Whether you’re a gardener, a secret race-car driver, a music fan, a birder, a theatre buff or a garage sale guru, I’ve found a road trip (or several) for you this weekend. From dinner in a heritage jail to a fun fair, a learn-to-canoe clinic and the chance to cuddle a lamb, there’s something for just about everyone here. Happy travels!
Enjoy a garden party in Vankleek Hill
Photo courtesy of Garden Path Homemade Soap.
On Sunday, June 2, Garden Path Homemade Soap in Vankleek Hill is holding its free annual Garden Party, from 1pm to 5pm. As well as soap from Garden Path, you can browse for items from other local artisans. Tour the soap-making facility, learn about the garden plants that owner Tara MacWhirter uses to make soap, and enjoy refreshments and live music, too.
Enjoy traditional drumming and dancing in Maniwaki
Take in a weekend filled with First Nations drumming and dancing at the Kitigan Zibi Traditional Pow Wow (June 1 and 2) in Maniwaki. The event, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, starts each day with a grand entry ceremony at noon.
Hum along to jazz and pop tunes in Merrickville
The Merrickville Children and Adult Choirs, along with the Rideau Voices trio, are presenting a Jazz and Pops on a Spring Evening concert on Sunday, June 2, at the Merrickville United Arts Centre. Tunes on the set list include “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “The Joint Is Jumpin'” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.” Admission is by donation and proceeds from the concert will go to the Merrickville Food Cupboard.
Raise a glass in Cobden
To celebrate its sixth birthday, Whitewater Brewing Company in Cobden is hosting the Always Time to Play Festival on Saturday, June 1. As well as the chance to sip tasty beers, you can enjoy live music, giant Jenga, beach volleyball and other fun. For the kids, there will be cotton candy and a three-lane inflatable bungee run.
Chill out in Chelsea
Chelsea Days takes place this weekend (June 1 and 2) in the popular Gatineau Hills village. The roster of activities includes a family fun fair, a lobster dinner, an origami workshop, a guided hike and more.
While you’re in Chelsea, you can drop by St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church (across from the Freshmart) on Saturday, June 1 (9am to 2pm), to check out a 30-vendor tailgate sale and browse for home baking, jams, pickles, perennials and used books. Chelsea Housing Corporation will also be grilling up goodies at a fundraising barbecue. On Sunday from 11am to 2pm, the church will be hosting a used-books sale and cafe, with thousands of books and CDs, and the chance to buy refreshments or lunch. Both events are church fundraisers and wheelchair accessible, and admission to both is free.
And on Saturday night, the Maggie Savoie Trio will be on stage at the Chelsea Pub with their mix of folk, blues and electric guitar.
Go birdwatching in the Adirondacks
Photo by Faye Cornish on Unsplash.
The Great Adirondack Birding Celebration is on at the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in Paul Smiths, New York, on June 1 and 2, with a variety of guided walks and paddles through various types of terrain.
See a play in L’Orignal, Brockville, Perth, Gananoque or Ottawa
East of Ottawa, an unusual French-language theatrical performance is opening this weekend at the l’Orignal Old Jail. La Dernière Pendaison recreates a true crime story from 1932, including the trial, which is portrayed in the courtroom where it actually took place (which is still a working courtroom). For extra atmosphere, you can have dinner in the adjacent historic jail before the show, where you’ll have to forgo a knife and fork and eat with a spoon, just like the inmates used to. The show is being staged on Fridays and Saturdays from May 31 to June 22. Advance ticket purchase only; no tickets will be sold at the door.
Abba fans, take note: St. Mary Catholic High School in Brockville is staging Mamma Mia at the Brockville Arts Centre on May 31,and June 1. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Swedish ’70s supergroup and the smash movie (and stage musical), here’s the scoop: The show uses Abba songs to tell the tale of a young woman who doesn’t know which of three men is actually her father—so she invites all of them to her wedding on a Greek island. Much singing and dancing ensues.
In Perth, Studio Theatre is staging The Ladies’ Foursome by Norm Foster from May 30 to June 8. The plot? The day after their friend Catherine’s funeral, three women gather for a round of golf. A friend of Catherine’s they’ve never met joins them. During the 18-hole game, the four discuss love, sex, children and more.
Norm Foster is also on the playbill at Ottawa Little Theatre, which is presenting the playwright’s Mending Fences from May 29 to June 15. It tells the story of a son, estranged from his father for 13 years, who returns to his family’s Saskatchewan farm to reconnect with his dad.
