Good news for those who’ve been deeply missing live events: There are lots to enjoy this week, from a fiddling festival in Chelsea to plays in Brockville and Kingston. You can also catch this year’s last regular-season home game of Atlético Ottawa, see a concert near Shawville, or enjoy ghost stories in Perth or at the Mackenzie King Estate. And online, the Ottawa International Writers’ Festival has a busy schedule of events, including the Ottawa Book Awards and Prix du livre d’Ottawa. Enjoy your adventures, on the road or online!
Tap your toes to fiddlers in Chelsea
Top Canadiaan fiddlers are gathering this weekend at La Fab Arts Centre’s new location, the former Grace United Church in Chelsea, for the Gatineau Hills Fiddle Festival (October 22 to 24). Performers include Cape Breton star Andrea Beaton, featured in the video above. The weekend of concerts, workshops and jam sessions is an in-person event, but all concerts will also be livestreamed.
Visit artists’ studios and crafters in Ottawa and Napanee
The Enriched Bread Artists co-op in Ottawa is launching its annual open house with an outdoor vernissage on Thursday, October 21. This year’s edition features works by 18 artists, and it continues on Saturdays and Sundays until October 31.
You can also meet local artists and crafters in their studios during the Red Trillium Studio Tour in and around Carp, Dunrobin and Kinburn on October 23 and 24. Browse for items such as paintings, photography, pottery, glasswork, weaving, basketry, wood-turned items and women’s clothes.
In Napanee, the Fall Crafters’ Road Show on Saturday, October 23, is a self-driving tour that will take you to the homes and studios of crafters throughout the region, in a fundraiser for the Morningstar Mission.
Catch a concert in McDonald’s Corners, Kingston or the Pontiac
Kingston alt-rockers Kasador have a show at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in Kingston on Wednesday, October 20. If you can’t get there in person, you can livestream it.
Bilingual Ottawa-Gatineau singer-songwriter Mia Kelly returns to the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonald’s Corners on Sunday, October 24, after wowing audiences at a fundraising concert there last summer.
And Ottawa-based singer songwriter Lynne Hanson (see video above) will take to the stage at the Little Red Wagon Winery in Clarendon, Quebec (in the Pontiac region, just west of Shawville) on Saturday, October 23. You can buy tickets for the show only, or a dinner-show package. (Can’t make it to that show? Lynne will also be at the MERA Schoolhouse on November 28.)
Get a scare in Chelsea, Perth or Napanee
The Haunted Walk of Ottawa continues to run its spooky tours of the Mackenzie King Estate in Gatineau Park. Hear tales of former prime minister Mackenzie King’s forays into the spirit world and the ghosts that some believe haunt his summer house and its grounds to this day. (Disclosure: I was sponsored to take this tour earlier this year as part of Ottawa Tourism’s #Invite2 campaign.)
The Spooking Season II: More Tales to Chill an Autumn Night is an evening of ghostly tales by the likes of Edith Wharton, Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens, punctuated by some ghoulish Tom Lehrer tunes. It’s on stage at the Full Circle Theatre in Perth from October 21 to 23, and from October 28 to 30.
Further afield in Napanee, there’s a History and Hauntings Ghost Tour on Saturday, October 23. The family-friendly walking tour is free (although donations to the Napanee Legion’s Poppy Campaign are appreciated). Advance online registration required.
See a funny play in Brockville or Kingston
The prim proprietor of a bed and breakfast can’t quite admit that the reason her female guests keep returning isn’t her fluffy pancakes—it’s that they enjoy the romantic attentions of her silver fox of a neighbour. That’s the comedic premise of Sex Please, We’re Sixty, presented by the Brockville Theatre Guild at the Brockville Arts Centre on October 22 and 23.
Meanwhile, in Kingston, the Domino Theatre is staging Bernard Slade’s classic comedy, Same Time, Next Year, about two cheating spouses who carry on a once-a-year romantic affair for 25 years. The show runs from October 21 to November 6.
Run at Tremblant, or walk or paddle in Ottawa
La Classique Salomon is a series of races ranging from 1K to 30K taking place on Saturday, October 23, at Tremblant. Discounts are available on some registrations if you register by October 22. Advance online registrations are strongly recommended.
If you’d like to connect with other folks who enjoy walking, paddling and other outdoor fun, take a look at the schedule of outings organized by the Ottawa Outdoor Club. Non-members are welcome to come along for a small fee. Advance registration is required. This week’s activities include a walk along the Rideau River from Strathcona Park (Thursday, October 21) and a paddling outing on Lac Philippe (Sunday, October 24).
Discover new books and authors online
The Ottawa International Writers’ Festival hosts an ongoing series of online events and podcasts for literature lovers. This week alone, you can tune into an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges about a class he taught at a New Jersey prison (Monday, October 18); the launch of Georgian Bay Métis author Cherie Dimaline’s new book, Hunting by Stars (Tuesday, October 19); a live online broadcast of the Ottawa Book Awards and Prix du livre d’Ottawa (Wednesday, October 20); and a podcast with professor Jessie Daniels about her new book, Nice White Ladies: The Truth About White Supremacy, Our Role in It, and How We Can Help Dismantle It (Friday, October 22). If you miss an event, don’t worry; many of them are archived on the site.
Spot scarecrows in Carleton Place
During the Scarecrow Stroll (October 18 to 31), downtown Carleton Place will be dotted with handmade scarecrows. Snap a selfie with one and submit it to the event organizers, and you could win a prize of up to $300 to spend at local shops, restaurants and service businesses.
Watch soccer in Ottawa
Cheer on Ottawa’s new pro soccer team, Atlético Ottawa, in their last regular home game of the season. They face York United at TD Place Stadium on Sunday, October 24.
Looking for more ideas for things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter or pick up a copy of my guidebook, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km 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 Anishnaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land.