The calendar is packed this weekend, from Westfest and the Montreal Grand Prix to festivals devoted to everything from VW buses and New York food to medieval history and Latin dance music. You can go behind the scenes at a Smiths Falls museum, see antique farm machinery and antique boats, or paddle your way to prizes. Wherever your travels take you, enjoy!
Travel back in time in Ste-Anne-de-Prescott
Photo courtesy of Ste-Anne-de-Prescott Economic Development Committee.
It’s Antique Days and Tractor Pull Weekend in Ste-Anne-de-Prescott (June 9 and 10), with a packed slate of events for country music lovers, antique machinery fans and more. Highlights include an antique car parade, fiddlers, a pipe band, a barbecue and more.
Mess about in boats or get gourmet inspiration in Clayton, New York
The Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York, is presenting 1000 Islands Family Day this Saturday, June 9. Admission is free all day, and kid-friendly activities will be offered from 10am to 3pm. Enjoy boat rides, crafts, games, exhibits, live music and more.
Also this weekend in Clayton, the Great New York State Food & Wine Festival (June 8 to 10) gives you the chance to taste goodies—everything from popcorn to bourbon—from more than 70 producers across New York state, including some 30 wineries.
Go behind the scenes at the Heritage House Museum in Smiths Falls
At this year’s open house at the Heritage House Museum in Smiths Falls on Sunday, June 10, you can discover new exhibitions, explore the area where museum staff store the collections, meet private collectors, view rarely seen artifacts, enjoy an outdoor concert by Seventh Town and nibble on munchies from the museum’s brick bake oven.
Celebrate Italy in Ottawa
Flickr/Creative Commons photo by farrahsanjari.
There’s so much packed into the Ottawa Italian Week Festival that the event actually lasts almost three weeks (June 6 to 25). There are grand opening ceremonies at the police station on Elgin Street and at City Hall on Thursday, June 7, but many of the other events are centered on Preston Street in the heart of Little Italy. Highlights this week include a gala five-course dinner and dance at St. Anthony’s Banquet Hall (June 8), and St. Anthony’s Feast Weekend with marching bands, food, kids’ activities and more (June 9 and 10). The fun continues in the coming weeks with comedy shows, an opera performance, Italian films, the opening of a new gondola exhibition at the Canadian Museum of History and all sorts of other Italian-themed fun.
Paddle for prizes in Chesterville
On Saturday, June 9, the Chesterville Kayak Club Paddle Poker Run leaves from Cass Bridge near Winchester at 10am, finishing in Chesterville about 2.5 hours later.
Enjoy a concert in Cantley
Indie/folk trio A Leverage For Mountains, known for its rich harmonies, is playing La Grange de la Gatineau in Cantley on Friday, June 8. You can get show tickets only or buy a dinner-and-show package.
Nibble ribs in Winchester
Flickr/Creative Commons photo by David McSpadden.
Winchester will be rocking on Friday, June 8, as the 8th annual Winchester Ribfest comes to town. You can nosh on gooey ribs, washed down by Beau’s beer and Smokie Ridge wine, while listening to live bands. (If you like ribs, make sure to check out my recently updated list of 11+ ribfests within easy reach of Ottawa.)
Rock on in Hintonburg
Music fans: This weekend, Tom Brown Arena and Park will host one of Ottawa’s biggest free music events, Westfest (June 8 to 10). Almost three dozen acts will take to the stage over the three-day festival, including Bear Witness, The Pursuit of Happiness and Cody Coyote. Food trucks and beverage companies will be on hand, and you can also do yoga in the park (on Sunday morning) and learn about Indigenous cultures at the Indigenous Pavilion. For kids, there will be a family fun area on Saturday and Sunday.
Joust and feast at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg
Hear ye, hear ye, lords and ladies! A Medieval Festival rolls into Upper Canada Village this weekend (June 9 and 10) with a full range of Middle Ages fun. Cheer on your favourite knight in the jousting tournament. Applaud jugglers, dancers and storytellers. See falcons fly. Relax to the music of wandering troubadours. Food vendors will be on hand, too.
Get artsy in the Glebe, Orleans or the Pontiac
Flickr/Creative Commons photo by See-ming Lee.