A performance called Bullied No More—blending poetry and contemporary dance—is on stage at the Royal Theatre in Gananoque on June 1 and 2. Also in Gananoque, Boom X—Rick Miller’s play about the moments that shaped Generation X, including disco, the oil crisis, Watergate, the Cold War, video games and punk—opens at the 1000 Islands Playhouse on Tuesday, May 28, and continues until Saturday, June 15.
Cuddle a lamb on Amherst Island
Photo by Gabriele Agrillo on Unsplash.
Did you know you can sign up for a lamb-cuddling session at Topsy Farms on Amherst Island (in Lake Ontario between Kingston and Napanee)? For $20 per carload (plus $9 for the round-trip ferry passage to the island), you and your family can get all the woolly snuggling you can squeeze into 30 minutes. Advance reservations required. Book soon; your last chance is Sunday, June 9.
Pick up a paddle in Smiths Falls
Along with all sorts of team canoeing races on the Rideau Canal, the Rideau Paddlefest in Lower Reach Park in Smiths Falls on Saturday, June 1, will feature live theatre and other fun on shore.
Pretend you’re in Latin America…in Ottawa
The Latin Sparks festival (May 30 to June 2) is a lively celebration of all things Latino and Latina! Put on your dancing shoes and dance to salsa, barchata and other tropical beats, or take a dancing lesson. Check out a block party or a boat party. Nosh on empanadas and other food truck fare, and drink signature cocktails. It sounds like a great way to take a vacation without leaving Ottawa!
Browse for art in Chesterville, West Carleton or McDonald’s Corners
Photo courtesy of Art on the Waterfront.
A two-day festival celebrating all things artistic unrolls this weekend in Chesterville: Art on the Waterfront (June 1 and 2). With all sorts of artists and vendors on hand, you’ll find lots to see and do (and buy!). As well as artists’ stalls, there will be kids’ activities, live music, model train displays, a talent show, dance tutorials, a bouncy castle and all sorts of other fun.
The 40th annual Red Trillium Studio Tour in West Carleton (June 1 and 2) will feature artists’ studios, private gardens and a winery on Ottawa’s western fringe (in and around Kinburn, Carp and Dunrobin). Shop for everything from pottery and photography to iron work and eco-friendly clothing, and get gardening advice and buy plants. Refreshments will be available at St. Mary’s Church.
The painters of the MERA Arts Circle are holding a vernissage for their latest show at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonald’s Corners on Saturday, June 1, from 11am to 1pm. You can meet the artists and check out some of the many works for sale. The show will be up until June 30.
Prepare for paddling at Frontenac Provincial Park
Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash.
Looking to polish your canoeing skills? There’s an introduction to canoeing clinic at Frontenac Provincial Park on Saturday, June 1. You’ll get tips on choosing a canoe and paddle, ensuring safety, entering and launching canoes, portaging, and paddling. Bring your own canoe and gear, or rent equipment from the organizers or local outfitters. Advance registration required.
Rev your motor in Ottawa or Calabogie
On Saturday, June 1, the TELUS Motorcycle Ride for Dad is a big fundraising event for prostate cancer research. Register online or in person by May 31 to save $15 on your registration fee (you can also register onsite at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum on the day of the event).
Ever wonder what it would be like to take your car for a circuit on a real racetrack? You’ll have a chance to find out during the 1MoreLap Novice Day event at Calabogie Motorsports Park on Saturday, June 1. For $75, you get an instructor, a helmet and half an hour of track time.
Tour homes and gardens near Napanee
Lennox & Addington SOS, an organization that helps seniors, is holding its self-guided Beyond the Door Home and Garden Tour on Saturday, June 1. Visitors can tour eight homes and gardens in Napanee, Bath and Adolphustown.
Enjoy some music in Orleans
On Sunday, June 2, the Legends Show at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans will recreate the music of three classic rock titans: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Connie Francis. The video above gives you a taste of the show.
That same evening, the OPUS Children’s Choir and the AChoired Taste adult choir are performing an evening of songs, Voix de la terre, at École secondaire catholique Béatrice-Desloges in Orleans. The show will also include Au secours des contes—billed as “an enchanted theatrical tale”—performed by the OPUS Musical Theatre Group. The show is a fundraiser for the Société franco-ontarien de l’autisme.
Take the kids to a festival in Blackburn Hamlet or Manotick
True to its name, the Blackburn Hamlet Funfair (May 31 to June 2) offers fun for the whole family—everything from fireworks, a parade and a midway to a dog show, fun runs and a silent auction.
