33+ fun things to do in and around Ottawa, February 2 to 8

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Indoors and out, there’s a ton happening in and around Ottawa this week! In the city, you can watch snowmobile stunts in the ByWard Market, go to a stew cook-off in Westboro, shop for bargains at a big book sale, see three plays or check out an arts festival. Further afield, you can tackle a ski marathon in the Outaouais, watch snowmobile racers in Eganville, take a painting class in Russell, make a candle in Vankleek Hill, browse for art in Kemptville or antiques in Kingston, or check out a winter festival.

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Cheer for snowmobile racers in Eganville

Since 1974, snowmobilers have been coming to Eganville each winter to test their machines and their skills against each other in the Bonnechere Cup. This year, the action returns to Eganville’s ice oval on February 7 and 8. The video above, from a past event, gives you a taste of the race.

Shop for book bargains in Ottawa

The Elmdale Public School BookFair offers an extra day of shopping this year. In 2026, you can browse through 40,000 used books, along with board games, video games, DVDs, puzzles and games on February 6, 7 and 8. There will be a bake sale, too!

Make candles and sip wine in Vankleek Hill

Vankleek Hill Vineyard is hosting a candle-making workshop on Saturday, February 7. As well as making a luxury candle to bring home, participants in the late-afternoon event will sip wine from the vineyard and nibble on charcuterie.

Cast a line near Brockville or Cobden

Lakes and waterways in and around Brockville will be the sites of an ice fishing derby on Saturday, February 7. Money raised from the $20 entry fee will support the 870 Vampire Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets.

That same day, the 16th annual Cobden Civitan Muskrat Lake Fishing Derby will see ice fishers competing for over $15,000 in cash and prizes.

Sample special restaurant menus in Kingston

As part of Kingstonlicious, a dining promotion that starts on Monday, February 2, and runs until late March, a wide range of Kingston restaurants will be offering special prix-fixe menus. Check the website regularly for information on upcoming chef’s dinners and overnight hotel packages.

See cutting-edge performances in Ottawa

Can’t wait for the Ottawa Fringe Festival later this year? Well, you’re in luck, as the festival is also presenting the Undercurrents Festival (February 4 to 14). Showcasing local and national artists from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and disciplines—including emerging artists and underrepresented voices—the festival includes a wide range of experimental works.

Dance with your kids in Carleton Place

Families are invited to celebrate Valentine’s Day a week early at a Valentine’s Day Family Dance at the Carleton Place Arena on Sunday, February 8. Kids of all ages are welcome; the music from 9:45am to 10:30am will be particularly toddler friendly.

Curl and laugh for a good cause in Cornwall

Throwing Stones is an all-day curling and comedy event at the Cornwall Curling Centre on Saturday, February 7, to support Tim Hortons Foundation Camps. It will include a point spiel, a Tim Hortons lunch, and a catered dinner, followed by a comedy show featuring Dan Allaire, Lewis Hill and Clint Gibbons.

Shop for art in Kemptville

The North Grenville Arts Guild is hosting a Sweetheart Exhibit and Sale on Sunday, February 8, at the Kemptville Armoury. The focus will be on affordable original artworks, prints and art cards, in a range of styles and media. There will be a raffle and Valentine’s-themed treats, too. Free admission and free parking.

Try stews in Westboro or soups in Pembroke

Tickets are going quickly for the Stew Showdown at All Saints Anglican Church Westboro on Saturday, February 7. Seven local restaurants will be serving up competing stews from 2pm to 4pm to raise money for the Westboro Region Food Bank.

Soupfest 2026 sounds like a great way to warm up with a bowl of something soothing. The event on Saturday, February 7 (11am to 2pm) will see 10 local restaurants engaged in a little friendly competition to win this year’s Golden Ladle. Buy a passport to taste the soups and judge for yourself!

Pick up a paintbrush in Russell

Itching to do something creative? You could check out Coffee & Canvas, a paint night for adults at Hidden Daisy Fine Art Studio in Russell on Friday, February 6. Tickets include coffee, dessert and all the supplies needed to create an acrylic painting.

Catch a game at TD Place or the Canadian Tire Centre

On Friday, February 6, basketball teams from Carleton University and the University of Ottawa will play each other in men’s and women’s matches in the Capital Hoops tournament at the Arena at TD Place.

