From super-sized puppets at the Biodôme in Montreal and Christmas fun in Sharbot Lake to performances of favourite holiday stories in Chelsea and Kingston, the schedule is once again packed this week. And that’s without mentioning hockey games in Ottawa and Cornwall, an interactive light installation in Montreal, family-friendly fun at the National Gallery of Canada, and performances of Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. Enjoy! (P.S.: Please travel safely and in accordance with all the latest health-related advice!)
See an interactive light installation in Montreal
Luminothérapie, a one-of-a-kind outdoor interactive light show, has returned to Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles (December 2, 2021, to February 27, 2022). This year’s version combines new installations and a video projection with some crowd favourites from past years. Visitors to the free show are encouraged to dance, sing and otherwise connect with the artworks—some of which change in response to human activity. The website provides lots of details but, truly, this show is usually easier to experience than to explain.
Celebrate the season in Sharbot Lake
The Villages Beautiful Festival of Trees is normally a multi-day (and, often, multi-community) event in Sharbot Lake and Central Frontenac. This year’s version on Saturday, December 18, is a bit scaled down, but the festivities in Sharbot Lake will include a chance for kids to visit with Santa (and for the whole family to nosh on hot dogs and hot chocolate), and an evening event where sidewalks around the village will be illuminated by traditional lanterns (luminaries). The town crier will be involved, too! The organizers are also encouraging people to donate to the event’s Go Fund Me page, as money from the festival is traditionally used to fund landscaping efforts in communities throughout Central Frontenac.
Catch a concert in Ottawa and beyond
UPDATE: Since I wrote this post on Monday, new capacity limits have been announced for some venues, starting at midnight on Friday, December 17. In addition, some artists and venues are cancelling shows completely. I’ve updated the list below, but PLEASE check directly with the venue for the latest information, even if you already have tickets. Details on some of the cancelled shows are available in this Citizen story, as well.
Live music is popping up all over this week! The National Arts Centre alone is presenting the Barra MacNeils (December 14), Handel’s Messiah (December 15 and 16, including a livestream on the 16th), three separate shows by The Good Lovelies, The Tenors and Mikhaëlle Salazar (December 17), a concert by Céleste Lévis on Saturday (December 18), and an afternoon matinée with Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy to round out the week (December 19).
The Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe, meanwhile, are re-opening with a show by blues guitarist JW-Jones, with lots of special guest local artists, on Thursday, December 16.
On Saturday, December 18, local favourite (and Juno winner) Kellylee Evans will be singing holiday favourites and new material—in genres ranging from jazz to pop—at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans. Also in Orleans, the Sober Second Thoughts will be playing an acoustic fundraising show at Stray Dog Brewing Company, with proceeds going to the Orleans-Cumberland Community Resource Centre.
Also on Saturday, the Pembroke Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas Special matinée at the Festival Hall Centre for the Performing Arts in Pembroke will feature a dance performance of The Nutcracker.
The week wraps up with several shows. At Pembroke’s Festival Hall, country singer-songwriter Jason Blaine will be giving back-to-back afternoon and evening Home for the Holidays concerts on Sunday, December 19. And in Ottawa, the Ottawa Choral Society will be presenting its first concerts in two years. Its performances of J.S Bach’s Christmas Oratorio will take place on Sunday, December 19 (3pm) and Monday, December 20 (7:30pm) at Paroisse St-François d’Assise church in Hintonburg. Advance tickets are required; no tickets will be sold at the door. (See the video above for the Choral Society’s lovely, at-home performance of O Holy Night during last year’s socially distanced Christmas season.)
See a one-man performance of A Christmas Carol in Kingston
For decades, John D. Huston has been touring theatres great and small with his one-man performances of Dickens classics. This year, he brings his version of A Christmas Carol to the Tett Centre in Kingston for four shows over two days (December 19 and 20). Dressed in Victorian garb, he brings 25 characters in the beloved story to live with just his voice.
Delight your kids with giant puppets in Montreal
Kids generally don’t need much prompting to go visit animals, but if you’re looking to sweeten the idea of a car trip to Montreal, giant puppets at the Biodôme might be just the thing. On a set schedule, larger-than-life puppets modelled on the centre’s real-live denizens will stroll through the indoor wildlife centre, entertaining visitors with choreography. The show will be offered daily from December 18 to January 7, then on Saturdays and Sundays only until February 6.
Enjoy hockey games galore
If hockey’s your game, you’re spoiled for choice this week. In Ottawa, the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s are taking on the Oshawa Generals on Friday and the Barrie Colts on Saturday at TD Place. Across town, the NHL’s Ottawa Senators face off against the Boston Bruins at the Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday. Also on Sunday, the Cornwall Prowlers battle the Glengarry Pipers in a Senior A game at the Benson Centre in Cornwall.
Hear storytellers spin family-friendly tales in Ottawa and Chelsea
The National Gallery of Canada is hosting two storytelling events for families this weekend. On Saturday, storytellers Dr. Clyde Ledbetter, Jr (English), Abigail Eyob (French) and Ken Campbell (bilingual) will be celebrating Kwanzaa. The next day, Indigenous storytellers Simon Brascoupé and Mairi Brascoupé (English), and Elder Annie Smith St-Georges (French) will be sharing stories to mark the winter solstice.
Also on Sunday, Bear & Co. will be presenting Dylan Thomas’s classic poem, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, at La Fab Arts Centre in Chelsea. There will be carols, too!
Continuing this week
Here are a few events I’ve mentioned in previous posts that are still going strong:
- The political play Daisy continues at the GCTC in Ottawa until December 17.
- Domino Theatre’s Kingston production of My Three Angels runs until December 18.
- Lamoureux Park in Cornwall will be aglow during the Holiday Sparkle event until December 18 (Thursday through Saturday).
- Santa’s Workshop is open and offering fun for kids at 136 Bridge Street in Carleton Place on Thursdays and Saturdays until December 18 (times vary).
- The Vintage Village of Lights will keep illuminating the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum on select nights until December 19.
- Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, a blend of Christmas songs, comedy, storytelling and visits from Christmas characters, is on stage at the Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg until December 19.
- On Saturdays and Sundays until December 19, you can pick up a Christmas Takeaway Tea Box at Ottawa’s Billings Estate National Historic Site.
- The Ottawa Christmas Market at Lansdowne Park continues on select days until December 22.
- Alight at Night is on at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg until January 1.
- River of Lights continues on the Brockville waterfront until January 2.
- Voting for the Trees of Hope for CHEO event at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa is open until January 3.
- In Centennial Park in Smiths Falls, the lights will stay on for the Celebration of Lights until January 7.
- Also until January 7, you can enjoy the new multimedia projection on Parliament Hill. It runs nightly from 5:30pm to 11pm (until midnight on New Year’s Eve), and it’s free.
- Holiday programming at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, including gingerbread-themed family activities and a giant Christmas tree, continues until January 9.
- The 2021 Sobey Art Award Exhibition, featuring works by five shortlisted artists from across Canada, is on view at the National Gallery of Canada until February 20.
- Shadowland, an art exhibition featuring 15 ghost-like pencil drawings created by Montreal artist Lorraine Simms, using the shadows cast by museum animal specimens, continues at the Canadian Museum of Nature until April 18.
- Forever Changed: Stories from the Second World War will be at the Canadian War Museum until September 5.
For more ideas for fun in and around Ottawa, subscribe to my weekly newsletter or pick up a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.