Whether you like folk music or fine food, or daffodils or big ships, this week’s Heads Up post has something for you. If you have a young bird lover in the family, I’ll tell you where they can sign up for an overnight camp to learn about habitat management, bird banding and more. And if your kids are more interested in water parks, don’t miss the news about Quebec’s biggest waterpark, which will be just a 90-minute drive from Ottawa when it opens.
Tickets are available for the Ottawa Grassroots Festival
The Ottawa Grassroots Festival (April 24 to 27) will be taking place at the First Unitarian Congregation on Cleary Avenue. Headliners include Lynn Miles (above) and Devin Cuddy. Individual tickets and multi-concert packages are available now.
Attention, ship spotters
Hey, I know train spotting is a thing, but are people who like to watch ships known as ship spotters? I might not be sure of the terminology, but I do know that the St. Lawrence Seaway recently opened for the season (on March 22, to be precise). If you like watching big ocean-going ships making their way up and down the river, Brockville Tourism has details on where to get the best view, as well as how to find out which ship is headed your way and when.
Rideau Lakes will soon be coming up daffodils
Sure, you know about Ottawa’s tulips, but did you know that another spring flower has its own celebration in Eastern Ontario? The Township of Rideau Lakes—which includes numerous small communities, such as Portland, Delta and Chaffeys Lock—celebrates Daffodil Days from mid-April to mid-May. Homeowners and villagers across the township plant beds of the cheerful spring flowers, and some businesses run daffodil-themed events. For instance, Stone Manor Studios in Newboro is offering an intermediate stained-glass workshop to make a glass daffodil on Sunday, April 6.
P.S.: This isn’t even the only non-tulip-themed spring flower event in Eastern Ontario! Near Carleton Place, the Franktown Lilac Festival will be taking place on Saturday, May 24.
Wakefield chefs take home top prizes in culinary contest
Two Wakefield chefs walked away with top honours in the l’Outaouais en cuisine competition hosted by Tourism Outaouais in February. Chefs were asked to create a one-bite dish for the judges to sample. Liam Carey, head chef at Village House, earned the jury’s choice award with a smoked mushroom and squash croquette, while Marie-Ève Gingras of the Wakefield Mill topped the popular vote with her dish of arctic char tartare on focaccia. The Low Down to Hull and Back News (my favourite name for a newspaper, ever) has more details on the contest.
Young nature lovers can learn about birding in Prince Edward County
Here’s a great opportunity if you have a budding ornithologist (in plain language, a bird scientist) in the family. The Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory is taking applications for its 2025 Youth Ornithology Career Orientation (YOCO) program. Between late May and early October, groups of nine young people aged 13 to 16 will learn about biology/ecology, habitat management, conservation and ornithology at the bird observatory, located near Milford in Prince Edward County. Each session lasts three days, and food and camping accommodations are included in the participation fee. Campers are responsible for their own transportation to and from the observatory.
A huge indoor water park is coming to Mirabel
This project has been in the works for a while—it was first announced in 2021, under a different name—but it appears that the Mōrea Water Park (Mōrea Parc Aquatique) in Mirabel is back on the table. According to a recent news release, the indoor project will be the largest waterpark ever built in Quebec. The Polynesian-themed attraction is expected to cost up to $200 million to build, and the complex will include two hotels, a performance venue and a convention centre, along with watery attractions such as a lazy river and a water roller coaster. According to an earlier news release, construction is slated to begin in 2026 and the first phase of the project (the water park and one hotel) is scheduled to open to the public in summer 2028. Mirabel is about 90 minutes east of Ottawa by car.
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.
