Get out your maps and calendars, folks: If you’re going to get to even a fraction of everything going on in and around Ottawa this week, you’re gonna need a plan. There are four pro sports games at TD Place alone! From an artisan festival in Barry’s Bay and a Shakespeare festival in Prescott to drive-in bingo in Carp, a comedy festival in Gatineau and the massive musical happening that is Bluesfest, there’s something for just about every taste going on this week. Have fun!
See a free sound and light show on Parliament Hill
After a two-year hiatus, the free Northern Lights sound-and-light show on Parliament Hill is back. The multimedia show, which projects stories and images of Canada onto the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings, has been enhanced this year with content related to Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. (The video above is from the 2019 version of the show, so it doesn’t include the new content but gives you an idea of what the installation is all about.) The show will run nightly from Thursdays through Mondays, beginning on July 7, until September 5. In July, it starts at 10pm; in August, at 9:30pm; and in early September at 9pm.
Hum along to classic rock and pop in Brockville
It’s a week of musical tributes at the Brockville Arts Centre (235 King Street West, Brockville). First up is Night Fever, a celebration of the music of the Bee Gees (with, oddly, some music by Adele as well). It runs on Wednesday, July 6, and Thursday, July 7, at 8pm, with an additional matinée on Thursday at 2pm. On Saturday, July 9, it’s Trilogy, a tribute to the music of Journey, Styx and Foreigner, at 8pm. For both productions, single show tickets are $35.50 plus HST; you can also buy a subscription package.
Stop and smell the flowers in Prince Edward County
This is the second and last weekend of the Lavender Festival at Prince Edward County Lavender (732 Closson Road, Hillier). On July 9 and 10, pick your own lavender, see distilling demonstrations, visit food vendors, and enjoy kids’ activities and live entertainment.
Chat with authors in Eganville
The annual Bonnechere Authors Festival of Monday night author readings kicks off on Monday, July 4, at The Eagle’s Nest (Eganville Arena, 178 Jane Street, Eganville). Featured authors this year are true crime author Norm Boucher (July 4), biographer Merilyn Simonds (July 11), and memoirists Rick Prashaw (July 18) and Brenda Missen (July 25). Tickets to this fundraiser for the Bonnechere Union Public Library are $20 at the door; season passes are $60 in advance. Doors open at 6:30pm each evening for desserts and drinks, with the speaker starting at 7pm.
Rock on in Ottawa, Saint-André-d’Argenteuil or Quebec City
The huge RBC Ottawa Bluesfest opens on LeBreton Flats this week (and runs from July 7 to 17), with acts ranging from Sarah McLachlan (July 7) and Femi Kuti & The Positive Force (July 9) to Alanis Morissette (July 10), Alexisonfire (July 13), Luke Bryan (July 14), Rage Against the Machine (July 15) and Ja Rule (July 16). A wide range of day passes, “pick three” passes and full festival passes are available (although youth full fest passes and some VIP passes are sold out).
A bit confusingly, the Montreal Electronic Music Festival (July 8 to 10) isn’t in Montreal at all. Conveniently for Ottawa music fans, it’s in Parc Carillon in Saint-André-d’Argenteuil, Quebec. That’s a short ferry ride across the Ottawa River from Pointe Fortune, on the Ontario–Quebec border. You can camp onsite—all the better for taking in the festival’s many, many hours of music. Tickets start at $50 without camping.
Further afield, the huge Festival d’été de Québec (July 6 to 17) brings scores of top acts to Quebec City each summer. This week, you could see Jack Johnson (July 7), Luke Combs (July 8), Maroon 5 (July 9) or Lucacris (July 10), among many others. Ticket prices vary.
Have some laughs in Gatineau
Need a laugh? If you can follow French well enough to get some rapid-fire jokes, the Festival d’Humour de Gatineau (July 7 to 9) may offer just the giggles you’re looking for. You can buy a one-day pass for $50 or a pass for the whole festival for $85. The festival site is Parc Place de la Cité (550, boulevard de la Cité). Here’s a map with transit and parking information.
Enjoy Texas tunes in Almonte and Winchester
Act quickly if you want to catch one of these two shows by The Texas Horns, a blues and soul act from Austin. They’re at the Almonte Old Town Hall on Monday, July 4, and the Winchester Old Town Hall on Tuesday, July 5. Tickets for each show are $45 plus fees. In the video above, you can see what a big hit the group was at Bluesfest a few years ago.
Catch a play in Ottawa, Prescott, Morrisburg, Gananoque or Kingston
After a temporary delay, A Company of Fools is launching its 2022 production of Shakespeare’s castaway drama The Tempest on Monday, July 4, in Strathcona Park in Sandy Hill. The company will be performing the tale of Prospero, Miranda and Caliban in outdoor settings across Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais throughout the summer. This week, they’ll also be at Bel-Air Park in Nepean (Tuesday), Longleaf Park in Orleans (Wednesday), the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonald’s Corners (Thursday), Champlain Park in Ottawa’s near west end (Friday) and Beechwood Cemetery in Manor Park (Saturday). Here’s the whole summer schedule. Admission to any of the performances is pay-what-you-can, all shows start at 7pm and the production runs 90 minutes.
