Events coming back in Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais—and beyond—in 2022!

Music festivals, country fairs, pow wows and more are coming back to Ottawa, Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais and beyond this year—public health trends and restrictions permitting, of course.

I’ll confess that, as someone who has been writing about events in the Ottawa region for a long time, it has been sad to keep noting cancellations and postponements over the last two years. (And if it has been sad for me, just think how disheartening it has been for the tireless people who work to put all these festivals and fairs together.)

So I’m delighted to see that so many event organizers are making plans to welcome back visitors in 2022. Here’s a list of the returning events I’ve learned about so far, in order by date. I’ll keep updating this post as news comes across my desk. And if you have good news on this front that I should know about, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

• Irish Film Festival Ottawa (April 8 to 14)
• Raisin River Canoe Race, St. Andrew’s West to Williamstown (April 10)
• Delta Maple Syrup Festival (April 16 and 17)
• Ottawa Grassroots Festival (April 21 to 24)
• Festival of the Maples, Perth (April 30)
• St. Lawrence Marathon, Cornwall (April 30)
• Hell or High Water, Petawawa (May 14)
• Clarence-Rockland Expo (May 14 and 15)
• Kemptville Buskerfest (May 21)
• Blossom Fest, Stittsville (May 22)
• Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend (May 28 and 29)
• Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Traditional Pow Wow (June 4 and 5)

• Red Trillium Studio Tour, Carp, Dunrobin and Kinburn (June 4 and 5)
• Music in the Park, Kingston (June 21 to September 3)
• Tall Ships Festival, Brockville (June 24 to 26)
• Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival, Mādahòkì Farm, Ottawa (June 21 to 26; Pow Wow June 25 and 26)
• TD Ottawa Jazz Festival (June 24 to July 3)
• TD Festival international de jazz de Montréal (June 30 to July 9)
• AfroBeat Music Festival, Ottawa (July 1 and 2)
• 1000 Islands Regatta, Brockville (July 1 to 3)
• Waterside Summer Series (classical concerts), Amherst Island (July 2 to August 16)
• Rideau Lakes Studio Tour (July 4 and 5)
• Kingston Buskers Rendezvous (July 7 to 10)
• RBC Bluesfest, Ottawa (July 7 to 17)
• St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, Prescott (July 9 to August 20)
• Just for Laughs, Montreal (July 13 to 31)

• Stewart Park Festival, Perth (July 15 to 17)
• Madawaska Valley Studio Tour (July 15 to 17 and September 30 to October 2)
• Festibière de Gatineau/Gatineau Beerfest (July 20 to 30)
• Delta Fair (July 21 to 24)
• Kemptville Live (July 21 to 24)

• Bancroft Rockhound Gemboree (July 28 to 31)
• Glengarry Highland Games, Maxville (July 29 and 30)
• Lombardy Fair (July 29 to 31)
• Williamstown Fair (August 5 to 7)
• Grand Feux du Casino Lac-Leamy (fireworks in Gatineau) (August 6 to 20)
• Russell Fair (August 11 to 14)
• Puppets Up, Almonte (August 12 to 14)
• Capital Fair, Ottawa (August 12 to 21)

• Perth Lions Garlic Festival (August 13 and 14)
• South Mountain Fair (August 18 to 21)
• Limestone City Blues Festival, Kingston (August 25 to 28)
• Cobden Fair (August 26 to 28)
• Festival de montgolfières de Gatineau (hot air balloon festival) (September 1 to 5)
• Perth Fair (September 2 to 5)
• Sundance Artisan Show, just west of Perth (September 3 to 5)
• Afrofestival Ottawa (September 10 and 11)
• Apsley Autumn Studio Tour (September 17 and 18)
• Bancroft and Area Autumn Studio Tour (September 17 and 18, and September 24 and 25)
• 2022 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo, Kemptville (September 21 to 24)
• Kingston WritersFest (September 28 to October 2)

Cover photo by Jingda Chen on Unsplash.

Looking for more ideas for things to see and do in our region? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or pick up a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide, from which this post is adapted.

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.