The fun just keeps on coming this week. For music lovers, there are festivals all over the place, including events in Perth, Wendover and Quebec City. If visual art is more your speed, there’s an elf-like art show in a forest north of Kingston, a studio tour near Barry’s Bay, and new exhibitions in Chelsea and Almonte. Learn about river fish in Cornwall or cheer on volleyball players at Mooney’s Bay. Or catch a play in Ottawa—including, finally, the smash musical Hamilton. Have a great week!
Watch equestrian show jumpers in Nepean
This weekend, Wesley Clover Parks (401 Corkstown Road, Ottawa) will play host to the second weekend of the Ottawa Summer Tournaments, a series of top-level show-jumping equestrian competitions (July 14 to 17). Tickets start at $13.13 plus fees, and weekly passes are available.
Join a community party in Kars or Marionville
Kars, on Ottawa’s rural southern edge, is celebrating its 200th anniversary on Saturday, July 16, and everyone’s invited to the free party. The festivities will include a pancake breakfast, car show, scavenger hunt, canoe/kayak poker run, walking tour, bouncy castle and lots of other fun. The festival runs from 8am to 8pm, and the hub of the activities is the Kars Recreation Centre (1604 Old Wellington Street, Kars).
On Wednesdays until August 3, small communities across North Dundas are taking turns hosting Meet Me on Main Street, a family-friendly get-together featuring live music, local craft beers and lots of food. On Wednesday, July 13, it’s Marionville’s turn, with music by Green Martini. All Meet Me on Main Street events run from 5pm to 8pm, and you can see the weekly schedule on the event’s website.
Enjoy music in Ottawa and lots of other places
The popular—and free—Stewart Park Festival returns to its namesake park (41 Mill Street, Perth) from July 15 to 17. Along with dozens of folk, blues and other concerts by the likes of Suzie Vinnick, Wesli, the Arrogant Worms, Miss Emily, and Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, the Perth festival features a kids’ fun area, a vendors’ market, a beer patio, a duck race and other amusements. A shuttle bus will ferry people from the outskirts of Perth to the festival site.
The hills of Mont Tremblant will be alive with the sound of blues music (and R&B, soul, jazz, swing, rock and country) during this year’s Festival International du Blues de Tremblant (July 14 to 16). Choose from dozens of free shows.
With bingo, whist and kids’ activities, the Wendover Western Festival (July 13 to 17) offers lots to do even if you wouldn’t know Toby Keith from Toby Maguire. But if you do know your country music, there are all sorts of shows to enjoy.
In the same vein, country tunes are the star attraction at the Shawville Lions Country Jamboree (July 14 to 17) in West Quebec’s Pontiac region. Performers will include Gail Gavin, Dan Paul Rogers and Dennis Whitty.
RBC Bluesfest continues at LeBreton Flats in Ottawa until July 17. Hot tickets this week include Luke Bryan (Thursday), Crash Test Dummies (also Thursday), Rage Against the Machine (Friday), TLC (Saturday) and Ja Rule (also Saturday).
Continuing until Sunday, July 17, is the huge Festival d’été de Québec, which brings scores of top acts to Quebec City each summer. You still have time to see Marshmello (July 13), Luis Fonsi (July 14), Alanis Morissette (July 15) or Rage Against the Machine (July 16), among others. Ticket prices vary.
Also continuing until July 17 is Ottawa’s Music and Beyond classical music festival; events this week include a special performance at the Cumberland Village Heritage Museum on Saturday, July 16.
Outdoors at Empire Square in downtown Belleville, Empire Rockfest (July 14 to 16) features The Tea Party, The Glorious Sons and lots of other acts. Ticket prices vary; weekend passes are also available.
And looking ahead to early next week, Musical Mondays continue at Fairbairn House in Wakefield with children’s entertainers Butterfingers on Monday, July 18, starting at 6:30pm. Tickets are $6.32 plus fees (children 2 and under are admitted free).