This is the first of two weekends for the Pontiac Artists’ Studio Tour (June 9 and 10, and June 16 and 17), which features 12 artists in 10 studios across this scenic swath of West Quebec. Here in town, the New Art Festival (June 9 and 10) will see almost 200 visual artists presenting their work for sale in Central Park in the Glebe. And in the east end, the Orleans Art Studio Tour (June 9 and 10) showcases 12 artists in 10 studios across Orleans and Blackburn Hamlet.
Shop for crafts in Almonte
There’s a Summer Craft and Vendor Show at the Almonte Community Centre on Saturday, June 9, from 11am to 4pm. Shop for jewellery, perfume, glass items, books and more.
Cheer on racers in Montreal
If you don’t already have a hotel room, it’s probably time to beg for space on a friend’s couch if you want to catch this weekend’s Montreal Grand Prix (June 8 to 10). The city will be hopping all weekend. Even if you have no interest in fast cars, other fun abounds, including special events at nightclubs and restaurants. And keep your binoculars handy; the event often attracts celebs of all sorts (hey, Canadian Autumn Kelly met her now-husband, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Peter Phillips, at the 2003 event).
Try new beers in Orleans, Kingston, Montreal, Peterborough and Utica
Photo courtesy of the YGK Craft Beer Fest.
We must be deep into the heart of beer festival season, because there are five to choose from this weekend! Close to home, the Orleans Craft Beer Festival (June 7 to 9) will highlight 29 breweries, cider makers and more in Centrum Plaza. Others include the YGK Craft Beer Fest at Fort Henry (Saturday, June 9), the huge Mondiale de la Bière Montréal (June 6 to 9), the Kawartha Craft Beer Festival in Peterborough (June 8 and 9) and the New York Craft Brewers Festival in Utica (Saturday, June 9). For more details on these and other beer bashes throughout the summer, see my recently updated beer festival roundup.
Try your Latin dance moves in Ottawa
The Latin Sparks festival (Saturday, June 9) is a one-night celebration of reggaeton, salsa, bachata and more on Albert Island (near the Canadian War Museum). Move those dancing feet quickly if you want to go; as of this afternoon, tickets were almost sold out.
Take in a comedy in Kingston or Perth
Domino Theatre is staging The Mollycoddlers, a comedy about some would-be pirates on the St. Lawrence River, in Kingston from June 7 through June 23 (on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays). Set in the 1840s, the show was written by local playwright John Corrigan.
On Tuesdays from June 5 to August 28, the Classic Theatre Festival in Perth is staging a dinner-theatre production of George Bernard Shaw’s comedy Overruled at a restaurant called Michael’s Table. As well as enjoying Shaw’s play about two couples facing an unusual challenge, you can chow down on a three-course meal. Advance ticket purchase required.
Also in Perth, Barn Door Productions is offering a two-act adaptation of the classic Brandon Thomas farce Charley’s Aunt at the Full Circle Theatre on select nights from June 8 to 24 (see the video above for a taste of the show).
Take the family to Napanee
Napanee’s family-friendly Riverfront Festival (June 8 and 9) at Conservation Park features live music, vendors, a canoe tug-of-war competition, waterskiing trials, a pancake breakfast and other summer fun. (More details are available on the festival’s Facebook page.)
Learn to cook in the wild at Frontenac Provincial Park
Sick of living on granola bars and fruit leather when you camp? It doesn’t have to be that way! Sign up for the single burner gourmet cooking workshop at Frontenac Provincial Park on Sunday, June 10. You’ll learn about camp stoves, utensils, food safety, recipes and other things you need to know to become the Martha Stewart of the wilderness.
Channel your inner hippie in Almonte
Flickr/Creative Commons photo by Nick Page.
Do you like puppies, campfire songs, yoga, tie-dying and communal suppers? Most importantly, do you like Volkswagen camper vans? If so, here’s the weekend event for you: BusFusion, an annual VW van gathering in Almonte (June 7 to 10).
See monster trucks in Kingston or Ottawa
You can get your fix of really, really big trucks racing and crashing into each other at Monster Spectacular at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston on Friday, June 8, and at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday, June 9.
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