On the same dates, Manotick will be hosting Dickinson Days. Activities there will include a parade, a pancake breakfast, a kids’ fishing derby, a craft fair, horse-drawn wagon rides, fireworks and much more.
Explore the night sky near Kaladar
The Lennox & Addington Dark Sky Viewing Area is located off Highway 41 between Kaladar and Napanee. And this weekend, weather permitting, you can enjoy a free laser-guided stargazing tour at the viewing area with Joe Gilker of Dark Arts Astrophotography. The 90-minute tour starts about an hour after dusk.
Bike ’til you drop in Montreal
The Go Bike Montreal Festival (May 26 to June 2) gives you the chance to take several bike tours of the island of Montreal on car-free streets. The Tour de l’Ile regularly attracts thousands of keen cyclists.
Learn about tattoos at the Brockville Museum
My Story, My Tattoo is a travelling exhibition currently installed at the Brockville Museum. To give visitors an up-close look at the art of tattooing, the museum is hosting one of its Museum@Night events on Friday, May 31. You can see someone getting inked and even get a temporary tat of your own, while listening to DJ tracks, enjoying munchies and sipping a drink from the cash bar.
Check out a garage sale in Carleton Place, Wakefield or Vankleek Hill
On Saturday, June 1, Vankleek Hill is hosting its community-wide Trash and Treasure village-wide garage sale, billed as one of the largest garage sales in Eastern Ontario. The bargain-hunting action runs from 9am to 4pm. That same day, there’s also a community-wide garage sale in Carleton Place from 8am to 2pm.
On Sunday, the folks at Juniper Farm in Wakefield are getting together with their neighbours to host a combined garage sale at the farm from 9am to 1pm.
Peek behind closed doors in Ottawa
Heritage Building, Ottawa City Hall. Photo courtesy of Doors Open Ottawa.
Ever wanted a glimpse inside an embassy or a Hindu temple? Curious about what goes on at the Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary or your local fire station? This weekend is your chance to see inside dozens of the capital’s buildings during Doors Open Ottawa (June 1 and 2). The free event—one of the largest Doors Open events in North America—features everything from a former prime ministerial residence to the Beechwood Cemetery.
Enjoy free tunes in Arnprior
Tunes of all sorts will be wafting out over Robert Simpson Park in Arnprior during Priorpalooza, a free, one-day music festival on Saturday, June 1. Acts on the roster this year include Spencer Sharf, Gentlemen of the Woods, the Richmond Ramblers and Vicki Brittle. Family fun will include a games zone, bouncy castles, food and craft vendors, face painting, a beach and splash pad, and an outdoor movie screening.
Eat your greens in Ottawa
Flickr/Creative Commons photo by Michael Stern.
Vegetarians, vegans and those who just want to eat better will be making their way to the RA Centre this weekend for Ottawa Veg Fest (June 1 and 2). With presentations, cooking demonstrations and a marketplace featuring dozens of vendors, you’ll come away with lots of inspiration for your next Meatless Monday.
Run or walk in Smiths Falls, Gananoque or Kingston
On Saturday, June 1, you can celebrate National Health and Fitness Day by participating in the 1000 Islands Parkway Challenge in Gananoque. Enjoy scenic views of the St. Lawrence River as you run, walk, bike or travel by wheelchair for anywhere from 5K to 30K (depending which route you choose) to the finish line at Brown’s Bay.
If you want to register for the Beat Beethoven Run in Kingston on Sunday, June 2, you’d better hurry—registrations close on Thursday, May 30. The twist with this 8K race or 4K fun run/walk is that you have to get to the finish line before the Kingston Symphony finishes playing 50 minutes of Beethoven music.
Also on Sunday, a community walk to raise funds for the Big Sky Ranch Animal Sanctuary for abused or unwanted animals is taking place in Smiths Falls. Participants can walk 1K, 2K or 3K, and the event starts at Lower Reach Park at 8am.
Shop for local plants in Ottawa
Flickr/Creative Commons photo by Peter Blanchard.
The Fletcher Wildlife Garden, tucked into a corner of the Central Experimental Farm, is holding its Native Plant Sale on Saturday, June 1, from 9:30am to 12:30pm. Shop for wildflowers native to this region that can help you attract birds and butterflies, and get tips on creating a backyard garden.
Shop for genre fiction in Kingston
Are you looking forward to curling up with a mystery, fantasy, horror, science fiction or romance novel this summer? Then you might be interested in browsing for new books and chatting with their authors at the Limestone Genre Expo in Kingston on Saturday, June 1.
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