First of all: Welcome to the brand-new look for Ottawa Road Trips! This redesign has been in the works for a while; many thanks to Jessica Dalen of Dalen Design for all her hard work on the new look. I hope you like it. (I’m pretty excited about it, myself.)
Now, on to this week’s road trip suggestions.
PLEASE NOTE: Countless events across our region are wisely being cancelled due to COVID-19. I’m trying to update this post regularly as I become aware of cancellations, but do check the event’s website directly before heading out anywhere. If you head out, be safe and wash your hands a lot. And if you feel sick, don’t go out!
See more about travel safety at the end of this post.)
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day across Eastern Ontario
UPDATE, MARCH 12: The St. Patrick’s Day parade and the St. Patrick’s Party at Lansdowne have both been postponed.
The Ottawa Irish Festival will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a variety of events, including a performance of Dancing at Lughnasa by Irish playwright Brian Friel at the Gladstone Theatre on Thursday, March 12 (the play runs from March 11 to 21), and a St. Patrick’s parade starting at Ottawa City Hall at 11am on Saturday, March 14. The parade ends at Lansdowne Park, where Beau’s Brewery’s annual St. Patrick’s Party will be in full swing, featuring headliner Ashley MacIsaac. The Irish Festival is also running a bus trip to Montreal to check out that city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday, March 22.
Venues throughout Eastern Ontario are holding St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on Saturday, March 14. In the morning, there’s a pancake breakfast in McNab-Braeside. Later in the day, you can check out festivities at the DACA Centre in Dacre, the Cobden Legion, Calabogie United Church, the Petawawa Civic Centre and the Bryson Lions Club Hall. Fridge Full of Empties, a Celtic party band, is playing at the 1844 Bistro Pub & Eatery in Casselman that night, too. The next day, there is an afternoon party at the Eganville Legion. And next week, on the big day itself (Tuesday, March 17), there are St. Patrick’s Day parties at the Pembroke Legion, Campbell’s Bay Legion, Eganville Legion and Carp Memorial Hall, and Irish stew suppers in Pembroke, McNab-Braeside and Fitzroy Harbour.
The Knights of Columbus Dramatic Club in Pembroke is presenting its Irish play (an annual tradition for over a century) on March 13, 15 and 16. This year’s show is The Mayhem Motel, a two-act farce about a beleaguered inn owner and his strange assortment of guests.
Immerse yourself in francophone culture in Gatineau
In Gatineau, la Francofête Outaouais (March 10 to 29) is presenting francophone artists from multiple disciplines, including music, visual art and theatre. For instance, on Saturday, March 14, comedian Louis T will be on stage at the Auditorium de l’école polyvalente Nicolas-Gatineau, and the Orchestre symphonique de Gatineau is giving a concert of works with animal-related themes at the Maison de la culture de Gatineau.
Catch a concert in Wakefield or Vankleek Hill
Local musician Phil Jenkins spent his teens and 20s in Liverpool in the 1960s and 1970s, immersing himself in the Beatlemania that gripped the city—and the world. When he first emigrated to Canada, he earned money as a ByWard Market busker by singing Beatles tunes. This week, he’s inviting audiences to relive those days with him (complete with a slide show) and sing along to classic music by the Fab Four at Le Hibou in Wakefield on Thursday, March 12.
The next night, Montreal-based musician Bud Rice (see video above) teams up with fellow Montrealer Alex Lebel for a soulful rock show at Beau’s Brewery in Vankleek Hill on Friday, March 13. (The brewery features live music every week in its Friday Night Live series.)
And the night after that, the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield welcomes two bands to its busy stage. The Fieldville String Band will transport the crowd to Appalachia with its mix of banjo, fiddle, guitar and stand-up base, and Wakefield-based Pickachune will keep things lively with music from Newfoundland, Quebec, Ireland and beyond, played on everything from squeezebox to Irish bouzouki.
