Heads Up: Butterfly show, cycling app, Man Who Planted Trees

1.2K

This week’s post has lots of time-sensitive news. Scan it now to make sure you don’t miss the chance to see butterflies at Carleton, a charming show about trees at the Canadian Museum of Nature or the first movie in a foreign film series in Kanata. I also have the scoop on a new cycling app, art classes in Cumberland, a colours-and-cocktails event in Sandy Hill, an upcoming concert with a fascinating backstory, and Air Canada’s off-again, ON-again flights to London.

Cumberland museum is offering art classes

The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum is offering an afternoon introduction to printmaking class this fall. You can take it in French on Sunday, October 5, or in English on Saturday, November 1. Advance registration required.

You can see foreign films in Kanata

The fall season of the Stittsville Rotary International Film Series begins on Monday, September 29, at the Landmark Cinemas in Kanata. Each film will have two screenings, at 4pm and 7pm. First up is the French film Dans la peau de Cyrano. Other movies in the series include Bob Trevino Likes It (October 27), Secret Mall Apartment (November 24) and The Penguin Lessons (December 15). Tickets for the whole series are $60.

Side note: I saw The Penguin Lessons earlier this year and adored it, partly because I’m a bit obsessed with penguins!

Hurry if you want to get your colours done in Sandy Hill

As I type this, tickets are almost gone for the Friday, September 26, edition of Colours and Cocktails, a regular event at Bee You Creative Styles in Sandy Hill. The gift and consignment shop is offering two more Colours and Cocktails evenings this fall, though, on Friday, October 10, and Sunday, November 9. Tickets include a colour analysis session with Leah Geller, two cocktails (or mocktails) and snacks, plus the chance to peruse the store’s stock.

New app helps cyclists find safe routes through the city

A tip of the hat to the Ottawa Lookout newsletter for the heads up on the new Cycling Guide mobile app. According to this story in the Kitchissippi Times, some 150 volunteers tested the app before it was rolled out. The app allows users to map routes between two places and uses different colours to show the level of vehicle traffic on various roads. You can download the app here.

Museum of Nature show about the beauty of trees closes on October 13

If you’ve been thinking of seeing The Man Who Planted Trees: An Immersive Tale at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, don’t procrastinate too much longer. The show, which I finally got around to checking out a few weeks ago, closes on Monday, October 13.

I’ll confess with a bit of embarrassment that I had never heard of the short story “The Man Who Planted Trees,” a fable written by French author Jean Giono in 1953 and turned into an Oscar-winning film by Canadian animator Frédéric Back in 1987. So I was a bit perplexed when I started my walk through the installation. A headset provided music, narration and more at each of the stops in the multimedia show. As Back’s animated film played on huge screens around me, I wasn’t sure what I was watching. Was it a true story? (No.) When and where did it take place? (In France, starting in 1913.)

Despite my initial confusion, I became caught up in the tale of a lonely shepherd who planted thousands of trees in a desolate valley, which grew to provide shade and sustenance long after the shepherd was gone. However, I highly recommend reading the story or watching the film before you go, to better appreciate the immersive show. Giono was ahead of his time with this lovely environmentalist parable.

Butterfly show tickets go on sale on September 25

Butterfly fans, prepare now if you’d like to nab tickets for Carleton University’s insanely popular annual butterfly show (October 4, 5, 11 and 12). Tickets go on sale at noon on Thursday, September 25. If past years are any indication, they’ll sell out quickly.

Free concert next week has a fascinating story

Toronto’s historic St. Anne’s Church burned down in June 2024 … but its story will continue at Ottawa’s Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre (CDCC) next week.

During the COVID lockdown, Toronto violinist and composer Anne Lindsay recorded an album called Soloworks 2 at St Anne’s. The Byzantine-style church was decorated by some of Canada’s most important artists (including members of the Group of Seven) and renowned for its superb acoustics. The church burned down before the album’s release, so Lindsay was not able to perform it live for an audience there. However, the CDCC is the next best thing.

Built in 1914, the CDCC also has a Byzantine dome and great acoustics. Lindsay will perform Soloworks 2 there in a concert called Gathering Under the Dome on Monday, September 29. The evening will begin at 7pm with short presentations on the architecture, art and acoustics of St. Anne’s and the CDCC by Carleton University professors Peter Coffman, Brian Foss and James Wright. Admission is free.

Wait—Air Canada isn’t suspending London service

Via the ever-alert folks at The Ottawan newsletter come these two pieces of Air Canada news. First, the airline has changed its mind about suspending its non-stop Ottawa-London service over the winter. It now plans to offer the route year-round. Second, on December 15, Air Canada will start offering daily non-stop Ottawa-Moncton and Ottawa-Fredericton flights—just in time for Christmas and competing head-to-head with Porter Airlines on the two routes.

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.