From a classic rock concert in Brockville and folk music in Shawville to puppets in Almonte and a new wine and food show in Ottawa, there’s lots to see and do in the region this week. If you can, swing out to Orleans to buy some pierogi to support Ukraine, too.
Note: This list is a bit shorter and sweeter than usual, as I’ve been working flat-out to finish my upcoming book. I promise these weekly posts will be back to their usual robust format very soon!
Catch a concert in Ottawa, Almonte, Shawville, Brockville or Pembroke
The Almonte in Concert series is presenting its final show of the season, a show by Canada’s Ladom Ensemble, on Saturday, April 2. The quartet, featuring Pouya Hamidi (piano), Michael Bridge (accordion), Beth Silver (cello) and Adam Campbell (percussion), plays classical pieces, its own compositions and adaptations of music from countries as diverse as Iran and Argentina. You can see the show in person or via livestream.
The Stampeders will be singing their classic hits, including “Sweet City Woman,” when they hit the stage of the Brockville Arts Centre on Thursday, March 31, as part of their Celebrating 50 Years tour.
The Pembroke Festival Hall is presenting One Good Reason, a musical performance by Great Big Sea founder Séan McCann and his wife Andrea Aragon, on Friday, April 1. It’s a musical memoir about McCann’s strictly religious childhood in Newfoundland, the success of Great Big Sea and the battle with alcoholism that nearly cost the couple everything.
The Little Red Wagon Winery in Shawville is hosting a folk concert by Marc Audet on Saturday, April 2. Along with covers of hits by the likes of John Prine and Bob Dylan, Audet will be singing his own songs about the history of the Ottawa Valley. If you want dinner with your music, you must register in advance using the link above.
You get three for the price of one at a concert at TD Place in Ottawa on Monday, April 4. Nobro is the opening act for a combined show by Canadian rockers Billy Talent and Rise Against.
Learn about the Red Baron’s foe in Carleton Place
The Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum is launching a new exhibition, Roy Brown and His Fabulous Flying Machine, on Saturday, April 2, from 1pm to 4pm. The star of the show is a new half-scale model of a Sopwith Camel biplane, the aircraft that hometown hero Roy Brown was flying during the downing of the Red Baron in 1918. The show also includes other artifacts from the collections of the museum and the Roy Brown Society, and it runs until April 29.
See a children’s puppet show in Almonte
As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, the PuppetsUp! festival is coming back to Almonte this summer. But even before that, the festival is staging a series of three kids’ puppet shows at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in April. The first of them, Pirate Treasure, is happening on Saturday, April 2.
Eat, drink and be merry in Ottawa
The Crave Food and Wine Festival (April 1 to 3) is a new culinary event at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, featuring three days of masterclasses and other fun for food lovers.
Buy pierogi for Ukraine
The Knights of Columbus and Soul Stone Sushi Bar & Grill in Orleans are selling takeout pierogi on Monday, April 4, to raise awareness and funds for the people of Ukraine. Money raised goes to the Red Cross.
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, from which this post is adapted.
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.