If you’re looking for bus services, I have good news for you, as one new service has launched this month and another free shuttle has restarted for the season. If fundraisers are your thing, I have tips on a comedy night, a gala and a cold-water plunge. Plus, a musical superstar is coming to the Ottawa Jazz Festival and the tall ships are coming back to Brockville this summer! Read on for details.
The Ottawa Valley has a new bus service
Earlier this month, Odyssey Shuttles launched its new bus service in the Ottawa Valley. For now, service is offered Monday to Friday (that may expand to weekends, if demand warrants). It is geared toward people travelling from the Valley into Ottawa in the morning and returning at night, and there’s currently a 20% discount for same-day round trips. However, if you were heading to the Valley for an overnight trip, or if you just needed transport one way, the afternoon departures could be useful for trips from Ottawa. You need to book tickets online in advance.
In Ottawa, the shuttles stop at the Ottawa VIA Rail station, the Ottawa Hospital General Campus and the Kanata Terry Fox OC Transpo station. Destinations served in the Ottawa Valley are Arnprior, Renfrew, Cobden, Pembroke, Petawawa, Chalk River and Deep River.
P.S.: I also have a post outlining many other public transit options in Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais.
Speaking of buses … there’s a free shuttle to Gatineau Park
From January 25 until March 8, the National Capital Commission is providing a shuttle bus service on Saturdays from Ottawa (41 York Street in the Byward Market) and Gatineau (the Canadian Museum of History at 100 Laurier Street) to two stops in Gatineau Park (the Relais plein-air and Camp Fortune). The service is free but you must reserve online in advance.
Mavis Staples is coming to the Ottawa Jazz Festival
The Ottawa Jazz Festival has just announced that blues/soul/gospel/R&B/rock icon Mavis Staples will be headlining the Confederation Park Main Stage show on Saturday, June 21. Tickets are available now.
You can get festive for the Snowsuit Fund
SnowBall: A Cool Winter’s Eve (Wednesday, February 12) is a festive evening fundraiser at the Ottawa Art Gallery to raise money for the Snowsuit Fund. Guests will enjoy premium cocktails, chef stations, DJ tunes, live music, auctions, beauty bars and “surprise experiences.” The Snowsuit Fund helps bring warm clothing to Ottawa children in need. Tickets are limited and are on sale now.
Tall ships are returning to Brockville
Once again, the Brockville Tall Ships Festival will bring gorgeous sailing vessels to Brockville for a weekend of fun. This year, the event is scheduled to take place from June 20 to 22. Tickets are not yet on sale, but keep checking the festival’s website for info, as these tickets often sell out quickly.
Comedians are performing for a good cause in Vankleek Hill
Tickets are on sale now for a FUNdraiser Comedy Night for the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail on Saturday, February 15. The event at Beau’s Brewery will feature comedians Eric Collard, Danika Lange and Scott E.T., with Vankleek Hill’s Trevor Thompson as the headliner.
You can take a frosty plunge at a Centretown fundraiser
If dipping into an icy pool, then warming up in a cozy sauna, sounds like a perfectly plausible thing to do in February, then you can do just that in Centretown next month. The Centretown Plunge is a fundraiser for two community organizations that help vulnerable citizens: Centre 507 and the Centretown Community Health Centre. The event takes place from February 14 to 16 at Snider Plaza. Where’s Snider Plaza, you ask? I asked myself the same thing. It’s that fenced-off square on the west side of Bank Street, between Laurier and Slater streets.
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km 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.
