If you’re planning travels close to home, I have news of fashionable cocktail events in Sandy Hill, a new chocolate shop in Stittsville and art classes in Quyon. Further afield, I’ve found a cool map of Toronto and the details on a Prince Edward County birding festival. There’s info on a new suggestion for strengthening the ByWard Market. And if you’re heading to the U.K., don’t miss the details of a new non-stop flight linking Ottawa to London. Enjoy!
New chocolate shop opens in Stittsville
If you find yourself in Stittsville craving something sweet, Stittsville Central has news for you: a new chocolate shop opened at 1626 Stittsville Main Street in February. White Pine Chocolates uses B Corp-certified ethical chocolate, as well as fruit and other regional ingredients, to make fresh chocolates of all sorts. You can also sign up for a tasting or workshop. Currently, the shop is open from Wednesday through Sunday, as well as Tuesdays by appointment.
You can sign up for summer art workshops in Quyon
Quyon artist Katharine Fletcher is hosting two summer Saturday workshops at her studio in Quyon, in the Pontiac region of the Outaouais. Registration is open now for eco-dyeing with flowers and leaves (July 19) and fun with gelli-plate printing (August 9). Both workshops are offered under the auspices of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum.
More than 50 languages are spoken in Toronto
If you’ve ever been to Toronto, you’ll know that it’s one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Stats bear that out—51 percent of Torontonians were born outside Canada, a higher proportion than in New York, London or Sydney. The great Brilliant Maps website has a new post featuring a fascinating map of Toronto highlighting which languages other than English are most common in which neighbourhoods of the city.
Should the ByWard Market become a Canadian-goods hub?
Citizen journalist Bruce Deachman has an intriguing idea: Make Ottawa’s ByWard Market area a hub for Canadian shops and restaurants. He notes that the Market already has a core of Canadian-focused businesses, such as Indigenous retailer Adaawewigamig and Winnipeg-based furniture shop EQ3. Deachman thinks the neighbourhood should lean into its Canuck identity, with Canadian-focused restaurant menus and big maple leaf banners. Could this be the idea that helps bring the Market back to its former glory? Maybe.
Speaking of Canadian shopping, Chatelaine has advice on making your grocery list more Canadian.
PEC bird festival schedule is out
Attention, birders: The program for the annual Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory’s Spring Birding Festival is out. The Prince Edward County festival runs from May 9 to 11 (with an additional event on May 3), and tickets to the various workshops and walks are available now.
Colours and Cocktails tickets are available
Remember I wrote about Bee You Creative Styles a few months ago? The cool consignment-and-more store in Sandy Hill holds monthly Cocktails and Colours events, where—as the name suggests—you can have your colours done while sipping on a fancy drink or mocktail. The next three editions are on May 16, June 6 and July 4, and tickets are available now.
You can fly non-stop from Ottawa to London
Last week, Air Canada relaunched its non-stop service from Ottawa to London’s Heathrow airport, aboard Boeing Dreamliner aircraft. That means Ottawans now have two choices for non-stop transatlantic flights; Air France was already offering non-stop flights between Ottawa and Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport.
Eastern Ontario tourism businesses see a flurry of bookings
According to a recent article on the CBC Ottawa website, hotels, vacation rental companies and tourism boards in Eastern Ontario are seeing an upsurge in business this year as compared to 2024. And a new survey shows 90 percent of Ontarians plan to take an overnight pleasure trip in the province this year. Looks like it’s going to be a busy summer!
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.
