There’s news for just about everyone in this week’s Heads Up post, whether you want to take your kids to marvel at the Christmas lights at Upper Canada Village, pick up a new book in Ottawa, make a stained-glass dreamcatcher in Alexandria, see Ottawa street art, go on a cookie scavenger hunt in Smiths Falls or buy international food in Carleton Place. I also have news about the closure of a popular ByWard Market restaurant 😢 and new WestJet flights.
Find your next good read at these Ottawa bookstores
A website called 1000 Libraries has compiled this useful list of 12 must-visit Ottawa bookstores. I’ve made it to almost all of them and they’re all worthy contenders; I’d add World of Maps on Wellington Street West to the list.
Pick up international groceries in Carleton Place (and elsewhere)
Samtoyin Divine International Market recently moved from Smiths Falls to Carleton Place. The shop stocks a wide variety of hard-to-find ingredients used in world cuisines, from goat meat to dried hibiscus flowers, according to this story on InsideOttawaValley.com. (If you’re looking for more shops like these in Ottawa and across Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, check out my big guide to international grocery stores, which I’ve just updated.)
Use this Facebook page to spot Ottawa street art
I recently stumbled across a Facebook page called Street Art of Ottawa that does just what its name implies: showcases great murals and other street art across our city. It’s fun to see how much creativity is brightening up otherwise blank boring walls across the capital. (I took the photo above for my post about public art in Westboro, which is now a bit outdated but which might still inspire you to explore that fun ‘hood.)
Play Food + Wine is closing
After 17 years in Ottawa’s ByWard Market, Play Food + Wine is closing its doors in early January. The small plates restaurant is co-owned by Stephen Beckta; his other Ottawa restaurants, Beckta and Gezellig, will extend their hours this winter as they bring staffers from Play onboard, according to this CTV Ottawa story.
Go on a cookie scavenger hunt in Smiths Falls
Tickets are available now for the Cookie Crawl scavenger hunt happening in Smiths Falls on Saturday, November 29. Participants will collect a dozen cookies, one at a time, by popping into businesses throughout downtown Smiths Falls. Now THIS is my kind of scavenger hunt!
See the bright lights of Upper Canada Village
Alight at Night Festival at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg is often one of the hottest holiday tickets around. If you’d like to see the historical village’s homes, shops, church, fences and trees adorned with roughly one million lights, you should book soon to get your preferred date. The fun begins on Friday, November 28, and the event is open select evenings until Saturday, January 3.
Make a stained-glass dreamcatcher in Alexandria
Registration is open now for a day-long stained-glass workshop at the Priest’s Mill Arts Centre in Alexandria on Saturday, December 13. All craft materials are supplied to make your own glass dreamcatcher, but you’ll need to bring or buy your own lunch.
WestJet launches non-stop service to Wales and other places
You’ll have to get yourself to Pearson airport in Toronto (ugh—one of my least favourite airports!), but then you can take advantage of WestJet’s new non-stop service to Cardiff, Wales. Wales IS one of my favourite places, so it might be worth your while to connect to Toronto for this one. The airline has also announced a slew of other new non-stop flights, connecting Canadians to destinations as diverse as Medellin, Ponta Delgada, Copenhagen and Madrid. (None of them start in Ottawa, alas.)
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.