This week’s Heads Up post includes news on your last chance to see the Snowbirds in Gatineau, tickets to a bouquet-making workshop in Russell and a garden apothecary walk in Vankleek Hill, discounts on cabins near Perth, a new non-stop flight from Ottawa to Kelowna, a Renfrew County driving itinerary, and more. I even have the scoop on an ecstatic dance silent disco in Plantagenet!
Discounts and deals
The view of the pond from the deck of one of the cottages at Pine Brae.
If you book by noonon Monday, May 25, you can save 15 percent on cabins at the lovely Pine Brae Eco-Resort south of Perth. Use the code pinebrae15 at checkout. The seasonal site is open this year from Friday, May 22, until Monday, October 19. P.S.: I visited Pine Brae shortly after it opened in 2020 and wrote a detailed review about staying there!
The company that publishes my Ottawa Road Trips guidebooks, Ottawa Press and Publishing, currently has them on sale at a great discount. Normally $29.95 each, they’re currently on sale for $19.95 each!
VIA Rail’s Tuesday discounts, available today only, include 20 percent off Economy fares on most trains in the Quebec City–Windsor corridor, for travel between June 15 and July 1. Use the discount code TUESDAY at checkout.
Upcoming events
Photo of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds by Mike Luedey.
When last I checked, tickets to the Naturally L&A Gravel Ride—a 53-kilometre supported bike ride northeast of Napanee—were 75 percent sold out. If that date doesn’t work, you could also consider the 56-kilometre Discover L&A Ride near Adolphustown (September 12) and the Naturally L&A Tall Pines Ride, a 43-kilometre route just west of Kaladar, on October 3.
Once a month in spring and summer, Nested Acres Flower Farm in Russell offers a build your own bouquet workshop. The next one is coming up on Friday, May 29.
There are lots of fun-looking events coming up at Mariposa Farm in Plantagenet, including a Jim Bryson concert with dinner on Saturday, May 30; an ecstatic dance silent disco (!) on Sunday, May 31; and a comedy fundraiser for the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail on Saturday, June 20.
You can also get tickets for a nature’s apothecary walk through the garden and meadow at Garden Path Homemade Soap in Vankleek Hill on Sunday, June 28.
Tickets are available now for the Lavender Festival in Moose Creek (north of Cornwall) on Saturday, July 18.
Feeling like a splurge? You can book a three-course gourmet dinner and seats on a VIP terrace to watch the fireworks during Les Grands-Feux Casino Lac-Leamy on Saturday, August 1, or Saturday, August 8. Tickets are an eye-popping $170 per person (plus taxes).
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds have announced that they’ll be pausing operations after the 2026 season. If you want to see the famous aerobatics team in action one last time, they’ll be performing (weather permitting) on all three days of the AERO Gatineau-Ottawa show (September 18 to 20).
Openings
If you have a Citizen subscription, you can see this paywalled review of a new ByWard Market restaurant that serves Georgian and Armenian cuisine—the first such resto in the city.
Maison O’Brien, the boutique hotel at Meech Lake that I mentioned in a Heads Up back in March, has now officially opened for business. Its restaurant, Adèle, is open, too.
Other news you can use
I’ll be in Westport next week and I promise to get some summer shots of the Foley Mountain lookout, if the weather cooperates!
The Ottawa Valley Tourist association has published a cool-looking driving itinerary of Renfrew County that includes stops in Arnprior, Renfrew, Eganville, Barry’s Bay and Wilno, among other communities.
The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is hoping to upgrade the Spy Rock lookout at Foley Mountain Conservation Area in Westport, to make it more accessible for visitors using mobility devices.
If you’re driving southbound on Pinecrest Road and hoping to get onto the eastbound ramp to Highway 417, you’ll need to make other plans for a while; the ramp will be closed until July 28 due to O-Train construction.
The Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville has announced that step dancer, fiddler and composer Kelli Trottier will be this year’s guest of honour. She’ll officially open the games on Saturday, August 1.
On May 13, Porter Airlines launched its new, non-stop service between Ottawa and Kelowna.
We’re now into tick season, but don’t let fear of the thirsty little critters dissuade you from getting out into nature! Stittsville Central has a great guide to avoiding ticks (along with advice on what to do if they do latch onto you anyway).
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.