Learn about a musical mystery in Gananoque
It’s a classical musical mystery. In 1825, Theodor Molt became the only Canadian known to have met Ludwig van Beethoven. The famous composer wrote about Molt in one of his many notebooks, then tore out the following four pages. What happened between them? Was it a scandal? A clash of big egos? A show called The Missing Pages, blending music, drama and a bit of informed speculation, delves into the two-century-old story. There will be two performances at the Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque on Saturday, March 14.
Shop for cycling gear in Gatineau
Update: This show has been cancelled due to COVID-19.
Whether you’ve been a diligent gym rat or an indolent couch potato all winter, many of you are probably itching to get outside for some exercise. You can shop for gear and inspiration at the Gatineau-Ottawa Bicycle Show at the Palais des Congrès in Gatineau from March 13 to 15.
See a Canadian movie in Kingston
Update: As of the evening of Thursday, March 12, all events for the remainder of this film festival have been cancelled due to COVID-19.
The world’s largest festival of Canadian movies is rolling out the red carpet this week. Movies screening at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival (March 11 to 15) include James vs. His Future Self, a comedy about a man who may just have met a time-travelling version of himself; and The Secret Marathon, a documentary about female long-distance runners in Afghanistan. Non-film events include a stand-up comedy show by Kevin McDonald of Kids in the Hall fame, and an “in conversation” event with actor Andrea Bangs and writer Winter Tekenos-Levy, who will dish behind-the-scenes stories about Kim’s Convenience and Schitt’s Creek, respectively.
Get landscaping and home reno ideas in Toronto
Update: Both of these shows have been cancelled due to COVID-19.
At Canada Blooms (March 13 to 22), a huge consumer show at Toronto’s Enercare Centre (Exhibition Place), you can tour fantasy gardens created by landscape architects and choose from hundreds of hours of gardening and floral seminars. The theme this year is “Birds of a Feather.” The show runs in the same venue on the same dates as the National Home Show (see below).
With exhibitors focusing on everything from kitchens and kids’ rooms to renovations and smart home technology, the National Home Show in Toronto (March 13 to 22) offers something for anyone who has ever spent a Saturday afternoon absorbed in HGTV. There are also seminars galore and the always-popular Dream Home.
Admire model trains in Kingston
The Kingston Division of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association is holding Rail O Rama, a model train show and sale, at the Ambassador Hotel in Kingston on March 14 and 15. Visitors can check out model railroad layouts, and buy model train pieces, DVDs, books and railroad memorabilia.
Enjoy an ABBA tribute in Rockland
Get out your sequinned jumpsuit and blow-dry your hair! ABBA—or, more precisely, SOS: The ABBA Experience—is coming to Club Powers in Rockland on Saturday, March 14. Show-only tickets or dinner packages including a three-course meal are available.
Take the kids to a March Break fest at Parc Oméga
Parc Oméga wildlife park in Montebello is hosting a week-long March Break carnival (March 14 to 22), featuring everything from horse-drawn rides and a giant slide to Arctic fox presentations and woodcarving demonstrations, in addition to the usual opportunity to drive through the park to spot wildlife like black bears and Rocky Mountain goats.
Get seeds and gardening tips in Kingston
In case you’ve missed earlier Seedy Saturday and Seedy Sunday events, here’s another chance to exchange seeds and gardening tips: Kingston Seedy Saturday, happening on Saturday, March 14, at Loyalist Collegiate Vocational Institute (10am to 3pm).
And a few words from me about safety…
Before heading out to any big gathering—near or far—these days, please make sure to check on the event’s website that it is still running as planned. (I’ll keep updating this post, too, but things are changing very quickly and there’s a chance I might miss a cancellation.) Keep washing your hands and taking all the other recommended precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). And if you think there’s a risk of getting sick or spreading illness to others—and believe me, as a travel writer, I don’t say this lightly—please stay home. As I type this on March 11, Ottawa has registered its first confirmed case of coronavirus. Stay safe, everyone.
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