Whether you’d like to ski through a forest, enjoy world music, buy maple goodies, take an online painting workshop, start your Valentine’s Day preparations or wander among tropical flowers, I have lots of suggestions for fun in Ottawa, the Outaouais, Eastern Ontario and Montreal this week. And couldn’t we all use a bit of fun these days? ????
Play outdoors in the light, in Kingston or Montreal
I’ve mentioned this year’s edition of Luminothérapie—Montreal’s free, interactive outdoor event where visitors can interact with illuminated artworks and sculptures—before. It runs until March 6 and it’s definitely worth checking out.
However, did you know that the same folks who created that show have developed a similar installation that’s currently open in Kingston? Impulse! will be open in Springer Market Square until February 21. The video above shows what it looked like in Montreal (and includes the former Montreal dates; ignore those). Picture the installations behind Kingston City Hall instead of Montreal’s Place des Festivals and you’ll get the general idea.
P.S.: If you’re heading to Kingston, don’t forget that the Kingstonlicious restaurant promotion is still running, with deals on prix fixe menus.
Paint online to mark Black History Month
The Ottawa Public Library is offering a free online painting workshop on Wednesday, February 9. In Black History Month: Sound in Living Colour (Music and Painting), musician and composer Kathryn Patricia Cobbler will play atmospheric pieces on viola, while encouraging participants to use the music’s inspiration to create paintings evoking their life experiences. This one-hour event is aimed at older adults and starts at 3pm. Registration required.
Hit the trails, enjoy a sleigh ride and buy maple treats in Pakenham
There’s a lot going on at Fulton’s Sugar Bush in Pakenham! The trail network is open daily from 10am to 3pm for hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing (you can buy a one-day entrance or a season’s pass). Currently, the maple shop is open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10am to 3pm. On weekends, there are sleigh rides for $4 per person (weather permitting), and you can buy maple taffy. And when maple syrup season starts, the shop will be open daily (February 19 to April 18). The video above, from Kodiak, gives you a little taste of what this family-run operation is all about.
Enjoy works by Kingston artists…from home
For the last few years, an innovative outdoor art initiative called Froid’Art/Art on Ice has been livening up the winter streets of Kingston. Martello Alley gallery owner David Dossett would encase artworks in huge blocks ice, light them dramatically and place them around the city for art lovers to enjoy.
The pandemic put the brakes on that plan for a bit, due to the potential for crowding, but now Dossett has come up with yet another innovative solution: He’s briefly projecting paintings on blocks of ice, photographing the results and uploading them to the gallery’s website, so anyone can see them from home. You can even view them in virtual reality, if that’s your thing. Learn more about the whole project in this post on The Kingstonist. (P.S.: Note that the gallery itself is open.)
Explore 35km of cross-country ski trails in Brockville
The video above made me grin from ear to ear. It’s done like a trailer for a thriller movie, complete with dramatic music and breathless title cards…with video of kids playing on snowy hills and families skiing through the forest. Ten points to the Triangle Cross Country Ski Club of Brockville and club member Gilles Durepos for imagination! You, too, can experience the club’s 35km of ski trails and 6km of snowshoeing trails at McIntosh Mills, partway between Brockville and Athens. Day users are asked to contribute a $10 per person fee toward trail upkeep; there’s a donation box near the trailhead of the west trail system. (You can buy season’s passes, too.)
Start planning for Valentine’s Day
Yes, that annual celebration of hearts and flowers is sneaking up quickly. If you’re in the sort of relationship where a lack of romantic plans will put you in the doghouse, then it’s time to get organized! Fortunately, local tourism boards have no shortage of ideas. Tourisme Outaouais has suggestions for brunch takeout, romantic skating spots and Hawaiian-style massage. Ottawa Tourism counters with tips on local truffles, jewellery, snowboarding, cupcakes and even a cat cafe. South Eastern Ontario offers ideas for helicopter tours, hiking trails, shopping and birdwatching in the 1000 Islands, Gananoque, Kingston and Frontenac County. And the Time in the Valley website’s tips for Ottawa Valley Valentine’s fun include charcuterie, sugar cookies and a snowshoeing scavenger hunt.
Escape to the tropics…in Kemptville
The Kemptville Campus Greenhouse, packed with tropical flowers of all kinds, is now open to the public from 10am to 2pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and entry is free. Go luxuriate in warm, humid air and bright colours, and pretend you’re in the Caribbean! You’ll find the campus at 75 Campus Drive in Kemptville.
Catch an online concert
Sadly, current events have temporarily shuttered the TD Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival and the National Arts Centre—but there are still ways to enjoy their offerings online. For instance, you can see an NAC show by Zal Sissokho—who blends the music of his native Senegal with Spain’s flamenco rhythms—for free on Facebook Live on Friday, February 11. And the jazz festival’s From the Vault series of paid streaming concerts continues until Sunday, February 13.
Check out my earlier ideas
Every week, usually on Mondays, I post a “road trip roundup” post like this one. In case you’ve missed the most recent ones, check them out. While some events mentioned have ended, these posts also feature lots of outdoor and virtual activities you can still enjoy—from birdwatching and fat biking to online yoga and free streaming movies!
- January 31 road trip roundup
- January 24 road trip roundup
- January 18 road trip roundup
- January 11 road trip roundup
- January 4 road trip roundup
Looking for more ideas for things to see and do in our region? Subscribe to my free 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.