Things to do in Ottawa, the Outaouais, Eastern Ontario and beyond (January 6 to 12)

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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!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WEEK OF JANUARY 6 TO 12

Register NOW to race through Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg

Grab your headlamps and bring your snowshoes! The Dion Ignite the Night Snowshoe Race takes place at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg on Saturday, January 11, with 5K and 10K routes. Even though Alight at Night is officially over, the village’s million-light display will be switched on for the race. This is a fundraiser for the Winchester District Memorial Hospital. The registration fee is $50 and you must register by 11pm on Wednesday, January 8; no race-day registrations will be available. (Ignore the date on the video above; it was made to promote the 2023 race.)

See Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan at the Canadian Tire Centre

Do the January blahs have you craving some chuckles? You could head to the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata on Saturday, January 11, to hear two of America’s top comics—Jim Gaffigan and a guy you might have heard of called Jerry Seinfeld—dishing out the funny.

Learn to make soap in Carleton Place

Debbie Gervais of Sunflower Soaps is running a 2.5-hour, hands-on workshop on soap making at the Carleton Place Collective on Saturday, January 11. All participants will leave with three or four soaps in the scent of their choice.

Cheer on the Charge at TD Place

If you haven’t seen the PWHL’s Ottawa Charge in action yet, why not make this your weekend? The women of the Charge are facing off against the Boston Fleet at the Arena at TD Place on Saturday, January 11. The video above is a great introduction to the team—and the fan devotion they inspire.

Play board games in Almonte

Equator Coffee Roasters’ cafe in Almonte is hosting a board games night on Friday, January 10. The theme is “Saturday morning cartoons” and costumes are encouraged! Bring your friends, bring your board games, and nosh on sandwiches, shareables, coffee and alcoholic beverages as you play.

Learn how to track animals in Gatineau Park

The NCC is offering free guided snowshoeing hikes in Gatineau Park on weekends throughout the winter, starting on Saturday, January 11. Learn to spot and identify animal tracks! The outings will be offered alternately in English and French, on Saturdays and Sundays, and snowshoes are provided. Spaces are limited, so register in advance.

Catch a concert in Ottawa and elsewhere

Concerts coming up this week include an afternoon performance by Ambre McLean in Westboro; a show by six emerging artists (part of the Intimate Acoustics series) at the Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg; an ’80s dance party at House of TARG in Old Ottawa South; and a show by Tragically Hip tribute band Road Apples in Kingston. You’ll find links to these and many, many more performances in my concerts calendar.

Get outdoors with the Canadian Ski Challenge

Looking to work off some of that holiday turkey and champagne? 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.)

Enjoy comedy for a good cause in Brockville

For one night only, 1000 Islands Toyota in Brockville will become a comedy club for good cause: raising money for a local woman who needs to travel to Cyprus for surgery. The Pop-Up Comedy Night takes place on Friday, January 10.

Learn to cook with tahini in Westboro

Do you have a half-used jar of tahini taking up valuable real estate in your fridge—or is that just me? If so, you might be interested in a two-hour cooking with tahini class in Westboro on Saturday, January 11. At the event run by Asma’s Table, you’ll taste your creations and make enough to bring some home.

Sip icewine in Niagara

It’s a bit of a hike, especially at this time of year, but the Niagara Icewine Festival (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, January 10 to 26) might be worth the trip if you’re a wine lover. It offers three jam-packed weekends of events celebrating Canada’s famous dessert wine, in and around Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Hear stories from Sierra Leone at Arts Court

At the Ottawa StoryTellers event Bringing Villagers’ Voices to Life: Stories from Sierra Leone, storytellers Nancy Edwards and Dauda Mansaray weave together their experiences of rural life in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Engaging the audience through narrative, spoken word poetry and song, they’ll share complementary yet contrasting perspectives on village life from Sierra Leone’s post-independence and civil war periods. The afternoon event takes place at Arts Court on Sunday, January 12.

Enjoy turkey and James Joyce in Lowertown

The James Joyce Association of Ottawa is presenting an afternoon event combining a turkey dinner, a cash bar, live music and readings from James Joyce’s The Dead on Saturday, January 11. It’s taking place at the St. Brigid’s Centre for the Arts on St. Patrick Street.

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.