41+ fun things to do in and around Ottawa, October 20 to 26

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Halloween fun is kicking into high gear this week, with multiple communities organizing trick-or-treating events. But that’s not all that’s happening—not by a long shot! From a yarn-and-more crafting event in Vankleek Hill and a comedy show in a Morrisburg vineyard to a fiddle fest in Chelsea, the Ottawa International Writers Festival and restaurant deals in Prince Edward County, there’s so much going on! Read on for details.

Cover photo by Margarida Afonso on Unsplash.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tap your toes to fiddlers in Chelsea

The Gatineau Hills Fiddle Festival is coming to La Fab sur Mill Arts Centre (8, chemin Mill, Chelsea) from October 23 to 26. The packed schedule includes concerts, jam sessions, a community dance and workshops focusing on fiddling styles from a wide range of places, including Quebec, Cape Breton and the U.S.

Take a fundraising walk in Ottawa

This week, two similarly named events will be raising money for excellent causes.

On Thursday, October 23, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation Night Light Walk is a three-kilometre walk that starts at the Aberdeen Plaza at Lansdowne Park. Organizers suggest you arrive at 6:15pm for a 7pm start time. Funds raised will go to Harmony House, Nelson House and Maison d’amitié, to support women and children experiencing family violence.

Two night later (Saturday, October 25) the Light the Night walk aims to raise $400,000 to research cures for blood cancers and provide support services for people living with leukaemia or lymphoma. The event starts at the Canadian War Museum, and doors open at 5:30pm.

Go to a fancy dinner in Gatineau

La Tablée des Chefs is a fundraiser for food-related charities that brings together top chefs and businesspeople to make and eat fine food, and bid on cool silent auction items. The Ottawa edition is happening at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau on Monday, October 20.

Shop for unique items in Ottawa or Rideau Ferry

If you enjoy browsing for hand-created items, head to Lansdowne Park in the Glebe. The Signatures Handmade Market in the Aberdeen Pavilion (October 23 to 26) gives you the chance to browse for items made by more than 130 artists, artisans, culinary businesses and other creators from across Canada.

Also this weekend in Ottawa, you can drop into the Out of the Box Fibre Artists Fall Fibre Fling at Kitchissippi United Church on Island Park Drive. During the two-day event (October 25 and 26), you can shop for fibre-art pieces and see demonstrations.

In Rideau Ferry, CC’s on the Rideau is hosting a Harvest Market on Saturday, October 25, from 10am to 3pm. The event will feature more than 25 local vendors, along with an outdoor bar, BBQ and live music. Admission is $2 (free for children 12 and under), and it’s a fundraiser for Lanark County Interval House.

Enjoy Halloween fun all over

The Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum is offering tours of the United Cemeteries on October 25 and 26. The guides will be sharing stories of some of the region’s earliest settlers. Tickets are $20 per person and you can buy them at the museum or via e-transfer (see details at the link above).

That’s just one of the many, many events with a Halloween edge happening this week. Here are just a few of the others. (For the full list and more details, see my Halloween events post.)

• On Saturday, October 25, kids can trick-or-treat with the mayor at Ottawa City Hall.
• The Billings Estate National Historic Site is hosting an event called Halloween Heist aimed at children 10 and younger (October 25 and 26).
• On October 25 and 26 (11am to 5pm), you can check out the Ottawa Mystic Market at the Next Door Market and Event Space (955a Gladstone Avenue).
• Urban Arts Collective (1088 Somerset Street West) is hosting a Halloween Night Market and Party on Saturday, October 25.
• The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum is hosting a Halloween Hijinks day for families on October 25 and 26.
• In Hammond, the Hammond Hill Haunted Forest (October 23 to 26) is a creepy 25-minute walk through a frightening woods.
• The Arnprior Witch Walk is a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt on Saturday, October 25.
• Little ones can trick-or-treat their way around downtown Kemptville businesses during Kreepy Kemptville on Saturday, October 25, from 10am to 12pm.
• On Saturday, October 25, downtown Smiths Falls will become one big trick-or-treating destination during Skele-bration (10am to 1pm).
• Maple Key Day Camp in Perth plans to scare visitors with a Haunted Woods on October 24 and 25, animated by live actors.
• Spook the Street (Saturday, October 25), is a downtown Brockville trick-or-treating event and costume contest that runs from 10am to 1pm.
• There’s a Halloween Bazaar at Cornerstone Organics in Long Sault on Saturday, October 25.
• The Optimist Club of Lancaster and the Raisin River Conservation Authority are hosting a Haunted Drive-Thru at Charlottenburgh Park in Lancaster on Saturday, October 25.
• For something completely different, a company called SCUBA Finatics has organized an underwater pumpkin-carving event on Saturday, October 25, in the St. Lawrence River offshore from Ingleside.
• On Saturday, October 25, Pumpkin Treats Downtown Pembroke will feature trick-or-treating at downtown businesses, a trunk-or-treat event, a haunted library and more.
• Gananoque will be hosting a Spooktacular Trick-or-Treat event downtown on Saturday, October 25, from 1pm to 3pm. And that night, there will be a Halloween Party at the Gananoque Legion.

