The long weekend is coming up quickly and the schedule is packed. Whether you like buskers, whitewater rafting, Mexican food, sidewalk sales, pioneer villages, caves or corgis, there’s something for you this week. Happy Victoria Day!
Celebrate spring flowers in Ottawa
This is the last week to pick-your-own tulips from the 350,000 blooms at Green Corners Farm in Edwards, a rural area in Ottawa’s southeast (1259 Yorks Corners Road). Open 9am to 7pm daily until Monday, May 23; you need to buy tickets in advance. (Thanks to reader Connie Allen for giving me the heads up on this one; she also provided the lovely photo above.)
The Canadian Tulip Festival continues until Monday, May 23, centered mainly on Commissioners Park (Preston Street at the Queen Elizabeth Driveway in Ottawa). There will be fireworks above Dows Lake at 10pm on Sunday, May 22, weather permitting.
Blossom Fest is a one-day free festival in Stittsville’s Crossing Bridge Park (27 Hobin Street) on Sunday, May 22, from 10am to 2pm. The fun includes an art show, tug-of-war competitions, a scavenger hunt, a bike rodeo, live music, storytelling and a dance party. The show will go on rain or shine.
Marvel at buskers in Kemptville
The free Kemptville Buskerfest (Saturday, May 21) will see much of the town’s downtown taken over by jugglers, stilt walkers, illusionists, clowns and musicians of all kinds. You can tuck into a pancake breakfast, compete in a scavenger hunt and even get a free goody bag (while supplies last). The event wraps up with an evening concert with blues singer Miss Emily (tickets required). Note that much of downtown will be closed to traffic, but you can park at the North Grenville Municipal Centre (285 County Road 44) and catch a shuttle bus to the event.
See two romantic plays in Burritts Rapids
Two local community theatre companies—Osgoode’s ITR Theatre and Kemptville’s North Grenville Community Theatre—have combined forces to stage an evening of two one-act romantic plays: How He Lied to Her Husband by George Bernard Shaw and The Marriage Proposal by Anton Chekhov. In another unusual twist, the production will run for a single night only in a variety of small venues, as a fundraiser. First up is the Burritts Rapids Community Hall, which will host the show at 7pm on Friday, May 20. Future shows will take place in Osgoode, Kemptville, Metcalfe and Pierce’s Corners; check the website for details and contact each organizer for ticket prices.
Take the kids to an Ottawa festival
The Ottawa Children’s Festival de la jeunesse (May 19 to 29) is a huge performing arts festival spread across three downtown locations: LeBreton Flats Park, the Canadian War Museum and Arts Court. Storytellers, puppeteers, acrobats, musicians, visual artists, magicians and others will draw their young audiences into imaginative worlds; the video above gives you a taste of what’s in store. Shows are offered in English and/or French and are geared to various age groups under 10. Ticket prices vary.
Start celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for 70 years, and people around the world are marking the anniversary in all sorts of ways over the next few months.
In Ottawa, there will be a two-day celebration (May 21 and 22) on Sparks Street with massed pipe bands, Highland dancers and other Celtic-style entertainment. You can sign a card of congratulations for the Queen, too. On Saturday night, there will be a celeidh at Deacon Brodie’s Pub (247 Elgin Street) to mark International Whisky Day. On Sunday, a corgi parade will waddle down Sparks Street, starting at the bear statue (corner of Sparks and Metcalfe) at 2:30pm. Note that the parade may be moved to Saturday if the forecast is poor, so check the parade’s Facebook page for updates.
Between Almonte and Carleton Place, the North Lanark Heritage Museum (647 River Road, Appleton) is holding a Queen’s Royal Tea on the lawn on Saturday, May 21 (rain date is Sunday). There will be seatings at 11:30am, 12:30pm and 1:30pm, and tickets are $15. Reserve by 4pm on Wednesday, May 18.
Planning ahead? The Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum (267 Edmund Street, Carleton Place) is holding a British-style garden party to mark the Jubilee on Saturday, June 4, from 1pm to 4pm. Admission is free but advance registration is required.
Also on Saturday, June 4, the British High Commission is opening the high commissioner’s residence (Earnscliffe, 140 Sussex Drive, Ottawa) for tours as part of Doors Open Ottawa. They’re also throwing a big street party. Tours and party admission are free; food and drinks will be on sale at the party. Again, you need to register in advance (and I suspect tickets will go quickly).
CTV Ottawa has a big list of all the Jubilee commemorations in our region that recently received federal funding.
Catch a concert in Ottawa, Athens or Dacre
Juno-winning country music star Brett Kissel (see video above) is on stage at the Arena at TD Place on Friday, May 20, with special guest Jess Moskaluke.
The Festival of Small Halls is back for its second weekend. As of May 17, several shows were sold out, but you could still get tickets to see Basia Bulat in the Joshua Bates Centre in Athens on Saturday, May 21, at 7:30pm, or Ashley MacIsaac at the DACA Community Hall in Dacre on Sunday, May 22, at 3pm. (Plan ahead: There are still tickets available for four of the five shows on the festival’s final weekend, May 27 to 29.)
Shop in Brockville, Kemptville, Merrickville, Lanark Highlands, Perth or Lyndhurst
The Kemptville Night Market returns to the Kemptville Campus Greenhouse (75 Campus Drive) on Thursday, May 19, from 4:30pm to 7:30pm. Shop from local vendors, nosh on freshly made treats and enjoy live music. Admission and parking are free, but donations to the Beth Donovan Hospice are appreciated.
