From winter festivals in White Lake and Perth to art shows in Almonte and the Outaouais, I’ve found lots of in-person fun for you to check out this week. Prefer to stay home? How about an online kids’ festival? If you’re worried how your favourite downtown Ottawa businesses are coping these days, I have tips for helping on that score, too. Wherever your adventures take you this weekend, stay warm!
See a funny musical in Cornwall
The Seaway Valley Theatre Company is presenting the musical comedy Nunsense, about an enterprising group of nuns that decides to stage a variety show. It runs for two consecutive weekends (February 18 to 21, and February 24 to 27), and tickets are available online.
Tap your toes in Morrisburg
The Fitzgeralds—a group of fiddling, step-dancing siblings—will take to the stage for a show at the Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg on Saturday, February 19. Their repertoire ranges beyond their Celtic roots to include tap dancing, jazz, bluegrass and more. The performance is part of the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage series.
Play bingo in Orleans
Grab your daubers and head to Broadhead Brewery in Orleans on Thursdays, starting at 6:30pm, for two-and-a-half hours of bingo—with prizes!
Enjoy a winter carnival in White Lake or Perth
The White Lake Winter Carnival is happening on Saturday, February 19, from 11am to 2am at White Lake Park, with promises of lots of outdoor family fun.
And in Perth, the two-day Frost & Fire Winter Festival (February 19 and 20) features a huge range of activities, including a vendor market, tobogganing, skating, live music, an axe-throwing competition and a luminary walk.
Discover new art and other creative items
Works by Ottawa artist Barbara Gamble are the subject of a new show at the Sivarulrasa Gallery in Almonte, Spellbound: Forty Years of Artmaking. As the title implies, the show illuminates Gamble’s evolution over her career. It includes life drawings, landscape paintings, pastels, experimental printmaking pieces and more. The exhibition runs from February 16 to March 25, and there will be a vernissage next weekend on February 26. (Disclosure: I wrote some of the accompanying text for this exhibition.)
Over on the Outaouais side of the river, the 100 Mile Arts Network is holding a series of Small Wonders of Winter Pop-Up Art Sales, to showcase the work of local artists and other creators. This Saturday (February 19), the venue is Camp Fortune in Chelsea; there will also be sales at Eco-Odyssée near Edelweiss (February 26) and Ski Vorlage in Wakefield (March 5). Meet the artists and shop outdoors for small artworks, CDs and more. Each sale runs from 9am to 4pm.
Enjoy some free family fun, online or outside
Once again, the National Arts Centre is offering its Big Bang festival for kids as an online event this year (February 19 and 20). Enjoy short movies, a digital dance party, music videos and more, all free of charge. The video above gives you a taste of the 2020 in-person festival.
Speaking of free: During Family Fishing Weekend (February 19 to 21), you and the whole fam can go ice fishing (or open-water fishing, I suppose—if you can find open water!) anywhere in Ontario, without buying a fishing licence.
Support a downtown business or non-profit group
Many businesses and non-profit organizations in downtown Ottawa are struggling right now. Either they can’t open their doors at all, or they’re dealing with the reluctance of customers, clients and employees to venture downtown. Why not lend them a helping hand?
There are far too many organizations in the core for me to mention them all individually; I’m guessing that many of you already have your own favourite restaurants, shops, gyms, charities and other organizations in Centretown and the ByWard Market.
If you do, why not contact them or check out their social media to see how you can support them right now? Gift certificates, video classes and fundraising efforts are just a few ways you can show your love to these entrepreneurs and community organizations as they do their best to keep their heads above water. Here are just a few ideas to inspire you. (To find even more businesses, check out the websites of the Bank Street BIA and the ByWard Market BIA.)
- Buy a video class, a DIY kit or a gift certificate for a future in-person class, and learn to make a Turkish-style lamp or candle holder with Mosaic Art Studio.
- Stretch it out: Take an online class or purchase a gift certificate from Astanga Yoga Ottawa.
- C’est Bon Culinary Adventures is still open for in-person cooking classes (it’s in a part of the Market not directly affected by the protest), but it has had to suspend its food tours for now. You could sign up for an in-person or virtual class, or buy a gift certificate for a class or tour.
- Local fundraiser and food industry mover-and-shaker Robin Duetta has set up the Ottawa Restaurant Fund, with a goal of raising $250,000 to help downtown restaurants that have lost business or been forced to close entirely due to the protest.
- Highjinx is a social enterprise on Kent Street that provides people in need with food, furniture and a place to connect. Donations are always welcome.
Looking for more ideas for things to see and do in our area? 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.