Things to do in Ottawa, the Outaouais, Eastern Ontario and beyond (January 20 to February 2, 2025)

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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 Jen Squires.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WEEK OF JANUARY 20 TO 26

Get wedding or home reno ideas in Ottawa

Did you find an engagement ring under the Christmas tree? At the Winter Wedding Show at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre (January 25 and 26), you can gather ideas for dresses, catering, honeymoons and more.

If you’re planning to do some renovations in 2025, perhaps the Ottawa Home and Remodelling Show (January 23 to 26) at the EY Centre will be more up your alley.

Frolic at a winter festival

Winter carnivals in and around Ottawa this week include the Carnaval St-Jean Bosco in Gatineau (January 21 to 26), the Optimist Club Winter Carnival in Carlsbad Springs (January 24 to 26), Dragonfest in Wakefield (January 25) and the Dalkeith Winter Carnival in Dalkeith (January 25 and 26). A bit further afield, you could enjoy Laval en blanc in Laval (January 24 to 26).

If a winter festival isn’t in the cards for you this week but you’d like to go to one later in the season, check my big list of nearby winter carnivals.

Eat, laugh and marvel in Saint-Pascal-Baylon

In the small community of Saint-Pascal-Baylon, east of Ottawa, you can catch dinner and a show starring magician-comedian Éric Leclerc on Saturday, January 25. Come for the burgers, stay for the jokes and be amazed at the sleight of hand! The show will be in French.

Enjoy a market in Navan or at Lansdowne Park

On January 25 and 26, Robert Plante Greenhouses in Navan is hosting a Winter Market inside its tropical greenhouses. More than 75 local vendors will be on hand, selling hand-made and artisanal products. Food and coffee will be available, as well as knife sharpening services and tarot card readings. And pets are welcome, too!

And in the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park, 613flea is back for 2025 with another busy indoor market featuring 150 vendors selling hand-made items, antiques, vintage clothing, foods and one-of-a-kind products.

Go roller skating in Ottawa

Maybe, like me, you caught the roller-skating wave in the 1980s. (My hangout was called Skate Country, I wore velour without shame, and my red glitter laces were my pride and joy.) Or perhaps you tried it later, ironic tongue firmly in cheek, and discovered that roller skating is a ton of fun. Either way, you can lace up your wheels (or rental skates) for the Solé Roller Jam and Rewind After Party on Saturday, January 25, at Skate & Play on Baxter Road. DJs will be spinning tunes from across the decades, from mid-afternoon until 3am.

Enjoy night and day snowshoeing in Gatineau Park

Have you always wanted to try night snowshoeing but never quite gotten around to it? This could be your year. The Friends of Gatineau Park are offering Snowshoes Under the Stars on Friday nights, starting on January 17 (weather permitting). The event includes snowshoe rental, a trail pass, a guided walk (during which you’ll learn how animals adapt to winter), and hot chocolate and cookies at the end. Over the course of the winter, the event will be held at different trails in Chelsea and Wakefield. Hikes start at 7pm. Tickets are $25, with a 20% discount for Friends of Gatineau Park members.

Don’t forget that the NCC is also offering free guided snowshoeing hikes in Gatineau Park on weekends throughout the winter. Learn to spot and identify animal tracks! The outings are offered alternately in English and French, on Saturdays and Sundays, and snowshoes are provided. Spaces are limited, so register in advance.

Play trivia for a good cause in Russell

Connie Johnston and Russell Trivia Services are hosting a trivia fundraiser for the Russell Optimist Club on Saturday, January 25. Teams of six to eight players can sign up to participate for $10 per person. All money raised will go toward hosting local events for families.

Taste chocolate in Almonte

Did you know that Hummingbird Chocolate Maker in Almonte offers tours of its tasty-smelling factory on Saturdays? Advance ticket purchase is recommended, as these tours often sell out. The tours take place at 1pm and cost $10 plus HST. You’ll get a 10% discount on chocolate during your visit. Note that these tours are aimed at adults and are not suitable for visitors younger than 8.