Browse for rocks and gems at the EY Centre

At the Ottawa Rock ‘n’ Gem Show at the EY Centre (October 23 to 26), you can shop for crystals, fossils, gems and geological wonders discovered in Canada and around the world. Vendors will also be selling beads, carvings, jewellery, decor and more.

Have some laughs in Morrisburg

Ottawa standup comic Paddy Mack is the headliner for a Pre-Halloween Comedy and Music Spectacular at StoneCropAcres Winery + Vineyard on the afternoon of Sunday, October 26.

Go to an artists’ event in Ottawa or Shawville

Among local artists, this is an eagerly anticipated Ottawa event: The Enriched Bread Artists Co-op is launching its annual Open Studio with a vernissage on Thursday, October 23. During this year’s edition, you can visit studios and see works by 21 artists, on Saturdays and Sundays (11am to 5pm) from October 25 until November 2.

And in Shawville, Café 349 is hosting a show by Quyon artist Katharine Fletcher called Transformations, which runs until Saturday, November 1. It features her mixed-media acrylic Spirit Animals, as well as enchanted landscapes where faeries and dragons fly, and her recent work using gelli-plates to transform botanicals into surprisingly patterned prints. You can meet the artist during a vernissage on Wednesday, October 22, from 4pm to 6pm.

See a play in Constance Bay, Smiths Falls or Brockville

This week is your last chance to see the whodunnit Murder on the Rerun at the Station Theatre in Smiths Falls (running until October 26). And it’s your only chance to see the comedy Sandy Toes and Salty Kisses in Constance Bay (October 21 to 26), or Roald Dahl’s Matilda at the Brockville Arts Centre (October 23 to 25). For details on these and many other local plays, see my theatre post.

Hear authors in Ottawa

The fall edition of the Ottawa International Writers Festival (October 22 to 26) features a wide slate of novelists, poets and non-fiction authors—as well as artists and musicians—from Ottawa and elsewhere, including Souvankham Thammavongsa, Chris Hadfield, Lyse Doucet, Jay Ingram, Quill Christie-Peters, Alan Doyle and many more.

Buy fun fibres in Vankleek Hill

During the Vankleek Hill Fibre Frolic on Sautrday, October 25, you can shop for yarns, knitting needles, fabric, quilting supplies and more from 18 vendors. And if you have fibre craft-related tools you no longer need, bring ’em along for the swap table. The event at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre is free, but donations to the village’s Arbor Gallery are appreciated.

Enjoy a Tibetan celebration in Ottawa

Ottawa Friends of Tibet is holding a Tibetan Festival and Fundraiser at Ottawa’s First Unitarian Congregation on Saturday, October 25. The event, which will run from 3:30pm to 7pm, will feature cultural performances, meditation, prayer flag-making, Tibetan food, a bazaar and a silent auction. Proceeds will support Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal. Tickets are $70 in advance or $75 at the door.

Dance to the music in Ottawa, Chelsea, Almonte, Merrickville and elsewhere

This week’s highlights on my big list of local concerts include shows by Ron Sexmith at the NAC, Paul Brandt and Terri Clarke at Centrepointe, Tony Turner in Chelsea, Danny Michel in Almonte and the Devin Cuddy Duo in Merrickville.

See the stars near Kaladar

Near the night of the new moon each month, weather permitting, the Lennox and Addington County Dark Sky Viewing Area offers a free Laser-Guided Stargazing Tour on Friday and Saturday nights. Each tour starts about an hour after dusk and lasts approximately 90 minutes. You’ll get a laser-guided tour of the night sky and perhaps peek through a telescope. The next tour nights are October 24 and 25. Even though the tour is free, you should go online to reserve a spot if you’re interested. The viewing area is in Erinsville, just south of where Highway 7 intersects with Highway 41 in Kaladar, Ontario.

Check out a rummage sale in Pembroke

Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Pembroke (68 Renfrew Street) is holding a rummage sale on Saturday, October 25. This is one for the early birds; it runs from 8:30am to 11am.

Eat well for a good price in Prince Edward County

Once again this year, Countylicious (October 23 to November 16) will give you the chance to enjoy prix-fixe meals at 15 restaurants across Prince Edward County. It could be just the excuse you need to try a new-to-you restaurant or some quirky dishes you might not have chosen otherwise. Menus are priced at between $20 and $65 per person.

SAVE THE DATE

Here are a few upcoming events you might want to add to your calendar, if you’re planning ahead. (Look for details on these events and many others in upcoming posts.)

• October 30 to November 15: Outaouais au menu
• October 30 to November 16: MTLàTABLE
• November 1 and 2: Ottawa Wedding Show
• November 7 and 8: Orleans Cork and Fork Festival
• November 14 to 16: Homes for the Holidays, Ottawa
• November 14 to 29: European Union Film Festival, Ottawa
• November 15: Miracle on King Street, Brockville

NEED A PLACE TO STAY?

If you’re planning to head to any of these events and you need accommodation, why not use the map below to find a place to stay? If you book a place (anywhere in the world!) using the map, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting this site!

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.