The St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in Prescott opens for the season this week with the first of three productions: Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s beloved comedy of mistaken identities. It runs nightly from Monday to Saturday from July 9 to 23 at 7pm, with an additional 1pm matinée on Saturdays. Shows later in the summer are The 39 Steps (July 30 to August 13) and The Red Priest (August 17 to 20). All performances take place in the amphitheatre at the Sandra S. Lawn Harbour and Marina (191 Water Street East, Prescott), on the shore of the St. Lawrence River.
Tickets are $33 for adults and $23 for students, with a $5 discount on Mondays. Children 14 and under attend for free. Season subscriptions are also available. The shows take place rain or shine (unless there’s a thunderstorm or similar dangerous weather). P.S.: The festival will host The Company of Fools for a performance of The Tempest on Tuesday, July 26.
Over in Morrisburg, the Upper Canada Playhouse (12320 County Road 2, Morrisburg) is staging a “country comedy” called Sugar Road (July 7 to 31). The rom-com hinges on a woman who tries to keep her family’s amusement park solvent by booking a country star—and old flame—for a Spurs and Hearts Festival. The Playhouse is offering both matinée and evening performances, and tickets start at $25 for students and $30 for adults.
The life and times of Nova Scotian civil rights icon Viola Desmond (who appears on the Canadian $10 bill) are the focus of the musical Hey Viola! The cabaret-style one-woman show was co-created by star Krystle Dos Santos and director Tracey Power. It’s on stage at the Firehall Theatre of the Thousand Islands Playhouse (185 South Street, Gananoque) until July 16.
This is also your last week to catch the Playhouse’s production of Perfect Wedding, a farce about nuptials that are anything but ideal. It is running until July 10 at the Springer Theatre (690 Charles Street South, Gananoque).
Tickets for these two shows range in price from $19 to $41.
A bit further afield, Domino Theatre in Kingston is presenting a One-Act Play Festival for one night only—Friday, July 8—in its theatre at 62 Church Street. Audiences will see three plays: Hair Ball (a groovy take on the 1960s), A Mouse No More (a shy woman steps out of the shadow of her marriage) and The Auditions (a playwright tweaks his play to suit the skills of the actors). A jury will judge the shows, and the winning production will go on to compete in the Eastern Ontario Drama League’s festival in November. Tickets are $20 for adults, and $10 for students and children. They’re available online or at the door.
Enjoy outdoor art in the Outaouais and Hawkesbury
All summer, a range of outdoor exhibitions across the Outaouais and in Hawkesbury will showcase artworks made from recycled materials. The shows, collectively known as Recycl’Art, include a show that opens this week at Brewery Creek in Gatineau (July 9 to August 28); current shows running until July 15 in Lac Sainte-Marie and until August 28 in Wakefield and Hawkesbury; and upcoming installations in Val-des-Bois (July 17 to August 1), Montebello (August 2 to 20) and Val-des-Monts (August 21 to September 5). The video above, from the 2016 edition of the event, gives you a sense of the types of creations you might see this year.
Play drive-in bingo in Carp
Under the B: a fun night out! Drive-in bingo is an annual tradition at the Carp Fairgrounds (3790 Carp Road). This year, get your chips and daubers ready on Wednesday nights, from July 6 until August 3. Gates open at 5pm. Bingo cards are $15 each. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be on sale. Kids are welcome but are not allowed to play.
See buskers in Kingston
Five downtown sites in the Limestone City will host countless outdoor performances during Kingston Buskers Rendezvous (July 7 to 10). Jugglers, dancers and all sorts of other artists—including Kobbler Jay, featured in the video above—will be using their talents to entertain the crowds. It runs from 6pm to 10pm on Thursday and Friday, 3pm to 10pm on Saturday, and 11am to 6pm on Sunday. Free.
Celebrate Indian culture in Montreal
The Festival of India (July 9 and 10) in Montreal includes a parade on St. Laurent Boulevard, as well as dance and musical performances, yoga and dance workshops, a children’s area, a South Asian bazaar, food, face painting, henna painting, and other amusements in Jeanne Mance Park (at the corner of Parc and Mont-Royal avenues).
Discover a historic site
Hundreds of historic sites across Canada are participating in Historic Places Days (July 8 to 31), offering a special invitation to come check them out. Click on the “places” tab in the link above to find sites near you participating in the event. Laurier House in Ottawa, the Spencerville Mill and Museum, and Manoir Papineau in Montebello are among the many sites in Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais taking part. And if you take a selfie during your visit and enter it in the event’s contest, you’ll be eligible for prizes!