The weekly Night Market on Perth Street in Brockville also launches for the season on Thursday. Featuring artisans, live music and more, it runs from 5pm to 8pm on Thursdays throughout the spring and summer at 5–13 Perth Street.
On Saturday, May 21, the village of Lyndhurst is holding a sidewalk, plant, yard and craft sale along its main drag, Lyndhurst Road, from 9am to 3pm. There will be a fish fry dinner at the local Legion, too.
That same day, the Sweet and Salty Picnic Party is a small vendors’ market focused on food (a highlight will be the launch of local shop Pickle & Myrrh’s new pretzel caramels). It’s happening in the Baldachin Courtyard at 110 Main Street East in Merrickville from 10am to 3pm. Visitors are encouraged to order picnic boxes from local restaurants.
Also on Saturday, the Lanark and District Museum (80 George Street, Lanark Highlands) is celebrating its re-opening after two long years with a fundraising yard sale, starting at 9am. (P.S.: If you’re looking for info on other museums and attractions that are re-opening for the season this weekend, scroll down to the end of this post.)
This year, the monthly Sunday markets at Ecotay (133 Menzies Munroe Side Road, Perth) will each have a different theme. On Sunday, May 22, it will be a Mental Health and Self-Care Market (10am to 4pm).
Revel in Mexican culture at Lansdowne Park
Mexico in the Glebe (Aberdeen Pavilion, 1000 Exhibition Way, Ottawa) is a one-night fiesta celebrating tacos, tequila, mariachi bands, mezcal and all other things Mexican. It’s happening on Friday, May 20, from 6pm to midnight, and tickets are $20.
Check out a festival in Cornwall
Cornwall is home to not one, but two, festivals this weekend. Cornwall 1784: A Celebration of Friendship (May 20 to 22) is a celebration of Ontario’s beginnings organized by the SDG Historical Society and the Cornwall Community Museum. The festivities in Lamoureux Park (100 Water Street East) include cultural performances, historical displays and re-enactments focusing on the area’s founding cultures—Indigenous peoples, French-Canadians and Loyalists. Free admission.
Meanwhile, Rock the River—a one-day event featuring three live bands, 14 craft breweries and three local food vendors—comes to Pointe Maligne (2 Bergeron Drive) on Saturday, May 21, from 1:30pm to 10pm. General admission tickets are $22.13 plus tax.
Come back to your favourite local attraction
This weekend, lots of local tourist sites are re-opening for the season. Here are just a few of the many, many places that are (I’m sure) very happily throwing open their doors once again for visitors.
- Upper Canada Village, 13740 County Road 2, Morrisburg: From May 21 to September 18, this living history museum will be open seven days a week, from 9:30am to 5pm (last ticket sold at 4:30pm). General adult admission tickets are $24 plus HST, with different prices for other ages. Advance ticket purchase highly recommended.
- Manoir Papineau National Historic Site, 500 rue Notre-Dame, Montebello: Learn about rebel and statesman Louis-Joseph Papineau in this grand Victorian mansion near the Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello. Open from May 21 to October 10 from 10am to 5pm. From May 21 until June 17, it will be open on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Between June 18 and September 5, it will be open from Wednesday through Sunday and holidays. And from September 6 to October 10, it will be open from Friday to Sunday and holidays. Entry fees range from $7 to $8.50. Admission is free for youth aged 17 and under.
- Glengarry Pioneer Museum, 1645 County Road 30, Dunvegan: This great collection of pioneer structures east of Ottawa is open daily (except Mondays) from 10am to 4pm, from May 21 until September. Regular admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students; free for children under 5 and for museum members.
- Fulford Place, 287 King Street East, Brockville: This grand mansion, built by a man who made his fortune in patent medicines, will be open from Wednesdays through Sundays from May 21 until July 1. Tours run on the hour from 10am to 4pm (except between noon and 1pm, when the museum is closed). General adult admissions are $10, including HST; prices vary for other ages and groups, and children under six are admitted free. See video above.
- Whitewater rafting in Foresters Falls: Both Wilderness Tours and OWL Rafting launch their 2022 whitewater rafting season on May 21. Each has a huge range of outings and packages; check their websites for details.
- Bonnechere Caves, 1247 Fourth Chute Road, Eganville: This fascinating underground site will be open daily from May 21 until September 5, 10am to 4pm, then shorter hours until Thanksgiving. Tickets range from $13 to $20 per person, including taxes; children under 4 visit free.
- Thousand Islands Boat Museum, 125 Water Street, Gananoque: Learn about the history of boats—particularly those that have plied the St. Lawrence River—at this free museum. From May 21 until June 30, it will be open Friday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. From July 1 until September 5, the hours are the same but the museum is open seven days a week.
- Fort Henry, 1 Fort Henry Drive, Kingston: This 1830s military installation will be open daily from May 21 to September 4, from 10am to 5pm (last ticket sold at 4:30pm). General adult admission tickets are $20 plus HST, with different prices for other ages. Advance ticket purchase highly recommended.
- NCC Weekend Bikedays, various parkways in Ottawa-Gatineau: OK, this isn’t technically a tourist attraction—but it’s in the same general vein! Once again this year, the NCC will be reserving parkways around the region for cyclists, pedestrians and other non-motorized users on certain days. (The schedule is quite complicated, so do check the website.) The initiative runs from May 14 until October 10.
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.