This week, there’s a ton of events happening in and around Ottawa—either online or in the real world. Enjoy Ottawa’s Italian and Fringe festivals online, discover the Brockville Railway Tunnel’s sound and light show, run to raise money for the Kingston Symphony, take a virtual powwow workout class with the National Arts Centre or check out a pop-up restaurant in Kemptville! Wherever you go and whatever you do, have fun and stay safe.
Browse for art in Perth and Chelsea
The popular Art in the Garden sale is back this year at Kiwi Gardens in Perth. It will run over two weekends: June 18 to 20, and June 25 to 27. Admission will be by timed ticket only, available online. Visitors can see (and buy) outdoor-ready works by 19 artists, displayed across 10 acres of gardens.
P.S.: If you love gardens, check out my other suggestions for garden-related road trips in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais and beyond.
On the Quebec side of the river, you can catch the new exhibition of 30 members of La Fab Arts Centre in Chelsea. Summer Delights, which features some 60 works—including photographs, paintings, sculptures, pottery items and fused-glass pieces—runs until July 4.
See a free sound-and-light show in the Brockville Railway Tunnel
I’ll confess: When I first heard about the Brockville Railway Tunnel a few years ago, I didn’t get the concept. “Um, it’s a tunnel. What’s the attraction?” I thought. Then I checked it out—and I got it! Canada’s oldest railway tunnel has been refitted with a sophisticated sound-and-light show that is triggered when you walk through it. There are some dramatic sound effects—at one point, I felt as though an old stream train was roaring right past me. And it’s all free, although donations are welcome. The tunnel is open from 9am to 9pm, seven days a week.
Enjoy online film and fringe festivals
The online edition of this year’s Ottawa Fringe Festival (June 17 to 27) features lots of the experimental theatre, music and comedy the event is famed for. As always, the show titles alone are wonderfully intriguing; my favourite this year is Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life (although Beowulf in Afghanistan is a close second).
The Ottawa version of the Bicycle Film Festival (June 11 to 20) is a bit scaled back this year, as it features just one movie: an interesting-looking documentary about biking in the Netherlands called Together We Cycle. You can stream it at home until June 20.
Channel your inner Italian
Italian Week (June 10 to 20) has gone virtual again this year, with events for people of all ages. They include a pasta-making class (June 14), bedtime stories (June 15 and 17), a gardening class (June 16), a multidisciplinary presentation about the poet Dante (June 18), and an Italian scavenger hunt (with prizes!) created in conjunction with Escape Manor (June 18 to 20).
Until June 17, the TLN TV channel is also running an Italy at Home film festival, featuring an Italian movie every night at 9pm.
Channel your inner Scot
Journalist John Ivison, co-founder of the Scottish Society of Ottawa , is hosting an online conversation with Dr. Pauline Mackay, lecturer in Robert Burns studies at the University of Glasgow, on Thursday, June 17, at 5:30pm. They will discuss their research, the books they’ve written about Burns, the passionate side of Scotland’s famous poet and his influence on Scottish culture. The event—presented in partnership with the Ottawa International Writers Festival and the Ottawa Public Library—is free, but you need to register on Eventbrite to get the Zoom link.
Check out a pop-up restaurant in Kemptville
A few weeks ago in the Ottawa Road Trips newsletter, I told you about a new Kemptville food truck called Curbalicious. On Sunday, June 20, Curbalicious chef Tim Wasylko is turning over his wheels to Ottawa chef (and Top Chef Canada winner) Rene Rodriguez, for a one-day Father’s Day pop-up event. The Mexican fiesta menu will include treats such as cauliflower ceviche, beef braised with guajillo chiles and Malbec, and prune-chocolate cake, and is available by pre-order only. You must order by noon on Friday, June 18, for pickup on Sunday between 3pm and 5:30pm.
Enjoy an accessible beach in Kars or Rideau Ferry
Good news for people who use mobility devices: Baxter Conservation Area in Kars and Rideau Ferry Conservation Area in Rideau Ferry recently installed accessible beach mats. These will allow people using wheelchairs, walkers and strollers to cross the entire beach without worrying about getting stuck in the sand. The mats also extend to the Rideau River waterfront, so users can get into the water if they wish.
P.S.: If you’re looking for other beaches where you can beat the heat, check out my list of beaches across our region. A word to the wise visiting any beach: Arrive early in the day and visit on a weekday, if you can; last year, crowds at many beaches were large, especially on weekends. And if a beach is jammed, PLEASE just change your plans and come back another day!
Celebrate the Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival
This is your last week to catch an event during the Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival (running until June 21). This week, the jam-packed schedule includes a drive-in movie night at Wesley Clover Parks (June 15), lots of online music and dance competitions, a virtual paddle painting class (June 19), several cooking classes and an online sunrise ceremony (June 21). (The video above is a recording of last year’s sunrise ceremony.)
By the way, did you know the National Arts Centre streams free powwow workout classes? This week’s class on Thursday, June 17, features St’át’imc Lil’Wat hoop dancer Allex Wells.
Do yoga and make a mandala
Cumberland artist Kerstin Peters is holding an online yoga and mandala-making class on Saturday, June 19 (an hour-long yoga class followed by an hour-long art class). Advance registration is required by June 16.
Walk or run to raise money for the Kingston Symphony
In normal years, the Kingston Symphony Association organizes a clever event called the Beat Beethoven Run. Participants have to finish an 8K run or a 4K walk through downtown Kingston before the symphony finishes playing a 50-minute Beethoven piece. This year, like so much else, the event has gone virtual. Once you register, you can tackle a 4K or 8K course of your choosing, then get a t-shirt and a medal as a reward. You have until the end of June to do the walk/run.
Get outdoors at Camp Fortune
For Outaouais readers (and Ontario readers, if the interprovincial border does indeed re-open this week, as expected), there’s a lot going on at Camp Fortune in Chelsea. The mountain biking trails are open, and on Saturday, June 19, the site will start offering its summer lift service for mountain bikers. The two aerial parks—the challenging Explorer Park and the gentler Children’s Park—offer rope bridges, ziplines and more. They’re currently open from Friday through Sunday, and they’ll be open daily starting June 24. Finally, Camp Fortune has built a monorail attraction called the Mountain Peak Coaster, which will see riders hurtling down the mountain at speeds of up to 40 km/h. It’s tentatively slated to open on June 24.
Enjoy some online jazz
Ottawa musicians Segue to Jazz—Peter Beaudoin, Peter Brown, Gino Scaffidi and Dave Arthur with special guest Michael C. Hanna—are getting together with Deborah Davis for a free livestream concert on Facebook on Friday, June 18. The one-hour show starts at 7pm, and the organizers advise clicking on the link above five minutes before showtime to make sure you don’t miss anything. You don’t need a Facebook account to watch the show, which is presented with support from the Music Performance Trust Fund and Musicians’ Association of Ottawa-Gatineau. Tunes on the set list include “Night in Tunisia,” “Birth of the Blues,” “Joint Is Jumping,” “Trickle Trickle” and “Hymn To Freedom.”
Looking for more tips for things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter and/or buy my guidebook, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.