Laugh till it hurts in Montreal
Need a good giggle? Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival (July 13 to July 31) may be just the ticket. Comics on stage this year include Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, Hasan Minhaj (see video above), John Mulaney, Celeste Barber and Jimmy O. Yang. Most of the big-name shows are later in the month, so you may still have time to get good tickets.
Celebrate Lebanese culture in Ottawa
Ottawa’s Lebanese community is celebrating its heritage during the Ottawa Lebanese Festival (July 13 to 17) at the St. Elias Cathedral near Mooney’s Bay. Visitors can enjoy a midway, eat falafel and shawarma, and see dancers, musicians, cultural displays and more. There’s a free shuttle service from the Canada Post headquarters parking lot daily after 4pm. Admission is free if you arrive before 5pm; otherwise, it’s $3 per person or $10 per family of four.
Take in a fair in Almonte, Avonmore or Lansdowne
Feel like a fair? The Almonte Fair (July 15 to 17) features a midway, a demolition derby, a beer garden, livestock contests and more. The amusements at the Avonmore Fair (July 15 to 17) include livestock shows, a children’s talent show and bouncy castles. From July 15 to 17, the Lansdowne Fair (in the Eastern Ontario town, not the Ottawa park) will be offering a demolition derby and tractor pulls, along with activities as diverse as a cow chip raffle, a chainsaw challenge and a children’s pig scramble.
Get active in Ontario parks
Friday, July 15, is Healthy Parks Healthy People Day, and admission to all Ontario provincial parks is free that day! (You’ll still need to pay if you want to stay overnight.) It’s a great opportunity to discover a new-to-you park.
Walk, pedal or paddle in Sydenham
The Sydenham Lakes and Trails Festival on Saturday, July 16, gives walkers and cyclists the chance to explore scenic routes in and around the small community of Sydenham, north of Kingston. You can also enjoy children’s activities and a natural heritage expo—and it’s all free.
Celebrate diversity in Gatineau
Festival Kafé-Karamel (July 14 to 16) is a free outdoor festival taking place on Kent, Laval, Aubry and Wellington streets in the Hull sector of Gatineau. Billed as an Afro-Latino festival, the 10th annual edition will likely have the streets thrumming with tropical music and dance once again. The video above, from 2019, gives you a taste of what you can expect.
Introduce your kids to marine life in Cornwall
The Saunders Hydro Dam Visitor Centre in Cornwall (2500B Second Street West) is offering two sessions of A Wonderful Watery World on Saturday, July 16: one from 10am to 11:30am, and the other from 12pm to 1:30pm. In each of the workshops, scientists from the River Institute will discuss all sorts of St. Lawrence River fish (including invasive species), show you and your kids how to build a microscope and—for the non-squeamish—host a live dissection. Tickets are free but you need to reserve in advance.
Catch a horror, SF or fantasy movie in Montreal
The Fantasia International Film Festival (July 14 to August 3) is a wide-ranging Montreal event that screens genre films from around the world, including science fiction, fantasy and horror movies. You might see a Hollywood blockbuster or you could discover an indie gem you’d never find at your local multiplex.
See vintage vehicles in Merrickville, Athens or Syracuse
Billing itself as “the largest car show in the Northeast,” the Syracuse Nationals Car Show rolls into the New York State Fairgrounds (581 State Fair Blvd., Syracuse) this weekend (July 15 to 17). Thousands of cars made before 1985 will be on display. The show runs from 8am to 6pm on Friday and Saturday, and 8pm to 3pm on Sunday. Tickets are available at the door and cost $25 for adults and $10 for kids aged 6 to 12. Children under 6 are admitted free.
Closer to home, the Farmersville Exhibition in Athens, Ontario (July 15 to 17) will have a wide range of vintage machinery, antique vehicles and steam-powered engines on display. There’s also the Merrickville Classic Car Show at the Merrickville Fairgrounds (106 Read Street) on Sunday, July 17, from 9am to 3pm.
