Hope you had a great long weekend! Now it’s time to start planning this week’s excursions. Whether you want to stay close to home with birding in Ottawa or a beer festival in Hull, or head to Dunvegan for a classical music concert or to Perth for an art show in a new gallery, there’s a lot happening this week. And check out my tips at the end of the post about some recent articles you might have missed. Wherever you go, have fun!
See owls at the Canadian Museum of Nature
I wasn’t able to make it to last week’s media opening for Owls Rendez-vous, the new outdoor exhibition featuring live owls at the Canadian Museum of Nature. I hope to get there soon! In the meantime, here’s the basic scoop.
The show, created in partnership with Little Ray’s Nature Centres, includes a bald eagle, a Eurasian eagle-owl, a barn owl, two snowy owls and a great horned owl named Max. They’re cared for in special enclosures on the museum’s plaza, and they can’t be released into the wild, so this is a great chance to see them up close. The museum expects to host the show for about three years. The show is included with general admission to the museum, and you must purchase your timed general admission tickets online in advance.
Raise a glass in Hull
Craft beer fans will be cheered to know that the Gatineau Beerfest (Festibière Gatineau) is back. You can head to Place des Festivals Zibi (at the north end of the Chaudière Bridge) from August 4 to 7 and August 11 to 14 to sample some 80 beers from roughly 30 breweries, as well as listen to all sorts of live music (acts include Les Deuxluxes, Foreign Diplomats and Laf). Food trucks will be on hand to supply pizza, barbecue and other beer-friendly fare. Tickets are being sold in three-hour blocks.
Browse for art in Perth, Almonte or Vankleek Hill
Keith Busher is launching his new gallery in Perth, Concave Gallery, with Foundation, a show of paintings and other works by artist Bryce Bell. A portion of the proceeds of all pieces sold in the show will go to the Perth and District Community Foundation. The gallery is on the second floor of Code’s Mill, and the exhibition is open now and runs until September 30.
On Wednesday, August 4, a new show called Transience, featuring sculptures and works on paper by Almonte-area artist Sue Adams, opens at the Sivarulrasa Gallery in Almonte. The works explore the cycles of life, including themes related to the 1918 influenza pandemic, the Second World War and COVID-19. The show runs until September 17, and there’s a meet-the-artist vernissage on Saturday, August 14, from 3pm to 5pm (advance online registration required for the vernissage).
And finally, artist Christine Lenoir-Godin’s show, Love of the Land, opens on Wednesday, August 4, at the Arbor Gallery Cultural Centre in Vankleek Hill. There’s a meet-the-artist event from noon to 4pm on Sunday, August 8, with the fun continuing at the nearby Windsor Tavern later in the day.
See fireworks in Hull
Tickets are almost sold out for the two weeks of fireworks displays during the Casino Lac-Leamy Sound of Light on the grounds of the Canadian Museum of History in the Hull sector of Gatineau (August 7 to 21). However, there are still some packages available, starting at $25 per person for a package that includes both the fireworks and admission to the Queens of Egypt show at the museum.
Go birding in and around Ottawa
Always an Adventure is an Ottawa-based company that offers guided birding and nature outings, as well as photography workshops. This week, owners Tony Beck and Nina Stavlund will be leading birdwatching trips to Richmond (August 4), the Winchester area (August 6) and Petrie Island and Mer Bleue (August 7).
Enjoy music outdoors in Dunvegan or Vankleek Hill
This week, the Glengarry Pioneer Museum’s popular Classical Music Under the Stars event is returning with an outdoor concert called Moosic Under the Stars, featuring works with an agrarian or pastoral theme. Ottawa concert pianist Nicholas Deek will be the soloist for the show, which will take place rain or shine on Thursday, August 5, starting at 7:30pm. (If the weather is bad, it will be held under the Williams Pavilion.) Guests are invited to bring a lawn chair, a blanket and even a picnic basket. The museum’s buildings will be open to visitors before the show, too. The fundraising concert will help support the museum and community programming.
Speaking of outdoor fundraising concerts: the band 50Proof is giving a show to raise money for the Arbor Gallery Cultural Centre, under a tent at the Windsor Tavern in Vankleek Hill on Saturday, August 7.
Sign up for a bike ride event
In-person large-scale bike rides are returning, and I suspect they’ll be very popular, so you might want to sign up now to avoid disappointment. Among those happening in Eastern Ontario in the next few months are the Friends for Life Bike Rally between Toronto and Montreal (August 14 and 15); the Pedaling for Parkinson Canada ride in Prince Edward County (August 20 to 22); the Discover L&A Ride, which starts and ends in Bath (September 25); and the Reggie Ramble, which starts and ends in Warkworth (September 25).
If you’re looking for more cycling events and general biking inspiration, check out my HUGE new biking post packed with resources for local cyclists—everything from bike shops and bike routes to cycling clubs.
In case you missed it…
Don’t forget these recent Ottawa Road Trips posts, which might have just the information you need to plan a memorable outing this week:
- Zip lining across the Ottawa River on Interzip Rogers
- Cornwall this summer: It’s all about the outdoors!
- Walk into Van Gogh’s art at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa
- Tips for day trips to Iroquois and Morrisburg, Ontario
- 14 small towns for day trips from Ottawa
Looking for even more ideas for fun in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or buy my new guidebook, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100km Getaway Guide.