Whether you want to stay indoors where it’s cozy or get outside in the fresh air, I have suggestions for you this week. For the indoor crowd, there’s a cinnamon roll baking class, a film festival, a big book sale, a beer and tacos festival, and all sorts of comedy. Outdoors lovers can head to a moonlit skiing/snowshoeing event, a snowy art class or Montréal en lumière. Dreaming of warmer weather? You can check out an RV show or a bunch of gardening events. Looking for something completely different? You can compete in a rock, paper, scissors tournament in Arnprior. Wherever your travels take you, have fun!
Table of contents
- Walk to help the vulnerable in Ottawa and Renfrew
- Enjoy live music all over
- Eat brunch for a good cause in Westport
- Join a free guided snowshoeing hike in Perth
- Browse for books in Nepean
- Bid in a silent auction in Merrickville
- Ski and snowshoe by moonlight near Ingleside
- Catch a play in Ottawa
- Celebrate local creativity in Chelsea
- See Canadian movies in Kingston
- Dig into beer and tacos in Ottawa
- Tour three breweries in Gatineau
- Learn to make cinnamon rolls in Brockville
- Shop for crafts in Kemptville
- Sing sea shanties in Hintonburg
- Get seeds and gardening ideas
- Make snow art in Vanier
- Explore Montreal by night
- Play rock, paper, scissors in Arnprior
- Have some laughs in Ottawa, Kingston or Aylmer
- Catch a lacrosse or hockey game
- Get outdoor (or business) inspiration in Ottawa
Walk to help the vulnerable in Ottawa and Renfrew
The Coldest Night of the Year (Saturday, February 28) is a fundraising walk for the Ottawa Mission. Come with your family or pull together a work team, and get pledges for your 2km or 5km walk. The money raised will help fund the Ottawa Mission’s work with vulnerable and homeless people. The event runs from 4pm to 7pm and includes a light meal.
On the same night in Renfrew, a very similar Coldest Night of the Year event will be raising money for the Renfrew and District Food Bank.
Enjoy live music all over
I’ve just added a bunch of shows to my big concert list. Among the live music coming up this week: Nomfusi in Orléans, Ben Caplan in Perth and Burnstown, a Loon Choir album release party in the Glebe, Bif Naked in Kingston, Christine Graves in Chelsea, Miss Emily in Old Ottawa South and Megadeth at the Canadian Tire Centre. Don’t forget to scroll through the list for upcoming shows to avoid disappointment; a Danny Michel show in April that I just added this morning is already waitlisted.
Eat brunch for a good cause in Westport
The Cove Inn in Westport is raising money to install a defibrillator on site. On Sunday, March 1, guests at the inn’s Sunday brunch and/or the afternoon concert featuring Shawn McCullough and Zack Teal can participate in a fundraising 50/50 draw.
Join a free guided snowshoeing hike in Perth
The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is celebrating its 60th anniversary by offering a free guided snowshoeing hike through the Perth Wildlife Reserve on Saturday, February 28. Snowshoes will be available, and the event will start with a quick snowshoeing tutorial. The 2.5-kilometre hike should take about 60 to 90 minutes to complete. Spaces are limited, so register online if you’re interested.
Browse for books in Nepean
The Friends of the Ottawa Public Library are holding their monthly mammoth book sale at the James Bartleman Archives and Library Materials Centre in Nepean on Saturday, February 28. Thousands of gently used books, CDs and DVDs will be available at good prices.
Bid in a silent auction in Merrickville
You can bid on the contents of the Rectory of St. Ann Church in Merrickville during a silent auction on Saturday, February 28, from 10am to 4pm. Items include furniture, china, linens and artworks, including oils by local artists and prints by Robert Bateman, Brenda Carter and Nell Lamarsh.
Ski and snowshoe by moonlight near Ingleside
This is your last chance this season to join a moonlit skiing/snowshoeing outing organized by the Friends of the Sanctuary. It’s taking place on Saturday, February 28, at the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary, located between Morrisburg and Ingleside. Plan to arrive by 6:45pm. Equipment rentals and refreshments will be available at the visitor centre.
Catch a play in Ottawa
Four plays are opening in Ottawa this week: a folksy musical called After the Rain at the National Arts Centre (NAC); the Agatha Christie tale The Murder of Roger Ackroyd at Ottawa Little Theatre; a working-class tragedy in French, Querelle de Roberval, at the NAC; and a one-act musical about a 1948 hockey team, The Olympic Flyers, in Osgoode. This week is also your last chance to see Sherlock Holmes and the Locked Room at the Gladstone Theatre. For details on these and many other upcoming plays, see my theatre post.
Celebrate local creativity in Chelsea
The 100 Mile Arts Network is celebrating the culmination of its Community Arts Café workshop series with an event at La Fab sur Mill in Chelsea on Saturday, February 28. The evening showcase will showcase the incredible work—including animation, a film, stories and memoirs— that community members and artist mentors produced during the free workshops. Guests will also learn about eco-dyeing, pottery and portraiture through interactive stations and artist demonstrations, and there will be lots of live music, too.
See Canadian movies in Kingston
The world’s largest festival of Canadian movies is rolling out the red carpet this weekend. Movies screening at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival (February 25 to March 1) include Middle Life, a romance between thirty-somethings starring two members of the band July Talk; Team of the Century, a documentary about junior hockey’s 2005 Memorial Cup playoffs; The Things You Kill, a drama set in Turkey that was Canada’s submission for best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards; and Montreal, Ma Belle, about a romance between two Montreal women (see trailer above).
