This weekend with packed to the rafters with things to see and do, from a writers festival in Wakefield and a plant sale in Manotick to a powwow in Nepean, a street-food fair in Brockville, free museum admissions in Montreal and a canoe poker run in Spencerville. And don’t forget the huge Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend!
Love those lilacs in Franktown and Prince Edward County
I have two ways for you to celebrate the sweet scent of spring this weekend. Not far from Ottawa, the Franktown Lilac Festival in Lanark County (Saturday, May 25) features a breakfast, live music, children’s activities, a craft market, a silent auction and wagon rides, among other fun. A bit further afield, the Rotary Lilac Ride (Sunday, May 26) lets you choose a 25K, 50K or 100K bike route through lilac-laden Prince Edward County.
Hear authors in Wakefield
Tickets are still available for many of the events and readings at the Wakefield Writers Festival (May 23 to 26), including a literary pub crawl on Friday and a conversation with author Sally Armstrong on Sunday.
Go to an album release party in Ottawa
Ottawa-based Gentlemen of the Woods, known for its rootsy folk music with lots of banjo and swagger-y guitar, is holding a release party for its second CD (This Great Unknown) at Overflow Brewing Company on Kaladar Avenue (near Bank and Heron) on Saturday, May 25. The CD is the result of months of songwriting and rehearsals, and the band promises it will be a party! Arnprior singer-songwriter Vicki Brittle will open the show. Tickets are available online.
See the RCMP Musical Ride in Shawville or Wendover
Bring the kids and the snacks! The RCMP Musical Ride is coming to the Shawville Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 25. The show is free and starts at 2pm, but I’d get there way before that if you want a good seat. The next day, you can catch the Musical Ride at the Lucien Delorme Community Centre in Wendover, where the famous equestrian show will be part of a larger slate of activities (including live music and children’s activities) from 11am to 3pm; admission is free for kids 3 and under, $5 for kids aged 4 to 12, and $10 for everyone else.
Be hip in Hintonburg
The Hintonburg Happening is a nine-day festival (May 24 to June 1) celebrating local arts, crafts, food, drink and music. It’s almost impossible to quickly summarize the range of stuff going on throughout the week, including yoga classes, sidewalk sales, live music, ice-cream bingo, raffles and much more.
Hop on your bike at Tremblant
Hey, keen cyclists: Mont Tremblant resort is hosting Crossroads Tremblant (May 24 to May 26), with cross-country, downhill and road races and rides of all descriptions. As part of the event, about 2,000 cyclists will be participating in the Gran Fondo Mont-Tremblant (Sunday, May 25). It features four routes (45K, 80K, 125K and 160K) designed for cyclists at many levels, criss-crossing more than 10 communities.
Browse for bargains in Ottawa
Deal hunters, start your engines! The enormous Great Glebe Garage Sale will draw shoppers from across the city to the downtown neighbourhood this Saturday, May 25, from 8am to 3pm.
Shop and nosh in Brockville
Brockville’s Street Eats festival and sidewalk sale, taking place on Saturday, May 25, combines two of my favourite things: shopping and eating! Food trucks and vendors will be serving up everything from enchiladas to barbecue. Kids can enjoy bouncy castles, their parents shop for sidewalk-sale deals and everyone can fire trucks, lawn games, buskers and more. Live music will be courtesy of Hellbent Rockers, Brockville Social Club and Jitensha.
Raise a pint in Montreal
The Mondial de la Bière (May 22 to 25) is a massive, free indoor beer festival in Montreal that features roughly 100 breweries, 500 types of beer, and lots of music and tastings.
Have pancakes in Petawawa
The Petawawa Heritage Village museum opens for the season on Saturday, May 25, with a festive pancake breakfast, a plant sale, live music by Gillan Rutz and a yard sale. Breakfast—which also includes sausages, eggs and more—is free, but donations are welcome. It’s also a great chance to explore the museum’s collection of heritage buildings.
Go for a run in Ottawa or St-Jérôme
Feeling fit? Then why not register for one of the races in the enormous Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend (May 25 and 26)—one of Canada’s biggest running events? Choose from 2K, 5K and 10K races, a half-marathon or a full marathon, or a kids’ race. (If you’re not participating, keep the race’s road closures in mind while driving around town this weekend.)
Much smaller but with the promise of wooded trails, the Course nature de la Rivière-du-Nord in St-Jérôme on Sunday, May 26, features 3K, 5K and 10K races, as well as a 1K route for kids.
Taste wines in Mountain
Smokie Ridge Vineyard in Mountain (south of Ottawa, between Kemptville and Winchester) is holding a fundraising wine tasting on Sunday, May 26, from 1pm to 4pm. Visitors can tour the winery/vineyard and taste five wines for $25, and money raised goes toward prostate cancer research.
Thrill to drummers and dancers in Nepean
The Odawa Pow Wow (May 25 and 26) is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy native Canadian drumming and dancing, sponsored by the Odawa Native Friendship Centre. You can also try traditional foods, such as caribou and Arctic char, and shop for crafts, such as dream catchers and jewellery. Gates open at 10am and the grand entry is at noon each day. Admission is free but donations are accepted. It’s taking place at Maple Hill Urban Farm at 200 Moodie Drive, just south of the Queensway.
Shop for plants in Manotick, Elgin or Montreal
The Manotick Horticultural Society is holding its annual plant sale at Watson’s Mill on Saturday, May 25. Flowering plants, shrubs, seedlings, house plants and used garden tools will be available. That same day, the Rideau Lakes Horticultural Society is holding its annual spring plant sale—featuring annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, shrubs and trees—at Rideau District High School in Elgin. Both sales run from 9am to noon (come early for the best selection).
