I’m back this week with more news you can use. Find cool buildings or great consignment deals. Score tickets to a popular home and garden tour. Follow a trail that will take you to almost 20 barn quilts. Discover what’s new in the Outaouais. See a documentary about local farmers and entrepreneurs. Or just kick back at a drive-in with the latest summer blockbuster!
You can learn about architecture all over the region
Doors Open events are coming up all over Eastern Ontario from spring through fall. During these free festivals, the owners of interesting buildings of all sorts—from churches and museums to embassies and transit simulators—invite the public to come inside to learn more about the structures and what goes on inside them. This year, 19 Doors Open weekends will be taking place across Ontario, including events in Ottawa (June 7 and 8), Loyalist Township (Saturday, June 14), Cornwall and SDG Counties (August 16 and 17), Rideau Lakes (August 16 and 17) and Belleville (Saturday, September 13). Note that the full list of Ottawa buildings will be released on Friday, May 16, and some of the most popular sites require advance registration to enter—so check the site early to avoid disappointment.
Doors Open events are lots of fun, but you can also learn about architecture on your own schedule by doing a little online research. For instance, the South East Ontario tourism organization has an intriguing post about heritage architecture in L’Orignal, about an hour east of Ottawa. North Grenville has developed walking guides to numerous communities, including Kemptville, Burritts Rapids and Oxford Mills. Fairbairn House in Wakefield has developed a walking tour of the Quebec community that you can download to your mobile phone. And Perth has a 36-page guide to its built heritage—including churches, homes, a mill, a firehall and a bandstand—that you can download and print out.
Speaking of Perth … home and garden tour tickets are available
The CFUW Perth and District Home and Garden Tour, happening this year on Saturday, July 12, is usually a hot ticket. After all, who doesn’t enjoy the chance to peep into other people’s gorgeous yards and houses? This year’s tour features 11 gardens and two homes. Tickets are $35 each, and for an extra $20, you can order a packed lunch of tea sandwiches, vegetable sticks, dessert bars and a drink. (Only 200 lunches are available, so order soon if you’d like that option.) Money raised goes to helps women in the Perth area pursue post-secondary education, as well as to the CFUW’s advocacy and educational activities.
Make sure to leave time to explore the rest of Perth, including Stewart Park (in the photo above) and the Tay Basin (in the photo at the top of this post).
A new Outaouais tourist guide is available
Tourism Outaouais has released its 2025–26 official visitor guide, and you can read and download it on the Tourism Outaouais website.
Video showcases farmers and entrepreneurs in Cornwall and SDG Counties
This charming, 16-minute video documentary profiles several fascinating farmers and entrepreneurs in Cornwall and Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry. They include a basket maker from the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, dairy farmers from Iroquois and alpaca farmers from Apple Hill. (Hat tip to the Off the Hook newsletter for this tidbit.)
Napanee is home to almost 20 barn quilts
Barn quilts evolved from the oversized quilt blocks Amish families in Pennsylvania have painted on their barns for generations. Modern barn quilts generally feature geometric designs in bright colours and can be placed on all sorts of buildings besides barns. The Greater Napanee Barn Quilt Trails feature almost 20 pieces painted by local artist Pat Dubyk, and you can see them all on a self-guided tour. (Want to see more barn quilts? You could also check out the Prince Edward County Barn Quilt Trail, spearheaded by Dubyk over a decade ago.)
Pembroke and Port Elmsley drive-ins are opening for the season
In my continuing quest to keep you informed on the all-important topic of drive-in theatres, I note that the Skylight Drive-In in Pembroke is opening for the season on Friday, May 16, with a double bill of The Minecraft Movie and The Accountant 2. The drive-in shows movies on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Not to be outdone, the Port Elmsley Drive-In between Smiths Falls and Perth also opens for the season on May 16. This week, it will be showing The Minecraft Movie and Sinners on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with The Accountant 2 added as a third feature on Sunday only.
You can find all sorts of cool thrift stores in Ottawa
Great news for thrifters: the Ottawa Citizen recently published a big guide to local thrift shops and consignment stores—and you don’t have to be a subscriber to see it. (P.S.: If you like consignment shops, don’t miss my post about Bee You Creative Styles in Sandy Hill.)
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.
