This week’s Heads Up has lots of timely tips for road trips near and far, whether you’d like to see Come From Away in Ottawa, attend a fancy culinary event at a farm near Kemptville, get a hotel deal in Kingston or the Outaouais, join a fundraising motorcycle ride through the Rideau Valley, sign up for a yoga marathon in Kanata, or enjoy a fall drive in the Kawarthas. I have news about a nature reserve near Gananoque and OC Transpo’s new fall schedule, too.
I’m also giving a shoutout to a fundraiser to build a children’s play structure in Iroquois. The organizers could really use some help, because the beach canteen they built to raise money for the play structure burned down last week.
Events
- If you’ve ever wanted to see Come From Away—or if you’d like to see it again—you might want to give special consideration to buying tickets for Suzart Productions’ version of the beloved musical. The Ottawa theatre company had sold thousands of tickets for performances of the show at the Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe. Then, as detailed in the video above, damage from the Canada Day floods forced the Nepean theatre to close for extensive repairs. Suzart scrambled to find a new venue and will now be staging the show at l’Ecole secondaire publique De La Salle in Lowertown from September 10 to 19.
- You can sign up now for the Guide Dog Ride, a 200km fundraising motorcycle ride through the Rideau Valley on Sunday, September 13.
- Tickets are available now for the Harvest Picnic at Lavender Mills Farm in Oxford Mills (near Kemptville) on Saturday, September 12 (rain date September 13). Guests will nosh on posh charcuterie outdoors.
- Speaking of Kemptville, you can also get tickets now for Taste of the Maze, a local culinary event happening in a corn maze at Dalmage Family Farm on Saturday, September 19.
- Also on Saturday, September 19, St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Prescott is holding a glam cocktail party to raise funds for church programs.
- Feeling super stretchy? Sign up for 24hr Yoga Palooza at Beyond Yoga in Kanata (September 18 to 20) to raise money for childhood cancer treatment and research at CHEO. Last year, the event raised over $120,000.
Discounts and deals
- Looking for a deal on a getaway in the Outaouais? Tourisme Outaouais has a whole page of packages and promotions. One of them includes a stay at the Lofts du Village in Chelsea, pictured above and at the top of this post.
- Visit Kingston has a big page of packages, too.
Other
- Sad news: The Iroquois Beach Canteen in Iroquois, which officially opened in July, burned down early in the morning of August 28. All proceeds from the canteen were going toward a new children’s play structure for the park, spearheaded by the local Lions. If you’d like to donate to the play structure project, there’s a form on Facebook.
- According to the National Travel Survey, Canadians’ spending on domestic travel jumped from $13.8 billion in the first quarter of 2025 to $14.5 billion for the same period in 2026. Looks like road tripping is on the rise.
- OC Transpo has launched its fall schedule, with new express routes from Kanata and Orleans, and promises of more frequent O Train service. Cross your fingers.
- Speaking of trains: The Walrus has a good summary of some of the numbers—budgets, timelines, fans and foes—associated with the Alto high-speed rail proposal.
- A nature reserve near Gananoque has just expanded by about 18 acres.
- The folks at The Kawarthas Tourism have outdone (or should that be “outpunned”?) themselves with wordplay in this fall driving itinerary for the lakeland region near Peterborough. It starts with the title of the itinerary (Fall Driving Tour: Bautumns Up) and continues with such groaners as “unbeLEAFable beauty” and “market on your calendar.” I do love a good pun.
- P.S.: If you want to know when the leaves will start turning and when they’ll be at their peak, check these fall foliage trackers.
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.
