In this week’s Heads Up post, you’ll learn about an upcoming wine-tasting event in Little Italy, step inside a great restaurant in Perth, get the scoop on free admissions to Parks Canada sites in 2026, and find out where you can get some fun family photos taken. Plus, there’s a shameless plug for my husband’s biggest trivia gig of the year! Read on for details.
Sample Ontario wines in Little Italy
Tickets are available now for Outstanding in Their Fields, a wine-tasting and -buying event at Sala San Marco in Ottawa’s Little Italy. Taking place on Thursday, November 6, the Savvy event gives you the chance to sample more than 100 Ontario wines and order the ones you fancy. You can also taste fine chocolates, balsamic vinegars, Mexican foods and more, and you can order a cheese board to enjoy. Tickets range from $50 to $75 per person.
Enjoy free admission to Parks Canada sites next year
Did you take advantage of the Canada Strong Pass this summer to enjoy free or discounted admission to Parks Canada sites across the country? Or did you kick yourself for missing the opportunity? Good news either way: Parks Canada will be offering the pass again from December 12, 2025, to January 15, 2026, and again in summer 2026! And the best news of all: You don’t even have to buy a physical pass. The free/discounted admission will apply automatically when you visit a site.
Get discounts on skiing at Quebec resorts
And speaking of discount passes: the Ski Passe-Partout gives you five discounts to use on day or night lift tickets at dozens of Quebec ski resorts—including Camp Fortune, Vorlage and Mont Ste-Marie in the Outaouais, and multiple sites in the Laurentians (such as Station Mont Tremblant). It costs $54.99 plus taxes per person.
Take the kids to a pet-themed event in Ottawa
Did you know that the Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) runs special events for families with kids aged 2 to 14? The afternoons usually include crafts, games and a photo booth at the OHS main office on Hunt Club Road near Merivale. Tickets are available now for the Howl-O-Ween Family Event on Sunday, October 26. Upcoming events include a winter wonderland afternoon on December 14, and Valentine’s Day and spring events. (I take no responsibility if your tots spot a cat, dog or rabbit that they absolutely must take home with them. 😊) Admission to the Halloween event is $5 per child; accompanying adults are admitted free.
Pose for holiday photos in Dunvegan
Speaking of photo ops: The Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan is now taking bookings for 15-minute sessions with a professional photographer on Sunday, November 16. The idea is that the museum’s collection of heritage buildings makes the perfect backdrop for your annual Christmas card or family photo. Each $95 session will get you 10 digital pix.
Hop aboard new flights from Ottawa
Good news for long-distance road trippers: Air Transat has announced that it will be providing three-times-a-week non-stop transatlantic service between Ottawa and London (Gatwick), beginning May 15, 2026.
For trips closer to home, Air Canada will be adding two return flights daily between Ottawa and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (AKA the Island Airport). The new flights, which will bring the number of return flights between Ottawa and Billy Bishop to six times daily, will begin in January 2026.
Park near the Cataraqui Trail in Smiths Falls
The Town of Smiths Falls has opened a new trailhead for the Cataraqui Trail, a 104km multi-use trail that links Smiths Falls to Strathcona (near Napanee). The new trailhead includes parking for 20 cars, which will likely be a relief to nearby residents. Before this opening, most visitors had to park on nearby side streets if they were coming by car to access the trail.
Montreal to open 14 new light-rail stations
REM, Montreal’s light-rail service, plans to open 14 new stations along an extension linking Deux-Montagnes (just north of Laval) to downtown Montreal and the South Shore suburb of Brossard. The new line is slated to open on November 17. This could come in handy if you’re heading to Montreal from the Outaouais along highways 50, 148 and/or 344, and you don’t want to drive right into downtown. It would also be useful if you’re visiting Montreal without a car and want to explore this northwestern corner of the urban area.
Peek inside a Perth restaurant
I just stumbled across a video on Facebook that takes you inside Gather, one of my favourite restaurants in Perth. The video is promoting grants available to business owners, which may not be of interest, but I thought you might enjoy seeing the inside of this restaurant and learning a bit more about the co-owners, who are both sommeliers. (And, yes, I know I should be shooting more video myself! I’m working on it.)
Register now for World Trivia Night
And to wrap up, a little bit of shameless spouse promotion: If you’ve ever thought of getting a team together for World Trivia Night (Canada’s largest live trivia event), don’t delay! Early-bird registration closes on Monday, October 27. If you register by then, you’ll only need to raise a minimum of $600 (that’s $60 per member of a 10-person team) to participate. After that deadline, the minimum goes up to $700. And I know I’m biased, but my husband writes the questions for this event, and they’re really fun. 😊 Funds raised support the Children’s Aid Foundation of Ottawa. The event is taking place on Friday, November 28, at the Rogers Centre in Ottawa.
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.