Whether you like birds, art, gardening, theatre, music, shopping, classic cars or outdoor adventure, there’s something for you in and around Ottawa this week. From a big garage sale in Smiths Falls and a community expo in Pembroke to puppets in Almonte and plant sales in Ottawa and Gananoque, you’ll likely find something in this list to amuse you. Plus, I’m giving talks and signing copies of my new book, so please come and say hi if you’re in the area.
P.S.: You’ll notice that I’ve started including a bit more information on times, locations and prices in this week’s post. That’s in direct response to comments in my reader survey, which runs until 4pm on Friday, May 13. I’d love your input, if you haven’t filled it out yet. Thanks!
Learn about birds on World Migratory Bird Day weekend
Did you know that Saturday, May 14, is World Migratory Bird Day? Celebrations are taking place across Canada. In Ottawa, you can enjoy the World Migratory Bird Day Festival at the Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre in Britannia Park (102 Greenview Avenue, 1pm to 4pm, free). Family fun at the festival will include bird-related games and crafts, an obstacle course, live music, and a “bird parade” (you’re invited to come in costume, if you’re so inclined).
Also, on Sunday, May 15, the Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Centre and Wild Birds Unlimited are running a family-oriented World Migratory Bird Day celebration at Walter Baker Park in Kanata (100 Charlie Rogers Place, 10am to 2pm, free). Activities will include crafts and a scavenger hunt, and you can borrow binoculars to try your luck at birding. Experts will be on hand to answer questions, there will be prizes, and you’re invited to bring a picnic.
Le Nichoir, a bird rescue organization in Hudson, Quebec, is hosting an online seminar in French about bird migration on Sunday, May 15, at 10am. The talk is free but advance registration is required (and donations are appreciated). If you can’t make this one, here’s the centre’s whole lineup of upcoming virtual seminars, in English and French.
Finally, Saturday is also the kick-off to the 10-day Spring Birding Festival at the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory in Prince Edward County (May 14 to 23, various locations and prices). Events include guided hikes, a book launch and more.
Check out a community expo in Pembroke
The Pembroke Community Expo (May 13 and 14) will feature some 70 vendors booths, including a special EcoPembroke section with environmentally friendly products and services. You can check out workshops, demonstrations, kids’ activities and more—and there will be food and live entertainment, too. It’s happening at the Pembroke Memorial Centre (393 Pembroke Street West) from 4pm to 8pm on Friday, and 10am to 3pm on Saturday. Admission is free.
Shop for bargains in Smiths Falls
No, you can’t buy a vintage locomotive at the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario Garage Sale on Saturday, May 14 (90 William Street West, Smiths Falls, 8am to noon). But you can browse for furniture, art, collectibles and more at the fundraising event.
Go paddling near Ashton
Looking for some fresh air on Saturday, May 14? Register in advance, then tie your kayak or canoe to your car and head to Beckwith Township for the 6.5K Jock River Paddle. It starts at 10am on 9th Line and ends at the Ashton Pub for socializing. The cost is $20 per paddler.
Celebrate tulips in Ottawa
The “live” version of the Canadian Tulip Festival is back! From May 13 to 23, all sorts of events are scheduled to celebrate the festival’s 70th anniversary and the blooming of Ottawa’s hundreds of thousands of tulips. The story of Ottawa’s tulips began with a gift of tulips from the Netherlands after the Second World War, in appreciation for Canada’s military efforts in the conflict and for the shelter Ottawa provided to the Dutch royal family.
Most festival events centre on Commissioners Park on the north shore of Dows Lake, and many are free. Highlights this year include an opening ceremony with Princess Margriet of the Netherlands (May 14, 11am, at the Man with Two Hats monument in Commissioners Park, just east of Preston Street); tulip bingo and tulip walking tours (multiple times); and an exhibition about Dutch war brides. New this year is a blacklight installation that will illuminate the tulips at night, so humans can see them the way pollinators do. There will also be ghost tours of the Glebe, movies in the park and more. Fireworks will go off at Dows Lake at 10pm on May 22, weather permitting.
P.S.: Yes, I really want to put apostrophes in both “Commissioners” and “Dows” but, trust me, there aren’t any. I’ve checked.