Check out an artisan or vintage market in Ottawa or Barry’s Bay
On Saturday, July 9, the Osgoode Township Museum (7814 Lawrence Street, Vernon) is hosting the second of its three summer pop-up markets from 10am to 2pm. As well as picking up items from local artisans, you can shop for fresh produce.
The Glebe Art in Our Gardens and Studio Tour takes place this weekend (July 9 and 10, 10am to 4pm). You can see art by over two dozen artists at sites scattered across the downtown Ottawa neighbourhood. Works will include paintings, photographs and pottery.
Also in the Glebe, the popular 613flea market is on outdoors at Lansdowne Park (1015 Bank Street) on Saturday, July 9, from 10am to 4pm. The market will run rain or shine. Shop for vintage finds and artisans’ pieces from some 130 vendors, including market newcomers The Paperhood (local jigsaw puzzles), Côte Fleurs (fresh flowers) and Look Smart (jewellery made from old cell phones). Food trucks will be on hand, too. Free admission.
Finally, you can browse for unique items created by lots of local makers at the Madawaska Valley Artisan Festival on Saturday, July 9, at Railway Station Park (19503 Opeongo Line, Barry’s Bay), from 10am to 5pm.
Take in a huge slate of classical music in Ottawa
The Music and Beyond Festival (July 4 to 17) presents roughly 100 classical music concerts and events in a variety of venues all over Ottawa. This year, you can choose from a Handel gala, shows aimed at children, an afternoon of Bach, a program mixing Québecois and Irish stepdancing music, and much, much more. Tickets start at $10.
Cheer at a basketball, soccer or rugby game, or an equestrian tournament
This weekend and next, the Wesley Clover Parks site (401 Corkstown Road, Ottawa) will play host to the Ottawa Summer Tournaments, a series of top-level show-jumping competitions (July 7 to 10, and July 14 to 17). In some cases, rich prizes are at stake—in two events, the purse for the winning rider is $50,000! Tickets start at $13.13 plus fees, and weekly passes are available.
Meanwhile, over at TD Place at Lansdowne Park (1015 Bank Street, Ottawa), a packed sports schedule includes two games for the Ottawa Blackjacks basketball team: one against the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Wednesday, July 6, and another against the Fraser Valley Bandits on Friday, July 8; both games start at 7:30pm. On Saturday, July 9, Atlético Ottawa pits its soccer skills against the Canadian Premier League-leading Cavalry FC from Calgary; game time is 7pm. And on Sunday, July 10, Canada’s national rugby team is taking on the Spanish Rugby Union, starting at 4pm. Ticket prices vary.
Thrill to the circus in Montreal
The Montreal Cirque Festival (July 5 to 17) brings acrobats, trapeze artists and all sorts of other circus performers to indoor and outdoor venues across the city for a mix of free and paid performances.
Enjoy a music festival in Renfrew, Montreal or Lakefield
Headliners The Grascals and Nothin’ Fancy are among the eight acts that will be entertaining audiences over the four days of the Renfrew Bluegrass Festival (July 7 to 10). Day passes start at $17.41 plus fees; or you can get an all-weekend pass (which includes camping privileges) for $88.30 plus fees. It’s happening at Ma-Te-Way Park (1 Ma-Te-Way Park Drive, Renfrew).
You still have time to catch the end of the huge TD Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, which continues until July 9 with a huge range of performances at various prices. American-Brazilian singer-songwriter Bebel Gilberto (see video above) performs on the festival’s final night at Place des Arts (175 Ste. Catherine Street West).
Prefer a small-town vibe? Head west instead of east for the one-day Lakefield Jazz, Art and Craft Festival on Saturday, July 9. You can see the whole slate of shows, which start at noon and run until 10:30pm or so, for just $10. Tickets are available at the gate at Isabel Morris Park (20 Concession Street, Lakefield).
Browse for gems and fossils in Syracuse
Do you love fossils, gemstones and jewellery? Then you may just want to head south of the border for this weekend’s Syracuse Gem & Mineral, Fossil & Jewelry Show (July 12 to 14). Shop for treasures, learn about geology and gems at hourly presentations, and let the kids loose to try soapstone carving and other activities.
Celebrate world cultures in Belleville
The Belleville Waterfront and Multicultural Festival (West Zwick’s Island Park, 10 Bay Bridge Road, July 7 to 10) features a midway, canine water sports shows, face painting, a marketplace, buskers and the chance to sample cuisines from countries as diverse as Poland, Mexico, Portugal and Tibet. There’s lots of live music, too. Festival admission and concerts are free. One-day midway bracelets (good for all the rides you can handle) are $28 in advance or $35 at the gate. Helicopter rides are $60 per person. The festival is open from 4pm to 11pm on Thursday, 11am to 11pm on Friday and Saturday, and 11am to 5pm on Sunday.
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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.