Wondering what to do in Ottawa this weekend? It is a great time for a road trip in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais or northern New York state. In fact, there’s SO much going on that I keep adding new items, so please keep checking back here regularly. Happy road tripping!
Cover photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18 TO NOVEMBER 24
Enjoy a festive day in Perth, Carleton Place or Stittsville
In Perth, the Downtown Heritage Perth Business Improvement Association is organizing a holiday shopping event called Once Upon a Christmas on Saturday, November 23. From 10am to 4pm, you can enjoy live music, a vendors’ market, hot chocolate, horse-drawn wagon rides, a drum circle, axe throwing, fun with Santa and his elves, and more.
Down the road in Carleton Place, Winterfest will be taking place on Saturday, November 23, from 4pm to 8pm.
During the free, family-friendly event, you can enjoy roaming carollers and entertainers, free horse-drawn wagon rides, sidewalk sales and a vendor market—and that’s just the beginning of the fun.
The following day (Sunday, November 24), Old-Fashioned Christmas at the Goulbourn Museum (2064 Huntley Road, Stittsville) will be a festive celebration for the whole family. Meet Santa, listen to a holiday story, roast marshmallows over a fire, feed the Christmas goats and make vintage Christmas crafts. It runs from 10am to 3pm, and admission is free (but donations are welcomed).
See cool movies in Ottawa and Montreal
The European Union Film Festival will screen 28 movies at the Ottawa Art Gallery between November 15 and 30. The movies include dramas, comedies, documentaries and more. If you can’t make it to the in-person event, you can purchase streaming access to 19 of the films online.
And in Montreal, the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), which runs from November 20 to December 1, presents more than 100 movies from dozens of countries, including Senegal, Italy, Singapore, Ukraine and Brazil.
Have some laughs for a good cause in Hammond
On Saturday, November 23, at 7pm, Broken Stick Brewery in Hammond is hosting a Comedy FUNdraiser to rustle up funds for the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail. The trail is a great amenity for cyclists, cutting across a pretty swath of rural Eastern Ontario east of Ottawa—but it takes money to keep it up!
Catch a play in Ottawa, Kemptville or Smiths Falls
It’s another packed week for theatre fans, with everything from the comedy-drama Steel Magnolias at the Elmwood School and the drama (with funny bits) The Lion in Winter at the Gladstone Theatre (both in Ottawa) to the classic Our Town in Kemptville and a musical version of A Christmas Carol in Smiths Falls, there’s so much to choose from! See my local theatre post for details on these and many other shows.
Hear Bach in Montreal
Artists from around the world come to Montreal each year to celebrate the music of Johann Sebastian Bach during the Montreal Bach Festival (November 16 to December 8). This year, the choices include a free organ concert at St. Joseph’s Oratory on Sunday, November 24, and a performance of Bach’s Grand Motets by the U.K. Ensemble Solomon’s Knot at St. George’s Church on Friday, November 29.
Take the kids to a Santa Claus parade
Lots of communities are hosting Santa Claus parades this weekend, including Kanata, Embrun, Arnprior and Kingston on Saturday, November 23, and Russell and Maxville on Sunday, November 24. See my Santa Claus parades post for links.
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais, northern New York state and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend 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 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.
8 comments
Hi Laura. I am heading up publicity for an arts group in Ottawa, called Art Lending of Ottawa. We are thirty local artists and we have four shows a year at the R.A. Centre. Is there a way that I can have our event mentioned in your list. Our Holiday Art Show is on Dec. 16th. Let me know and I could send you description of the event. Thanks
Hi Leslie!Thanks for getting in touch. I know Art Lending–we have one of your paintings in our living room! I looked up your Dec. 16th show online and I’ll add a link to it in my art/craft sale post right now. Good luck with the event! Cheers, Laura
Aha, sometimes I’m further ahead of the game than I think! The show was already in my Christmas sales post at https://ottawaroadtrips.com/2022/11/01/ottawa-christmas-craft-fairs-holiday-sales-artisans/.
Hi. The Delta festival link takes one to the 2023 calendar of events.
Oops, thanks for letting me know! Sorry about that. I’ll fix it.
[…] If you’re looking for other upcoming events in and around Ottawa, check my main events post. […]
Hi, just a correction; It is Serres Robert Plante Greenhouses. Serres means greenhouses in French.
Oops–thank you! I’ll correct it.