc. "The number is small, but the proof of execution is real. We took an idea born from an emergency and turned it into a permitted community production in 60 days. The journey continues."
Special thanks go to @popkrisproductions, Rasfiery, Ras Kwabena Simms, Abe kapella, Phresh Men's Salon, Daniel Eji, Latanya Williams, Peter Hebert, Ronald Couchman, Tracy Murphy, Jadon Colebourn, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Councillor Theresa Kavanagh, Dan Chenier, Justice Firdawsi, Stephanie McCauley, Alexandre Lacelle, Events Central, City of Ottawa By-law Services, ChatGPT, Bernard Couchman, H2OBoy Inc., the City of Ottawa, and the many unnamed people who helped make the event possible.
Most of all, we thank God for His love, guidance and provision throughout the journey.
The event is over.
The recovery is not.
We are strongest together.
Ottawa, say it every day: I AM STRONG.