If you’re like me, you’ve barely started to think about holiday shopping yet. If you’re not like me, then you’ll be deep into checking items off your list, and I have all sorts of suggestions for places where you can do that this weekend. I also have the scoop on a poetry festival in Ottawa, a huge online trivia fundraiser, a Patsy Cline play, a walk-through multimedia show and even a tattoo festival. Several events include virtual ways to attend. Truly, there’s something here for everyone this week, so enjoy!
Hear live music in Luskville or Morrisburg
Among Friends: Music for Clarinet, Cello and Piano is a one-time collaboration between three chamber music musicians—Juan Olivares on clarinet, Cameron Crozman on cello and Cameron Becke on piano—on Saturday, November 13. They will be performing works by Johannes Brahms and Cha Ka Nin, all on the theme of friendship. You can buy tickets to see the afternoon concert live at the Venturing Hills Concert Hall in Luskville, Quebec, or to watch it online. The performance is part of the Pontiac Enchanté concert series.
Also on Saturday, the Roddy Ellias Free Spirit Group with special guest Kellylee Evans (see video above) will bring their jazzy style to the StoneCropAcres Winery and Vineyard in Morrisburg.
Shop, shop, shop in Ottawa, Winchester and beyond
There are three big shopping events happening in Winchester on Saturday, November 13. During the Winchester Shop Crawl, participants can pick up passports that provide local discounts and deals, then get them stamped at Winchester retailers to be eligible for a prize (9am to 4pm). That same day, the Painted Arrow Flowers & Gifts is organizing an outdoor Christmas market at Sweet Corner Park featuring some 70 vendors, as well as Santa and live music. And there’s also a vendor market happening at the Joel Steele Community Centre.
In Ottawa, Vintage Pop-Up 613 is hosting a sale of vintage and retro merchandise in the parking lot of Torta Boyz on Preston Street on Sunday, November 14, from 10am to 4pm.
In Prince Edward County, the Ode to Joy Art Show and Sale is opening on Friday, November 12, at the ANDARA Gallery in Bloomfield. Featuring encaustics and mixed-media pieces by Andrew Csafordi, along with photographer Tara Wilson’s new series, “Doors of Prince Edward County,” the show runs until December 23.
There’s also the Shop, Stamp and Win promotion in Perth (until December 31), where you can qualify for a draw for an overnight stay in Perth by shopping at local stores.
Looking for more shopping ideas? Check out my huge list of holiday craft shows, which features some two dozen sales this weekend alone, including events in Ottawa, Vankleek Hill, Gananoque, Pembroke, Oka, Kemptville and Merrickville, among many other places.
Enjoy movies in Ottawa and Montreal
How often do you get the chance to catch a flick from Hungary, Malta or Latvia? They’re among the source countries of the movies in this year’s virtual, Ottawa-based European Union Film Festival (November 12 to 28). Award-winning films from across the European Union will be streaming online.
Also this week, the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival (November 12 to 21) will be streaming seven feature-length films and seven shorts from filmmakers across Canada—some renting for as little as 99 cents. Ottawa-made entries include Curbside Pickup (a dark romantic comedy about dating during the pandemic) and Pinball & Perogies (a documentary about the Old Ottawa South pinball parlour House of Targ).
And in Montreal, the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), which runs from November 10 to 25, presents dozens of movies from a wide array of countries, including Mali, Iran and French Guiana. You can choose from in-person or online screenings, available in separate blocks of dates (it makes more sense when you read the website!).
Honour veterans in Ottawa and elsewhere
People will once again be able to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in person (you can also watch online). The event will start at approximately 10:45am on Thursday, November 11.
The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa has a variety of commemorative events happening throughout November, including a livestream of light streaming into Memorial Hall on November 11.
Ottawa’s Beechwood Cemetery is staging its annual ceremony for veterans, and their families and friends, on Remembrance Day. People can attend in person or online.
CTV has put together an extensive list of Remembrance Day ceremonies throughout Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais.
To find Remembrance Day ceremonies in other communities, you can use the Royal Canadian Legion’s search page. (The search box itself doesn’t seem to work that well, but scroll down the page to the map and you’ll find lots of listings.)
See a play in Morrisburg
There are still some tickets left for Sweet Dreams: The Music of Patsy Cline, which runs until Sunday, November 14, at the Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg. Starting next week, the theatre is staging Lucien in Trumpland, the latest satire written by and starring Marshall Button (November 16 to 28).
Test your wits online
Full disclosure here: For years (including this year), my husband has written the questions for World Trivia Night. Usually, it’s a big gathering in a convention centre, but this year, it’s happening online on Friday, November 12. The annual event raises funds for Champions for Children, which helps foster children and other vulnerable young people attend college or take part in other extra-curricular activities. It’s the largest live trivia event in North America, and top teams are eligible for some sweet prizes. Plus, the questions are super entertaining—and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased. ????
See artworks celebrating Canadian directors in Kingston
Film X Design is a collection of six artworks by three Kingston artists, coordinated by the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. Each piece celebrates a different Canadian director, from Deepa Mehta to David Cronenberg. They’re displayed in two outdoor locations in downtown Kingston, so keep an eye out for them next time you’re in the Limestone City.
Check out tattoos in Gatineau
Tattoo contests, burlesque shows and a concert by Alice in Chains tribute band All-in-Chains are among the highlights of this weekend’s Capital City Ink festival at the Hilton Lac Leamy in Gatineau (November 12 to 14). Tickets are available at the door only.
See poets in person or online in Ottawa
Versefest (November 13 to 21) features almost 80 leading poets from around the world. Poetry lovers can enjoy readings and talks in Ottawa’s Knox Church or online. Events this weekend include a reading by Ottawa’s two poet laureates, Albert Dumont and Gilles Latour, with poet Louise Bernice Halfe.
Immerse yourself in a multimedia show in Montreal
How to describe OASIS Immersion? Since I haven’t seen it yet myself, I’ll let the video above do the talking. Basically, it appears to be a multimedia walk-through “experience” stretching across 2,200 square metres (23,500 square feet) of the Palais des congrès in Montreal. The current installation, RECHARGER/Unwind, features large-scale digital artworks, brought to life by 119 surround-sound speakers, 105 laser projectors and an LED lighting system.
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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!
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.