See a play in Ottawa
Ottawa Little Theatre (400 King Edward Avenue) is staging the Agatha Christie play Witness for the Prosecution—a twisty courtroom mystery about a man accused of murder and the wife who testifies against him—from July 13 to 30. There are performances nightly at 7:30pm, as well as Sunday matinées at 2:30pm on July 17 and 24. Tickets are $14 for students, $26 for seniors (60+) and $30 for all other adults.
Also, a little play you might have heard of called Hamilton is finally opening at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa (July 13 to 31). Believe it or not, there are still some tickets available for the touring show, which has been the subject of great anticipation since it was announced pre-pandemic. The Lin-Manuel Miranda musical about American founding father Alexander Hamilton runs from Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7:30pm, with matinées at 2pm on Saturdays and 1pm on Sundays. Ticket prices start at $91.50. The NAC is at 1 Elgin Street.
Catch a new art exhibition in Ottawa, Almonte or Chelsea
In Almonte, a new show is opening at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum (3 Rosamond Street East) on Saturday, July 16. In the Forest features the work of textile artist Kai Chan. The pieces build on an urban dweller’s sense of mystery when exploring the woods. The show runs until September 17. The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday, from 1pm to 4pm, and admission is free.
La Fab sur Mill art gallery in Chelsea has launched a new exhibition of paintings by Gatineau artist Danielle Doucet, who works uses watercolours and acrylics to create abstract and representational art. Vue runs until August 21, and the gallery is open from Friday through Sunday from 1pm to 5pm.
And 16 members of the Merrickville Artists Guild are showcasing their work in Ottawa in the gallery on the second floor of the ByWard Market Building (55 ByWard Market Square) until August 21. There’s a grand opening this Saturday, July 16, from 11am to 6pm.
Enjoy a summer festival in Trenton
Downtown Trenton’s Festival on the Bay (July 14 to 16) features a sidewalk sale, a pancake breakfast, kids’ activities, fireworks, live music and more.
Enjoy volleyball and July Talk at Mooney’s Bay
The world’s largest one-day volleyball tournament rolls onto Mooney’s Bay Beach (2960 Riverside Drive, Ottawa) on Saturday, July 16. The H.O.P.E. Volleyball SummerFest features volleyball games galore (natch), concerts by July Talk (see video above), Kimberly Sunstrum and more, and lots of other fun under the sun. It’s free to watch the games; concert tickets are $22.60 plus fees (free for children 9 and under). Proceeds will support five charities. Note that the festival has gone cashless this year, so bring a credit or debit card if you want to buy anything onsite, such as food and drinks. (Fingers crossed that Rogers behaves itself!)
Browse for art in South Frontenac, the Madawaska Valley or the Eastern Townships
Fantasy in the Forest (July 16 and 17, 10am to 5pm) is a one-of-a-kind mixed-media art show and sale. It takes place in a forest in South Frontenac, about 150 kilometres southwest of Ottawa, and has a distinctly fairy-tale/elfin vibe. Admission is free. The location is about halfway between Westport and Kingston; the exact address is 1860 Draper Lake Road, Perth Road, Ontario.
The Madawaska Valley Studio Tour (July 15 to 17, 10am to 5pm daily) features two dozen artists scattered across a wide swath of the Madawaska Valley in Eastern Ontario, roughly between Eganville and Barry’s Bay.
If you’re up for a longer road trip, the Tour des Arts studio tour focuses on the Eastern Townships region of Quebec and showcases almost 40 creators. It runs daily from 10am to 5pm, from July 16 to 24.
(If you love studio tours but can’t make it to these, here’s my roundup of 25+ studio tours within easy reach of Ottawa.)
Applaud buskers in Alexandria Bay
Jugglers, acrobats and other performers will be taking to the streets of Alexandria Bay, New York, this weekend during the Buskers in the Bay festival (July 14 to 17).
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