Meanwhile, in Montreal, the Great Gardening Weekend at Montreal’s Jardin botanique (May 24 to 26) is one of Quebec’s biggest gardening events, with some 65 vendors and other exhibitors. Common, heirloom and heritage plants will be available, and there will be lots of workshops (including some for children). If you can get away on Friday, you can save some money, as admission that day will be free. (On other days, you’ll have to pay the usual admission fees to the botanical gardens, which range from $10.25 to $20.50 per person.)
Be dazzled by Chinese lanterns in Syracuse
Huge, colourful structures created by Chinese artisans and lit by thousands of LED lights are the main attraction at the New York State Chinese Lantern Festival (May 25 to July 1), which also includes performances by Chinese acrobats, dancers, musicians and others. Open every night but Mondays.
Paddle for prizes in Spencerville
The Spencerville Mill Canoe Poker Run will see canoeists and kayakers take to the South Nation River at 9am on Saturday, May 25, and paddle to Spencerville. Twelve $50 prizes are up for grabs, and the money raised goes to the Spencerville Mill and Museum.
Take your motorcycle on a dice run in Casselman
Never heard of a dice run? It’s like a poker run, but it’s for motorcycles and there are dice rolls at each stop. This Sunday, May 26, you can join the 2804 Casselman Cadets Dice Run, starting at the J.R. Brisson Arena at 8:30am. It’s a major fundraiser for the cadet group.
See a Montreal museum for free
On Sunday, May 26, during Montreal Museums Day, admission to 30 Montreal museums—including the McCord Museum, the Stewart Museum and Pointe-à -Callière—will be free.
Enjoy a glass festival in Corning, New York
Do you like live music? Would you like to learn how to blow glass? Do you enjoy shopping for art glass? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you might just be interested in GlassFest in Corning, New York (May 23 to 26). You can see a glass-blowing demonstration, try your hand at making glass items, see free concerts, browse an artisans’ market and more. Corning is about a five-hour drive south of Ottawa, in the Finger Lakes area.
Get your roots music fix in Prince Edward County or upstate New York
Do you love a good banjo jam? Then the Quinte’s Isle Bluegrass Celebration (May 24 to 26) in Cherry Valley in Prince Edward County will be right up your roots music alley. Bluegrass acts from across the country are on the program.
In Stirling, New York (on the southern edge of Lake Ontario, west of Syracuse), the Stirling Stage Folkfest (May 23 to 27) features over two dozen folk, roots and jamband acts.
Get woolly in Morrisburg or Picton
It’s time to get the sheep ready for summer during Sheep Shearing Days at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg (May 28 and 29, and June 4 and 5). Try your hand at giving a critter a close shave, and learn about carding, spinning and weaving.
Wool will also take centre stage at the Prince Edward County Fibrefest on Saturday, May 25, in Picton. Shop for wool, fleece, felted items and other fibre-y goodies, and learn about knitting, spinning and more. See rabbits, alpacas and sheep (and, yes, the latter will be shorn on site).
See LGBTQ movies in Toronto
There’s much, much more to the world of movie relationships than boy meets girl—and you can see lots of those movies all in one city, this weekend and next. Inside Out: Toronto LGBT Film Festival (May 23 to June 2)—a celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movies—is the largest such event in Canada and one of the five top LGBT film fests in the world. (Music autoplays when you open the site.)
Dig into some ribs in Kanata and Barrhaven
This weekend’s Kanata Ribfest (May 24 to 26) offers live entertainment, a kids’ zone, a midway, a craft beer garden and, of course, lots of gooey ribs. And free parking! It’s all happening in a new location this year, at 400 March Road. On the same dates, the Capital BBQ Festival comes to Clarke Fields Park in Barrhaven, with 14 live bands, a beer tent, demonstrations, a hot pepper-eating contest and more.
See cutting-edge dance and theatre in Montreal
The Festival TransAmériques is North America’s largest contemporary dance and theatre festival. This year, it’s offering 23 shows across multiple venues over the next two weeks (May 22 to June 4). Expect lots of cutting-edge choreography and thought-provoking performances by companies from countries around the world, including Canada, Poland, South Korea, the Netherlands and Lebanon.
Visit artists and craftspeople in Westport or Vermont
Hobbit Hill Studio near Westport is hosting its Porch & Garden art show and sale on Sunday, May 26. More than a dozen artisans will be on hand showing their wares along garden paths.
Heading south of the border? Artists and craftspeople across Vermont will be throwing open their doors to visitors during the state’s Spring Open Studio Weekend (May 25 and 26). (And if you’re looking for studio tours throughout Eastern Ontario and West Quebec later in the year, I’ll be updating my big list of local studio tours later this week—stay tuned!)
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4 comments
Thank you as always Laura for your reports!! Look forward to them every week!!! And love some of the more advanced date road trip ideas. Great job! And so appreciated
You’re very welcome, Brenda–thanks so much for the kind words! I’m trying to do more to publicize events in advance. There’s still time to buy my e-book listing over 100 ideas for spring (April to June), and I’m hoping to do another “something to do every day this month” post for June sometime in the next week. In addition, I should have my annual list of art studio tours updated by the end of the month–I’ll put a notice in the newsletter and on Facebook when it’s updated.
Re “Go to an album release party in Ottawa”, were you intentionally trying to sound like Ed Sullivan at the end of the paragraph? 😉
LOL! I wasn’t, but thanks for catching my typo about a really great “shoe”! I’ve fixed it now. 😀