Whether you’re a history buff, a music or theatre fan, a beer connoisseur, or a dog lover, there’s something happening in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario or the Outaouais for you between July 18 and July 24, 2022. From a mysterious bus tour in Long Sault and a big music festival in Kemptville to a new play about Tom Thomson in Pembroke, a beer festival in Gatineau and an Asian festival on Sparks Street, the week’s calendar is packed once again. Enjoy!
Enjoy dinner on Main Street in South Mountain
The summer community dinners across North Dundas continue this week, with the fourth Meet Me on Main Street event happening on Wednesday, July 20, in South Mountain (5pm to 8pm). Local vendors and food producers will be on hand, including Smokie Ridge Vineyard, Humble Beginnings Brewery and King’s Lock Craft Distillery, and Sons of Gord will be providing live music.
Go on a magical mystery tour of the Lost Villages near Long Sault
The Farran Mackenzie History Mystery Bus Tour on Saturday, July 23, is a rare opportunity to tour the area of the Lost Villages—a group of communities along the St. Lawrence River that were purposely flooded in 1958 during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway—with three local experts. Leading the tour will be crime author Maggie Wheeler, who has written numerous novels set in the area; Jim Brownell, president of the Lost Villages Historical Society; and Rosemary O’Flaherty, PhD, author of Damming the Remains: Traces of the Lost Seaway Communities. The four-hour tour starts at Christ Church Anglican in Long Sault at 11:45am and includes a tea reception at the church at the end of the day. Tickets are $72 per person.
Eat and drink your way around Asia, in Ottawa
At the Ottawa Asian Fest Night Market (July 22 to 24) on Sparks Street, you can sip on bubble tea, enjoy live music, and try just about every kind of Asian food imaginable. The event is free and family friendly. Some vendors accept debit, but bring a bit of cash just to be on the safe side. Dogs are welcome but must be leashed. The video above, from the old location, gives you a sense of what you can expect.
And there’s also the Ottawa Chinatown Night Market (July 22 to 24), on Somerset West between Bronson Avenue and Bell Street North, where you can enjoy even more Asian street snacks and live entertainment.
Head to a fair in Beachburg or Delta
The Beachburg Fair (July 22 to 24) features everything from livestock competitions to pony rides, a demolition derby and a midway. Also this weekend, the fun at the Delta Fair (July 21 to 24) includes truck and tractor pulls, live music, a baby show, and lawn mower races.
Raise a glass in Gatineau
Festibière Gatineau (July 20 to 23, and July 27 to 30) is a two-weekend celebration of craft beer and live music—with pedal boats and pools, too! Some 30 breweries will be there, serving up their brews. And on July 28, there’s a special five-course BBQ dinner with Chef Colosse Guillaume Cloutier and beer sommelier Martin Gravel ($75 per person). The festival’s on at Place des Festivals Zibi (60, rue Jos-Montferrand). Three-hour tickets for a specific day are $23.95, and all-festival passes are $85. Children 12 and under are admitted free.
Attend a free arts festival in Merrickville
The Merrickville Festival of the Arts is returning this year to the village’s Blockhouse Park (279 St. Lawrence Street) on July 23 and 24. The free, family-friendly event offers up artsy fun galore, including poetry, one-act plays, visual art, live music and a community mural painting event. It runs from 9am to 6pm both days.
Enjoy classical music in Ottawa or Prince Edward County
Chamberfest, the world’s largest chamber music festival, brings ensembles to theatres, churches, galleries and other venues around the city from July 21 to August 4. Artists include Tafelmusik, the Canadian Brass (see video above) and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. The diverse range of performances includes Adapted Concerts for concert goers with sensory sensitivities (such as those on the autism spectrum), a production based on the life of Ojibwe leader Francis Pegahmagabow, and a show by Moskitto Bar that blends Ukrainian, French, Balkan, Iraqi, Celtic and Middle Eastern musical influences. There are even sunrise concerts at Beechwood Cemetery. Ticket prices vary (some performances are free), and many concerts are presented both live and via livestream.
If you’re looking for an out-of-town musical weekend, you could check out Music at Port Milford (July 23 to August 14). This combined festival and youth summer school presents chamber music concerts by both faculty and students in several locations in Prince Edward County. Tickets to Saturday performances start at $16.93; Sunday concerts are free, but donations are appreciated.
Take your dog to Gananoque
What dog doesn’t love a road trip? Here’s an outing that’s perfect for pooches: the Thousand Islands Bark Bash (Saturday, July 23, 10am to 4pm), which brings canines and their human companions together to browse for doggie goodies from a range of vendors, see demonstrations and meet rescue dogs looking for new homes. It’s happening in Gananoque Town Park, at the corner of King Street East and Park Street, and admission is free.