Learn to bake sourdough bread in Carp

Did you miss the whole sourdough baking craze during lockdowns? It’s never too late to start! And this weekend, you can take a four-hour sourdough baking class at Your Bread Box Bakery in Carp on Sunday, January 26.

Take in a play

Plays opening this week in Ottawa include Why It’s imPossible, billed as “a play about parenting in precarious times,” and In Misery: The Play, William Goldman’s adaptation of the popular Stephen King novel. They join a number of other plays continuing in Ottawa and other communities, which you can read about in my theatre post.

Go fat biking in Gatineau

Le Harfang, a fat-biking and snowshoeing site in Gatineau, is hosting an all-day event called Fat-Fest on Saturday, January 25, featuring guided fat-bike tours (for riders of various levels of ability), an outdoor DJ, a microbrewery beer tasting and more.

Come on down at Centrepointe

Have you ever wanted to be on a game show? Well, this week might be your chance, as the Game Show Extravaganza comes to the Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe on Saturday, January 25. This live event replicates the vibe of some of your favourite game shows, and people from the audience will be the contestants in events like an Adult Spelling Bee and Name That Tune.

Watch outdoorsy movies in Kingston and Ottawa

The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival showcases award-winning movies from the Alberta festival, which focuses on mountain sports, adventure and the environment. The Kingston edition of the festival is coming to the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in Kingston from January 23 to 25.

Later that week, the Ottawa edition of the festival opens at the Bytowne Cinema on Sunday, January 26, and it will run there until Tuesday, January 28.

Celebrate Robbie Burns all over

With Robbie Burns Day falling on a weekend this year (Saturday, January 25), there is no shortage of celebrations planned all over the region. The Scottish Society of Ottawa is hosting a Burns Night Ceilidh at the NDHQ Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess in Centretown, complete with live music, dancing, a cocktail bar and, intriguingly, “haggis poutine.” In Alexandria, where Scottish roots go back hundreds of years, you can watch fencers and sword fighters compete in the Robbie Burns Charitable Tournament. And the Cove Inn in Westport is offering a Robbie Burns Supper with music by Seventh Town.

Busy on January 25? Don’t worry; Deacon Brodies Pub on Elgin Street is offering Burns suppers on both January 24 and 25, as well as a special whisky tasting on Sunday, January 26.

Enjoy retro-themed drag bingo in Hammond

Devona Coe and a special guest are hosting Drag Bingo at Hammond Golf and Broken Stick Brewery on Sunday, January 26. Guests are invited to come dressed in an outfit from their favourite decade. (Dig out those shoulder pads and tie-dye, folks!) Admission includes four rounds of bingo with four cards per round, drag performances and the chance to win prizes. Proceeds from rainbow cocktail sales will be donated to LGBTTQ+ Around the Rainbow. Dinner will be available for an additional fee.

Catch a concert

Music lovers are spoiled for choice this week, with shows including an ’80s dance part, a Celtic celebration and Sum 41. Folk favourite Lynne Hanson is having a busy week in the capital with three shows. Two of them are already sold out, but tickets to a January 23 show at Centrepointe are still available. See my concert listing for links to these and many other performances.

Cheer for the home team at a hockey game

As I write this on Monday night, there are still a few seats left to see the Ottawa Senators take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday, January 25. But if you’ve left it this late to buy tickets, you’ll pay dearly for the privilege of rooting for the home team. The cheapest tickets, up in the nosebleed section, are going for almost $200 a pop. Want a seat near ice level, at centre ice? That’ll be a cool $628.30 each. 🙀 And that’s without parking and hot dogs!

Now that your eyes have stopped watering, here’s news: Also on Saturday, you can get centre ice tickets to see the Ottawa 67s face off against the Kingston Frontenacs for just $36 apiece.

