Food lovers, rejoice: There are culinary events galore happening this weekend, from a butter tart fest in Stittsville and a hot sauce celebration in Mountain to ribfests in Orleans and Williamstown. Need to walk off all those treats? There’s a trails festival in the Kingston/Brockville region. You can also check out a Ukrainian festival and a porchfest in Carleton Place, hit a night market in Perth, thrill to an airshow in Gatineau, shop for handmade items in the Glebe or Merrickville, or see the RCMP Musical Ride in Spencerville or Saint-André-Avellin. Wherever your travels take you, enjoy!
- Thrill to planes in Gatineau
- Enjoy a harvest festival in Carleton Place
- Head to a food festival in Manotick or Mountain
- Shop for handmade goods in Merrickville
- Go for a hike in the Frontenac Arch Biosphere
- See the RCMP Musical Ride in Spencerville or Saint-André-Avellin
- Catch a music festival in Ottawa, Gatineau, Carleton Place, Smiths Falls or Prince Edward County
- Enjoy a film festival in Toronto or Quebec City
- Catch a fair in Spencerville
- Shop for art in the Glebe
- Dig into filling food in Orleans, Arnprior or Williamstown
- Celebrate Ukrainian culture in Carleton Place
- Peek behind the scenes in Ottawa-Gatineau
- Celebrate desserts in Stittsville and Appleton
- Browse through a night market in Perth
- Discover local food and wine vendors in Prince Edward County
Thrill to planes in Gatineau
If you hear the roar of fighter jets overhead this weekend, you’ll know that the Aéro Gatineau-Ottawa airshow is back in town. From September 12 to 14, the Snowbirds, the SkyHawks, the Geronimo! Skydiving Team and more will be doing their thing high above the Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport (1717 Arthur-Fecteau, Gatineau). You can also see Second World War aircraft and an illuminated drones show.
Enjoy a harvest festival in Carleton Place
The Lanark County Harvest Festival will be coming to Beckwith Park (1319 9th Line, Carleton Place) on Sunday, September 14. The fun will include live music, a petting zoo, a local vendors’ produce market and bouncy castles. The festival runs from 11am to 4pm, and admission is free.
Head to a food festival in Manotick or Mountain
During Taste of Manotick on Saturday, September 13 (2pm to 6pm), shops, restaurants, and vendors will be offering food samples and specials. There will be live music and family-friendly fun, too.
If you like it hot, you’ll love Heating Up the Capital, a hot sauce expo coming to Smokie Ridge Vineyard (10090 Cameron Road, Mountain) on Saturday, September 13. From 10am to 5pm, you can sample fiery flavours from 35 vendors and buy your favourites to take home.
Shop for handmade goods in Merrickville
Merrickville’s Makers Market returns to the village on Saturday, September 13, with an outdoor market at the Merrickville Fairgrounds at 106 Read Street from 10am to 4pm. The event showcases the high-quality work of more than 60 area artisans and their friends who create functional or decorative objects partly or entirely by hand.
Go for a hike in the Frontenac Arch Biosphere
The Frontenac Arch Biosphere (FAB) is a geological area that stretches across much of the area of Eastern Ontario just north of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. On September 12 and 13, you can join a guided hike in multiple locations across the geographic area during FAB Trails Festival.
See the RCMP Musical Ride in Spencerville or Saint-André-Avellin
Everyone’s favourite show featuring horses and Mounties executing precise manoeuvres to music is coming back to the region this weekend. The RCMP Musical Ride will be performing in Spencerville on Saturday, September 13, and Saint-André-Avellin on Sunday, September 14.
Catch a music festival in Ottawa, Gatineau, Carleton Place, Smiths Falls or Prince Edward County
The CityFolk Festival will be keeping things lively at Lansdowne Park (1015 Bank Street, Ottawa) from September 10 to 14. The lineup includes Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls, Morrissey, Celeigh Cardinal, Tobi, Mia Kelly, and Junkhouse. Day passes, multi-show passes and full festival passes are available at a range of prices.
In Gatineau, the Riverside Festival is coming to the grounds of the Canadian Museum of History (100 Laurier Street, Gatineau) from September 12 to 14. The three-day event—one of the largest electronic music festivals in Quebec—features a big list of DJs, lots of food trucks and multiple bars. Headliners include Subtronics and Zeds Dead.