Browse for art in Deep River or Ottawa
The Valley Artisans’ Co-op Gallery (33373 Highway 17, Deep River) is throwing a free gala opening for its new art show, Journey Through the Dumoine, on Saturday, May 14, from noon to 3pm. (Coincidentally, the gala marks the gallery’s 35th anniversary.) The show features artwork produced at the Dumoine River Art Retreat, sponsored by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). Visitors can enjoy talks by the artists, a presentation on the importance of the Dumoine River watershed, food and drinks, and a concert by singer/songwriter Marc Audet. Featured artists include Bonnie McQuillan, Catherine Orfald, Ruth Tait, Susan Fraser, Aleta Karstad and Katharine Fletcher. The show, a fundraiser for CPAWS, runs until Sunday, June 12.
This is also the last week to catch the free Art Credo exhibition and sale at St. John the Evangelist Church in downtown Ottawa (154 Somerset Street West at Elgin). The show runs daily from noon until 6pm (until 8pm on Thursday and Friday).
Get inspiration for outdoor adventures in Nepean
The Ottawa Outdoor and Adventure Travel Show comes to the Nepean Sportsplex at 1701 Woodroffe Avenue on May 14 and 15 (10am to 6pm Saturday; 10am to 5pm Sunday). Visit the booths to shop for paddling, camping, cycling, hiking, adventure travel, health and ecotourism products. There will be lots of demonstrations, workshops and talks, too. Admission and parking are free.
Shameless plug: Drop by the Ottawa Press and Publishing booth at the show to pick up copies of my day trip and weekend getaway guidebooks. I should be there Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, and I’ll be giving a couple of talks during the show (times to be determined). It would be great to meet you.
Have some laughs in Pembroke
Veteran Canadian standup comic Derek Edwards is on stage at Festival Hall Centre for the Performing Arts in Pembroke on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30pm. His new 90-minute show, In Praise of the Ostrich, ranges widely from riffs on self-driving cars to commentary on the proliferation of weed shops.
Check out a farmers’ market and artisans’ show in Combermere
I just found out about this one! There’s a Spring Farmers’ Market and Artisans’ Show happening at the Combermere Community Centre on Saturday, May 14, from 10am to 3pm. Along with fresh food and handmade goods, you can pick up seeds at a seed exchange.
Bring your classic car to Kemptville
The Highway 43 Car Club is a keen group of classic car enthusiasts who hold a weekly cruise night in the parking lot of the Food Basics in Kemptville (2615 County Road 43). They’ve recently restarted the social events, which will take place from 6pm to dusk every Friday night until September 30 (including Friday, May 13).
Shop for new garden plants in Ottawa and Gananoque
The Friends of the Central Experimental Farm are holding their annual plant sale at the Ottawa farm on Sunday, May 15, from 8am to 1pm (rain or shine). Growers and master gardeners from across the region will be there. You can nibble on goodies from the refreshment tables and shop for new and used gardening books, too. There’s even a coat check, and volunteers will cart your finds to your car. Admission is free, but donations to the Friends are appreciated. To find the sale, follow the signs to the K.W. Neatby Building parking lot, near the corner of Carling Avenue and Maple Drive (just west of the Dominion Observatory).
The Unitarian GoGos, the GoGo Grannies of Aylmer and Ecology Ottawa are running a three-day plant sale at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa (May 13 to 15, 30 Cleary Avenue). The sale runs from 9am to 7pm on Friday and Saturday, and from 9am to 2pm on Sunday. Ecology Ottawa is running a tree giveaway on Friday, and there’s a pay-by-donation concert on Saturday at 4pm. Bedding plants and perennials will be available on a pay-what-you-can basis on all three days, and proceeds will go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation and Grandmothers to Grandmothers.
You could also check out the Gananoque Horticultural Society’s annual plant sale on Saturday, May 14. It’s happening at the Gananoque Recreation Centre, 600 King Street East, from 8am to 11am. You’ll find annuals, perennials, veggies, herbs, summer bulbs and tubers, and shrubs. Cash only.
See a play in Kanata or Cornwall
The Savannah Sipping Society is the story of four strong-willed Southern women who help each other reclaim their zest for life over the course of six months of get-togethers (and the odd alcoholic beverage). Kanata Theatre is staging it at the Ron Maslin Playhouse (1 Ron Maslin Way) from May 10 to 14 and May 17 to 21. All shows are at 7:30pm and tickets are $25.
