It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written a Heads Up post, and news has been piling up! Read on to find out which local garlic festival has come back from the dead, which local ribfest is on the move, where you can learn to pair chocolate and wine, where you can enjoy winter fun in the Ottawa Valley, where you can hunt for ghosts, where you can enjoy winter fun in and around Calabogie, and much more.
Get on the waitlist for Great Bowls of Fire
Apologies, folks: Tickets for the very popular Great Bowls of Fire event at the Glebe Community Centre went on sale on February 21. By the time I was writing this post on the morning of February 23, the event had sold out! However, there is a waitlist. So if you’d like to be at this take-out event on Saturday, March 22, you might want to get your name on the waitlist now. Guests will be able to choose one of hundreds of handmade bowls crafted by members of the Ottawa Guild of Potters, along with soup and bread from participating restaurants. Funds raised go to the Ottawa Food Bank.
Perth Garlic Festival is coming back
Great news for garlic gourmets: The Perth Garlic Festival is coming back in 2026. The Perth Lions Club cancelled the event in 2025 due to lack of resources, but volunteers have stepped forward to resurrect the festival this year. It will take place at the Perth Fairgrounds on August 8 and 9.
Paint and sip wine in Gatineau
Every Friday night, Ivona restaurant in Gatineau hosts a Wine and Paint Night. Your ticket includes art instruction, all the art materials you need and a welcome drink. Advance reservations recommended.
Capital Ribfest is on the move
Attention, barbecue lovers: Capital Ribfest has announced it will be in a new location this year. It’s saying goodbye to Marion Dewar Festival Plaza (in front of Ottawa City Hall). This year, the ribbers will be cooking up their barbecue treats at the RA Centre on Riverside Drive, just west of Billings Bridge Shopping Centre, instead. The festival will take place from June 5 to 7.
Attend a cocktail party for a good cause in Ottawa
Tickets are still available for SnowBall: A Cool Winter’s Eve, a major fundraiser for the Snowsuit Fund. Guests will nosh on fancy appetizers and drinks at the cocktail party at 50 Sussex (headquarters of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society) on Wednesday, March 4.
Hunt for ghosts all over
The Haunted Walk is now taking bookings for its spring paranormal investigations. What is a paranormal investigation, you ask? Basically, you’ll search for evidence of otherworldly activity in historic buildings, with paranormal investigators as your guides. You can choose from outings at the Billings Estate National Historic Site in Ottawa, the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum in Cumberland, the Historic SDG Jail in Cornwall, the Mill of Kintail in Almonte (Mississippi Mills), the Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan and the L’Orignal Jail in L’Orignal.
Perth wine and cheese lounge reopens
More news from Perth: the 1827 Wine and Cheese Lounge has reopened under new owners.
Tickets are selling quickly for wine night in Almonte
To avoid disappointment, sign up now if you’d like to enjoy the Cheese, Chocolate and Wine Experience at Hummingbird Chocolate Maker in Almonte on Thursday, March 5. Tickets are going quickly. The two-hour event will include a mini-tour of Hummingbird, and four wine-and-food pairings.
Eganville Leader finds a buyer
The Eganville Leader, a popular community newspaper whose reach extends far beyond Eganville, has been saved from closure. Originally slated to shutter on February 28, the paper found two last-minute buyers who will keep the presses humming. This Facebook post by The Killaloe Post has all the details.
Winter adventures in Eastern Ontario
The Ontario’s Highlands tourism organization has developed a four-day, three-night winter itinerary through Eastern Ontario that includes stops in Calabogie, Burnstown, Arnprior, Pakenham, Dacre Heights and Griffith. It features lots of opportunities for skiing, snowshoeing and other winter fun, along with a stay at the Somewhere Inn in Calabogie. (Disclosure: The hotel links in this section are affiliate links, meaning I’ll receive a small commission—at no extra cost to you—if you use them to book accommodation anywhere. Thanks for supporting this site!)
Esca serves up tasty pizza in Cornwall
I’ve eaten at Esca several times, and I wholeheartedly agree with this positive article from the Southeastern Ontario tourism organization about the Cornwall pizza place. I’ve tried Esca’s Dyna pizza (pesto, mozzarella, chicken, roasted tomato, feta and honey) and its Jedi pizza (pesto crema, mozzarella, chicken, bacon, roasted red peppers, portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions and balsamic glaze) and can highly recommend both.
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.