Dig into beer and tacos in Ottawa
The I ❤️ Beer and Taco Festival Ottawa is coming to the EY Centre on Saturday, February 28 … but as of a few days before the festival, the Saturday evening tickets were 80 percent sold. If you want to go that night, you might want to grab your tickets soon.
Tour three breweries in Gatineau
Speaking of beer: Ottawa Road Trips subscriber Mike B is leading a Brew Donkey tour of three Gatineau breweries on Saturday, February 28. La Belle Brew-Mance Tour™ includes samples and a brewery tour at each stop, some rib-sticking ramen, and round-trip bus transportation from downtown Ottawa.
Learn to make cinnamon rolls in Brockville
If you have the flexibility to attend a class on a Friday morning, the cinnamon roll baking class at Sweet Ofelia Café in Brockville on Friday, February 27, might be tempting. The organizer promises to walk you through the process for “achieving light, fluffy interiors, rich flavour and that irresistible golden-brown crust.” Mmmmmmm …
Shop for crafts in Kemptville
On Saturday, February 28, you can buy from 40 local vendors at the Eastern Ontario Craft and Gift Market in Kemptville. It’s happening at the North Grenville Municipal Centre from 10am to 3pm.
Sing sea shanties in Hintonburg
Ahoy, mateys! If you’d like to belt out some classic sea shanties (no experience required), head over to Beyond the Pale Brewing Company at City Centre in Ottawa for a sea shanty singalong on Saturday, February 28. Admission to this Bytown Sea Shanty Collective event is free, but you might want to call the bar and reserve a table in advance; otherwise, it’s first come, first seated.
Get seeds and gardening ideas
Seedy Saturdays and Seedy Sundays, where gardeners can swap seeds and ideas, are taking place throughout March and into April. This week, you can go to events in Aylmer, Belleville and Laval on Saturday, February 28, and Pembroke and Perth on Sunday, March 1.
Make snow art in Vanier
Snow and Connection is the title of a 90-minute outdoor art workshop happening at Richelieu Park in Vanier on the morning of Saturday, February 28. Participants will be encouraged to create sculptures and visual messages using snow, tree trunks and other natural materials. Admission is pay what you can, with a suggested value of $30.
Explore Montreal by night
Montréal en Lumière (February 27 to March 7) is a wide-ranging event designed to get people out and about in the middle of winter. With everything from outdoor light installations and inflatable games to concerts and chef’s dinners, there’s something for just about everyone. And some activities are free! During Nuit Blanche (Saturday, February 28), the fun continues until the very late hours of the night (or very early hours of the morning, depending on your perspective).
Play rock, paper, scissors in Arnprior
OK, this is my kind of sports tournament! Cold Bear Brewing Co. in Arnprior is holding a rock, paper, scissors competition on Friday, February 27. Round up a team of three to join. According to Cold Bear, “It’s fast, it’s furious, and it’s way more competitive than it sounds.” Prizes will go to the winners and the group with the best team spirit.
Have some laughs in Ottawa, Kingston or Aylmer
It’s a big week for fans of standup comedy. U.S. comedian Jo Koy brings his Just Being Koy tour to the Arena at TD Place in Ottawa on Thursday, February 26. That same evening, “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” alum Shaun Majumder will be doing standup at the Kingston Grand Theatre.
The following night (Friday, February 27), a variety show called A Perfectly Reasonable Night of Comedy brings together three funny people who first met at Toronto’s Second City: Peter Oldring and Pat Kelly of CBC Radio’s “This Is That” and Carolyn Taylor of CBC TV’s “Baroness von Sketch Show.” It’s happening at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orléans.
And even though this event is happening next week, I often don’t finish writing the events roundup until Tuesday, so I wanted to give a shoutout to the standup comedy night happening at Chez Putters in Aylmer on Monday, March 2.
Catch a lacrosse or hockey game
In the mood for some professional box lacrosse? You can see the Ottawa Black Bears in action when they take on the Oshawa FireWolves at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday, February 28.
Hockey more your style? The Ottawa Senators are facing off against the Detroit Red Wings at the Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday, February 26. And the Ottawa Charge take on the Boston Fleet on Saturday, February 28, at the Arena at TD PLace.
In junior hockey, the Cornwall Colts play a home game against the Pembroke Lumber Kings on Thursday, February 26, as well as an away game against the Navan Grads on Sunday, March 1.
The Renfrew Timberwolves and the Athens Aeros have four matchups this week: on Tuesday, February 24, in Athens; on Wednesday, February 25, in Renfrew; on Saturday, February 28, back in Athens; and on Sunday, March 1, in Renfrew. Wow, that’s a lot of driving for those teams!
The Embrun Panthers and the Winchester Hawks play against each other three times this week: on Wednesday, February 25, in Winchester; on Friday, February 27, in Embrun; and on Sunday, March 1, in Winchester.
Get outdoor (or business) inspiration in Ottawa
The Ottawa RV Expo and Sale (February 27 to March 1) is about more than recreational vehicles—although it is a good place to check out the options and compare prices. The show at Ottawa’s EY Centre will also have vendors selling gear for walking, climbing, fishing, canoeing and more.
P.S.: If you have entrepreneurial leanings, you could also check out the National Franchise Show at the EY Centre on February 28 and March 1.
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.