In Cornwall, meanwhile, the Seaway Valley Theatre Company is offering There Goes the Bride, a comedy about a stressed-out father of the bride who hallucinates a sexy, unexpected guest at his daughter’s wedding. It’s on at the Seaway Valley Theatre (30 Sixth Street East) on various dates between May 13 and May 23. Evening shows are at 7:30pm, afternoon matinees are at 1:30pm and tickets are $25.
And for something completely different, Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Basketballs is a 90-minute funny puppet show in Almonte packed with local references. (Note that it’s not suitable for children.) The PuppetsUp! show is running from May 12 to 14 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, May 15, at 2pm, at the Almonte Old Town Hall (14 Bridge Street). Tickets are $30.
Enjoy concerts all over
The Ontario Festival of Small Halls (May 13 to 29) brings big-name acts to small venues across Eastern Ontario. This weekend, tickets are still available to shows by Grenadian-Canadian folk artist Kaia Kater, featured in the video above, in Brockville (May 13) and Manotick (May 14); Kingston Celtic musician Chris Murphy in Pakenham (May 13); and indie folk group Great Lake Swimmers in Prescott (May 14; the May 13 show in Manotick is sold out). All of these shows are at 7:30pm. Check the festival website for tickets and the complete schedule.
On May 10 at 7:30pm, the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra is presenting Idyll, a concert featuring pieces by Georg Philipp Telemann, Hugo Wolf and Leos Janacek, at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre. You can enjoy the concert in person (tickets range in price from $10 to $35) or via livestream ($10 for standalone tickets; all purchasers of in-person tickets also get access to the livestream for two weeks after the performance).
In Pembroke, Aeroforce—a tribute to the music of Aerosmith—will be rocking the Festival Hall Centre for the Performing Arts on Friday, May 13, at 7:30pm. Tickets are $39.50, plus taxes and fees.
At the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans, Chicago-based group The Lovettes will be staging Leader of the Pack, their tribute to the girl groups of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, on Saturday, May 14. Tickets are $54. They’ll also be doing a matinée show at the Brockville Arts Centre on Sunday, May 15, at 2pm; tickets for that one are $53 (includes HST). See video above for a sample.
Finally, Juno-winning smooth jazz guitarist Jesse Cook is on stage at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on Sunday, May 15, at 8pm. Tickets start at $68 plus processing fees.
Return to an Ottawa museum
Several local museums have recently reopened their doors for the season or are doing so this week. The Bank of Canada Museum (30 Bank Street) illuminates the history of currency, and it reopens on Thursday, May 12. From then on, it will be open from 10am to 5pm, Thursday through Monday; admission is free.
The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum (2940 Old Montreal Road), which recreates life in the 1920s and 1930s with lots of vintage buildings, reopened last weekend. It is now open from 10am to 5pm, Wednesday through Sunday, and tickets start at $6. It’s just one of many City of Ottawa museums across the capital.
Tiptoe through the lilacs in Rochester
Rochester is a bit of a drive from Ottawa. However, for lilac lovers who can’t wait for lilac-themed events closer to home later in May—such as the Franktown Lilac Festival in Lanark County on May 28—the Rochester Lilac Festival (May 6 to 8, 12 to 15, and 19 to 22) may be worth the road trip. If the weather cooperates, there will be lots of blooming flowers. If it doesn’t, there will be other special events to enjoy, including a health and wellness fair this weekend (May 14 and 15), a 5K and 10K run (Sunday, May 15), and a craft beer expo next weekend (Saturday, May 21). General admission is free, but some activities (such as yoga classes) require tickets that you can buy online in advance. The action is centred on Highland Park.
One more shameless plug
I’ll be signing copies of my new book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend Getaway Guide, at World of Maps bookstore (1191 Wellington Street West, Ottawa) from 1pm to 3pm on Saturday, May 14. Please drop by and say hi!
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais, northern New York state and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend 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.
2 comments
That’s really great, what you are doing to promote Ottawa Valley activities and events (as an event organizer). Thanks!
You’re most welcome! Anytime you have news to promote, don’t hesitate to send it my way. I’m always looking for ideas!