There’s lots to check out online this week, whether you’d like to hear a nature talk, shop for local products, dream about cycling trips to come, stream a foreign film, book a campsite or take a cooking class. I also have a Thousand Islands video for you to enjoy and the details on my soon-to-be-published guidebook to day trips within 100 kilometres of Ottawa. Read on to learn more!
Learn about nature
The City of Pembroke is presenting a free online talk by Carleton University educator Michael Runtz on Thursday, March 18, starting at 7pm. An ornithologist, author and television host, he’ll be speaking on the very timely theme of Nature in Your Backyard. Learn about your local birds and more. Here’s the direct YouTube link.
Support local artisans and businesses
You can indulge in a little retail therapy tonight (March 18) and support local creative types at the same time. Ottawa Artisans is holding a Here Comes the Sun Virtual Market, starting at 7pm. If you spend a certain amount, there’s free delivery, too. (Maybe you could do a joint order with friends!)
You can also check out a new live webcast about local businesses in Kemptville. The first episode of LoveNG Live airs on Monday, March 22, at 7pm. The series will run on Monday nights for 11 weeks and will be showcased on the LoveNG North Grenville website. See this Inside Ottawa Valley article for more details.
And until the end of March, you can nominate your favourite local businesses for inclusion in a big local guide being created by Ottawa Tourism. Categories include everything from top hiking trail and best brunch spot to most Instagrammable spot and best pet-friendly activity. So show your favourite places some love!
Start dreaming about cycling trips
Yes, there’s still snow on the ground, but it’s never too early to start dreaming about those two-wheeled trips, is it? A friend of mine just alerted me to a group she belongs to that looks like a great resource for bike trippers. Despite the name, the Kanata–Nepean Bicycle Club is open to anyone—not just people who live in those areas! And on its outings, it ranges far beyond the city; the website includes a map library of some of its most popular trips.
You don’t have to be a Tour de France type to participate; the club’s motto is “Sometimes ambitions, always social.” Given the ever-changing COVID-19 situation, there are no guarantees about the trip schedules this year. For now, though, you can check out the route maps from past trips and perhaps get inspired to join some outings when they’re available.
Take a trip around the world with food
You can get a taste of the world while supporting local restaurants and shops by ordering takeout or making your own takes on international dishes! Ottawa Tourism has a big list of international restaurants to try. Kingston’s Kingstonlicious restaurant promotion, which runs until the end of March, features some world cuisine (such as rotis, tapas and poblanos raja). Tourisme Outaouais’ restaurant guide lets you search by type of food; options include Asian, Indian, Italian and tapas. And I wrote a post a few months ago about how to have a Japanese evening at home (including restaurant, music and movie recommendations).
If you’d like to cook your own meal, check out my big list of stores selling international ingredients (it covers a big swath of Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais). A few weeks ago, I also took a great Zoom cooking class with María Amalia Garza of Ottawa’s Cultural Kitchen cooking school. We made chicken enchiladas and, if I do say so myself, they were delish. (The credit for that goes pretty much to María; when I cook, I’m pretty much just grateful when I don’t accidentally incinerate my eyebrows.)
She’s far from the only chef who has taken her cooking classes online in the past year. Ottawa Tourism includes a number of local Zoom cooking classes in this post about online social events. And if you want to learn from a chef from further away, Airbnb has lots of online cooking classes—you can follow along to make everything from Montreal-style bagels to Portuguese pastel de nata and Thai tom kha soup.
Stream a cutting-edge film
EJECT – VIDÉOCLUB D'ARTS VIVANTS from LNSGD on Vimeo.
Ottawa’s La Nouvelle Scène has teamed up with Théâtre du Trillium, Théâtre Catapulte and other partners to present Eject, an online film festival of sorts. Over the next month (March 15 to April 15), you can pick a time at your leisure to stream any of the available films, for $5 per movie. The organizers are billing it as a “videoclub.” So, what can you see? The movies are definitely far beyond the normal multiplex fare and include an experimental dance video from Nigeria, an Icelandic film about a bloody wedding in a shopping mall, and a movie about a Californian YouTube star who appears to be descending into madness. You can read more about it in this Le Droit article.
Make those camping reservations
Reservations for Parks of the St. Lawrence campsites have been brisk since the booking form opened on March 11, but the agency says lots of spots are still available. Gatineau Park summer bookings opened on March 15 and the park notched more than 10,000 reservations on the very first day! Ontario Parks camping reservations and Sépaq camping reservations are also open now, and Parks Canada summer reservations open in mid-April (dates vary, depending on the park you want to visit).
Enjoy a virtual visit to the Thousand Islands
The latest issue of Thousand Islands Life magazine includes an interview with Syracuse, N.Y, photographer Andrew Kane, who talks about his love of photographing and filming this picturesque region on the St. Lawrence River. He shot the footage for the video above in 2020. It’s a nice four-minute virtual vacation.
Order my new book!
OK, this is the section of the post where I do a little shameless self-promotion. As I mentioned last week, I’m deep in the throes of putting the finishing touches on my new local guidebook, which will offer scores of ideas for day trips in and around Ottawa. Even though I haven’t quite finished the manuscript yet, you can order your copy now. It’s even available at a special pre-sale price of $14.95—that’s $10 off the list price! The book is due to be delivered in early May, just in time for all those spring road trips you might be dreaming about. Did I mention you can order the book now? ????
It is being published by the good folks at Ottawa Press and Publishing, who produce all sorts of other cool books about our area, including the very popular Ottawa Rewind series. You can keep up to date on all their news by subscribing to their monthly newsletter.
And speaking of subscribing to newsletters…if you haven’t subscribed to the Ottawa Road Trips newsletter, why not? It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s packed with useful tips and news. Here’s how you can get all that useful info in your in-box once a week.
8 comments
Will your book be available in an e-book format?
Yes, it will–thanks for asking! At the minute, though, I’m not sure when; possibly not until the fall.
Love your ideas and the thought of having a book to refer to, just wondering if you can you pick up your book locally to avoid shipping costs and still benefit by the pre-sale price?
Thanks for the kind words and the interest in the book, Debbie! Unfortunately, it isn’t available in local stores yet because it won’t be printed and distributed until the end of April.
Love your posts. Just ordered two copies.
Thank you so much, Patricia!
HI Laura
I ordered your book but put in the wrong email address what do i do and who do i phone
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for ordering my book, and no worries! I’ll ask the publisher and email you with info on what to do.
Cheers,
Laura