Get outdoors with the Canadian Ski Challenge

Looking to get in shape in 2025? You can sign up for the Canadian Ski Marathon’s Canadian Ski Challenge. In that, you complete as many 15km and/or 50km ski trips as you can, anywhere you like, between January 1 and March 24. The more you do, the more badges you can earn! (Kids can earn badges for trips of 2km and 10km.)

See a museum show

This is your last week to see Give Me Shelter at Ottawa’s SAW Gallery. The exhibition, which presents works on the them of housing insecurity and homelessness by Canadian and international artists and architects, closes on Saturday, January 25. Time is also running out to see Cyprus—A Divided Island, which highlights the service of over 30,000 Canadians who participated in the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in Cyprus from 1964 to 1993. It’s on at the Canadian War Museum until Friday, January 31. For details on many other exhibitions in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and beyond, see my museums and galleries post.

WEEK OF JANUARY 27 TO FEBRUARY 2

Buy from local vendors in Kemptville

On Saturday, February 1, you can buy from more than 40 vendors at the Eastern Ontario Craft and Gift Valentine Market in Kemptville. It’s happening at the North Grenville Municipal Centre from 10am to 3pm.

Go skating and eat chili in Manor Park

The Manor Park Community Council is throwing a Skating Party and Chili Cook-Off in the Ottawa neighbourhood on Satruday, February 1. The fun will include exhibition hockey games between local teams, family skating, a chili cook-off, hot dogs, s’mores and bonfires.

Cheer for snowmobile racers in Eganville

Since 1974, snowmobilers have been coming to Eganville each winter to test their machines and their skills against each other in the Bonnechere Cup. This year, the action returns to Eganville’s ice oval on February 1 and 2. The video above, from a past event, gives you a taste of the race.

Check out an LGBTQ film festival in Kingston

In Kingston, the Reelout Queer Film Festival (January 30 to February 8) screens dozens of movies in just about every genre, from comedy and drama to horror and documentary, produced by 45 filmmakers hailing from 14 countries.

Enjoy a winter carnival

Winter carnivals big and small are livening up communities near and far this weekend. As well as a little Ottawa celebration you may have heard of called Winterlude (January 31 to February 17), you can choose from the following (driving time from downtown Ottawa is in parentheses):

• Greely (0:30): Greely Winter Carnival, January 30 to February 2
• Petawawa (1:45): Cabin Fever, January 31 to February 9
• Saranac Lake (2:45): Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, January 31 to February 9
• Ottawa (0:10): Rideau Hall Winter Celebration, February 1
• Sarsfield (0:35): Carnaval Sarsfield, February 1
• Dunvegan (0:50): Dunvegan Winter Carnival, February 1
• Braeside (0:50): Braeside Winter Carnival, February 1
• St. Bernardin (1:00): Carnaval St-Bernardin, February 1
• Grenville (1:15): Carnaval d’hiver de Grenville, February 1

P.S.: Don’t miss my big list of nearby winter carnivals for links to other winter festivals later in the season.

Dig into poutine across Canada

It’s winter. It’s cold. It’s dark. What better time to console yourself with cheesy carbs, right? That must be the thinking behind La Poutine Week (February 1 to 7), which showcases poutine makers across Canada. Check out the La Poutine Week website to find a purveyor of poutine goodness near you. The list includes shops in Ottawa, Gatineau, Montreal and more.

See outdoor adventures on film in Ottawa and Gatineau

The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival showcases award-winning movies from the Alberta festival, which focuses on mountain sports, adventure and the environment. The Ottawa edition of the festival continues at the Bytowne Cinema until Tuesday, January 28.

You can also catch the Outaouais edition of the festival at the Salle Odyssée du Centre Culturel in Gatineau on Sunday, February 2. There, the movies are presented in their original languages with French subtitles.

Cheer for athletes in the Adirondacks

The Empire State Winter Games (January 30 to February 2) bring together athletes from across New York state to compete in more than 20 winter sports in venues across the Adirondacks, including Olympic training sites. You can cheer on the competitors in multiple communities, including Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake.

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.