The first-ever Carleton Place Porchfest will see concerts taking place on porches throughout the Lanark County town from 1pm to 4pm on Saturday, September 13.
Also on Saturday, September 13, the Downtown Music Festival in Smiths Falls will feature free concerts throughout the afternoon and a ticketed evening show with the One-Eyed Dawgs and headliners the Road Apples.
This is the first full weekend of the Prince Edward County Chamber Music Festival (September 11 to 14, and September 19 to 21), which will present concerts by string quartets, cellists, pianists and others. Events will include a yoga class accompanied by cello, a creativity workshop with composer-in-residence Dinuk Wijeratne, and The Kitchen Revue’s performance of La Revue de Cuisine by Martinu, narrated by CBC’s Tom Allen.
Enjoy a film festival in Toronto or Quebec City
The Quebec City Film Festival (September 10 to 14) will be screening dozens of features and short films from Canada and abroad, with a special focus on Quebec movies. And if you hurry, you might still be able to score last-minute tickets to a few screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival (September 4 to 14).
Catch a fair in Spencerville
The Spencerville Fair (September 11 to 14) offers a parade, a midway, live music, chainsaw-carving demonstrations, a pumpkin competition, livestock shows and more.
Shop for art in the Glebe
The Glebe Fine Art Show returns to the Glebe Community Centre (175 Third Avenue, Ottawa) on September 13 and 14. More than 30 artists will be on hand, selling works in a wide range of media. The show is open from 10am to 4pm both days, and admission is free.
Dig into filling food in Orleans, Arnprior or Williamstown
If you love barbecue and/or gravy-covered fries, head east this weekend for the Orleans Ribfest and Poutine (September 12 to 14) to enjoy ribs, pulled pork, barbecued chicken, over 50 kinds of poutine, donuts, ice cream, live music and more. It’s happening at Centrum Plaza, 255 Centrum Boulevard in Orleans.
Speaking of poutine, Arnprior Poutine Feast is happening from September 11 to 14 in Robert Simpson Park in Arnprior.
And barbecue fans could also check out the Williamstown Ribfest at the Glengarry, Nor’Westers and Loyalist Museum in Williamstown on Saturday, September 13, from 5pm to 7pm.
Celebrate Ukrainian culture in Carleton Place
Ukrainian Fest Lanark County is a one-day celebration at Riverside Park in Carleton Place on Saturday, September 13. You can enjoy Ukrainian food, dancing and music; shop for crafts and treats in the vendors market; or take an art workshop. Funds raised will support the charity Kids of Ukraine.
Peek behind the scenes in Ottawa-Gatineau
During Open NCC (Saturday, September 13), National Capital Commission (NCC) sites all over Ottawa-Gatineau will be holding free events and activities to showcase the NCC’s work in fields such as historic preservation and environmental sustainability. There will be tours, kids’ activities and much more.
Celebrate desserts in Stittsville and Appleton
The Stittsville Butter Tart Festival Market is happening at Village Square Park (6154 Abbott Street East, Stittsville) on Saturday, September 13, from 10am to 2pm. Hosted by the Market at the Barn and partners, it will feature butter tarts of all sorts (including gluten free, nut free and vegan), as well as artisans, ice cream and other fun.
On Sunday, September 14, the North Lanark Regional Museum in Appleton is throwing an Apple Pie Fest and Classic Car Show, from 2pm to 4pm. Get fresh apple pie with ice cream, and ogle some cool wheels.
Browse through a night market in Perth
On Saturday, September 13, from 5pm until 10pm, the Perth Night Market will feature dozens artisans and crafters from Lanark County and beyond. Visitors can also live entertainment designed to appeal to all ages, ranging from face painting and live music and a snake demonstration and a “living statue” of Elvis. Many downtown shops will be open late during the event, and several streets will be open to pedestrians only. (A shuttle service will operate from 2pm to 11pm to ferry shoppers from parking lots on Perth’s outskirts to the market site.)
Discover local food and wine vendors in Prince Edward County
Taste! Community Grown is a one-day Prince Edward County food fair taking place at Macaulay Heritage Park in Picton. On Saturday, September 13, you can sip and sample your way around a vendors’ market to discover some new-to-you tastes, enjoy live music in a wine garden, and cheer for contestants in zucchini races.
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.