Chow down on barbecue in Cornwall
At the Cornwall Ribfest (July 21 to 24), four different ribbers are expected to be on hand, tempting visitors with juicy barbecue. There will also be a midway and live entertainment, including concerts by Sass Jordan, River City Junction and many other acts. Hours are 11am to 10:30pm daily, except on Sunday, when the gates close at 6pm. Admission is free, and the festival takes place in Lamoureux Park (100 Water Street East, Cornwall).
Looking for more ribfests to check out this summer and fall? Check out my list of barbecue events around the region.
See quilts and learn about fibre arts in Dunvegan
The Glengarry Pioneer Museum (1645 County Road 30, Dunvegan) is holding an event called Stitch in Time on Saturday, July 23, from 10am to 4pm. See quilts, clothing and other vintage items from the museum’s collection, hear talks about samplers and the history of clothing, and see demonstrations of spinning, weaving and other fibre arts. There will be a vendors’ market, too, and activities for kids. And food will be on sale! Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students; kids 5 and under are admitted free.
Catch a play in Pembroke, PEC or Gananoque
Stone Fence Theatre is back with a brand-new production. Tom Thomson and the Colours of Canada: Love, Gossip and Murder in Algonquin Park, is based largely on the book Northern Light by Roy MacGregor. Thomson would surely have been a founding member of the Group of Seven, had he not died mysteriously in Algonquin Park not long before the artists’ group was founded. The play runs on Wednesdays and Thursdays from July 20 to August 5, as well as August 17 and 18. There are also some Friday and Sunday shows in September. All of those shows are on stage at the Rankin Culture and Recreation Centre (20 Rankin Rink Road, Pembroke), and they’ll include an art festival, coffee and dessert. Tickets are $40 for adults and $10 for youth. Weekday shows start at 7:30pm; Sunday matinées are at 2pm. The theatre advises that the show isn’t suitable for young children. Also, there will be a special performance of the play at the outdoor theatre in Algonquin Park in August.
CanLit fans know that Al Purdy was a giant of Canadian poetry. And, now, his life is also the subject of a musical by the Festival Players of Prince Edward County. The Shape of Home: Songs in Search of Al Purdy is on stage in the Red Barn at The Eddie Hotel and Farm (15786 Loyalist Parkway, Prince Edward County) until July 31, with shows from Monday through Thursday (as well as Friday, July 29) at 7pm, and matinées on Thursdays and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $29.25 for arts workers and patrons under 30, and $57.50 for all others. You can add a pre-show picnic dinner to any ticket for $25 per person.
And in Gananoque, the perennially popular musical The Music Man is on stage at the Thousand Islands Playhouse’s Springer Theatre (690 Charles Street South) from July 19 to August 20. The family-friendly show tells the tale of a con artist who comes to River City, Iowa, intent on fleecing its residents…until he falls in love with the local librarian. Looks like we got trouble, right here in River City. Ticket prices range from $19 to $41. Evening shows start at 7:30pm and afternoon matinées are at 2pm.
Groove to the music in Palmer Rapids, Brockville or Kemptville
The Palmer Rapids Twin Music Festival (July 21 to 24) bills itself as two festivals—country and bluegrass—in one, on the banks of the Madawaska River south of Barry’s Bay. The festival site is at 937A Cedar Grove Road in Palmer Rapids.
The Brockville Arts Centre (235 King Street West) is presenting Forever Young and Chicago Transit: The Music of Rod Stewart and Chicago, on July 20 and 21. Shows start at 8pm, with an afternoon matinée on Thursday at 2pm. Single tickets are $35.50 plus HST.
Meanwhile, in Kemptville, Tom Cochrane, Glass Tiger and Johnny Reid are among the big names at the Kemptville Live Music Festival (July 21 to 24). A shuttle service offered throughout the event will bring in festival fans to the Kemptville Campus festival site from parking lots across North Grenville (there is no parking on site). Food vendors will be dishing up shawarma, barbecue goodies, fries, ice cream and other treats. Day passes start at $70. Camping passes are also available.
And, yes, I did embed the video of Tom Cochrane’s Life Is a Highway into this post just so the song would be wedged in your head for the next week. You’re welcome.
I write a “road trip roundup” post like this every week. Are you promoting an upcoming event you’d like to see in a future weekly road trip roundup? Please email me the details at least two weeks in advance of the event, and I’ll add them to my files. If you have a horizontal photo or two I could use, even better. Thanks!
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
Thank you!!!
You rock!
You’re very welcome–and thanks!