And on Saturday, February 7, you can see the Ottawa Black Bears take on the Calgary Roughnecks in a lacrosse match at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Race on snowshoes near Cornwall

If you’d like to sign up for the Summerstown Forest Snowshoe Race near Cornwall, taking place on Saturday, February 7, you’d better be quick; registrations close at noon on Wednesday, February 4. You can choose from 4.4km and 8.5km routes.

See a political movie at the Bytowne

The next movie in the Bytowne Cinema’s Reel Politics Film Series will be screened on Thursday, February 5. Election pits Reese Witherspoon as an ambitious high schooler running for student body president against her grumpy civics teacher, played by Matthew Broderick.

Browse for antiques in Kingston

Cabin Fever: The Kingston Winter Antiques Show returns to the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour in Kingston on February 7 and 8. The show features dealers from across Ontario and Quebec, and items will include furniture, folk art, fine china, glass, jewelry, textiles, collectibles and more. The Canadian Pacific Railway shield sign from the late 1940s reproduced above is one of the many pieces of advertising memorabilia that will be on sale.

Thrill to snowmobile stunts in the ByWard Market

Barbegazi is a three-day festival of snowmobile derring-do coming to the ByWard Market for the first time this year (February 6 to 8). Marvel at trick riders doing stunts up to 40 feet above the ground.

Ski pretty trails in the Outaouais

The Canadian Ski Marathon is North America’s oldest cross-country skiing event; it began in 1966. This year, you can challenge yourself to complete one or more segments or the whole 160-kilometre route on February 6, 7 and 8. This isn’t a race. It’s open to skiers of all levels and abilities! The shortest segment is 9.5km, and the event takes place on groomed trails. The trails are located north of Montebello, Quebec, largely in the Kenauk nature preserve.

Learn to design a food garden in Cornwall

Transition Cornwall+ is offering a free workshop on designing a low-budget food garden on Saturday, February 7. The free afternoon event at Cline House Gallery in Cornwall will feature a talk by JD Van Allen, lead designer with Eden’s Refuge. That organization helps property owners create edible landscapes and community orchards to produce abundant food with minimal upkeep.

Catch a new theatre production in Ottawa

Three plays are opening in Ottawa this week. Kanata Playhouse is presenting The Drowning Girls, about three women married to the same murderous husband. At the Gladstone Theatre, Elevator Theatre Company is staging August: Osage County, a Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy by Tracy Letts, an Ottawa-set drama about parents who have lost their son to suicide having dinner with their son’s bully and his parents. And at the GCTC, you can see The Piano Teacher, in which a renowned classical pianist finds herself unable to even touch a piano in the wake of a family tragedy.

For more details on these shows as well as lots of plays coming up later this year, see my theatre post.

See frozen art in Kingston

The frosty weather means that this has been an especially good season for Froid’Art, an outdoor installation of artworks encased in ice in downtown Kingston that opened on January 25. The 10 artworks are placed throughout downtown, and they’re illuminated at night.

Eat chocolate in Lakefield

OK, so it’s a bit of a hike from Ottawa to Lakefield, just north of Peterborough. But if you’re heading that way anyway, you could check out the Lakefield Chocolate Creations Festival (January 30 to February 17). Restaurants, bakeries, cafés and other businesses will be vying to create the best chocolate items in Lakefield, as voted by visitors. And, hey, couldn’t we all use a bit of chocolate these days? I know I could.

Have some laughs in Orléans

Francophone standup comic Louis Morissette brings his latest show to the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orléans on Wednesday, February 3.

Enjoy a winter festival

Along with the ever-popular Winterlude festival in Ottawa (January 31 to February 17), you can enjoy these winter carnivals this weekend:

• Petawawa: Cabin Fever, February 4 to 8
• Carp: Carp Winter Carnival, February 5 to 7
• Greely: Greely Winter Carnival, February 5 to 8
• Marionville: Marionville Winter Carnival, February 6 to 8
• Quebec City: Carnaval de Quebec, February 6 to 15
• Manotick: Shiverfest, February 6 and 7
• Ottawa: Rideau Hall Winter Celebration, February 7
• Dunvegan: Dunvegan Winter Carnival, February 7
• Braeside: Braeside Winter Carnival, February 7
• St. Bernardin: Carnaval St-Bernardin, February 7
• Orléans: Fête Frissons, February 8
• Riverview Park: Riverview Park Winter Carnival, February 8

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.