Now’s the time to start planning ahead for some hot-ticket events coming up soon. You can learn how to decorate Ukrainian Easter eggs (pysanky) in Ottawa or how to make botanical prints at a farmhouse in Quyon. Perhaps bread and wine are more your style? Read on to find out about great bakeries in the Outaouais and an upcoming wine festival in Prince Edward County. I also have the scoop on the reopenings of a village general store and a popular riverside restaurant!
Franktown General Store has reopened
Good news if you get the munchies while driving Highway 15 between Carleton Place and Smiths Falls: the Franktown General Store has reopened. According to this Inside Ottawa Valley story, the store reopened in December after months of renovations by new owners. Along with the usual items you’d expect to find in a village convenience store—lottery tickets, groceries, cleaning supplies—Franktown General also sells pizza and baked goodies, such as muffins, scones, bread and pies. (Tip of the hat to The Ottawa Lookout for bringing this one to my attention.)
PEC winter wine festival is coming up soon
The Élevage Winter Wine Festival is coming to Prince Edward County on March 14 and 15, and passports are on sale now. All passports include one wine sample from five different wineries. You can also add an “elevated tasting,” which includes an extra perk, such as touring a wine cellar or chatting with a winemaker. In all, more than a dozen wineries are taking part in the festival.
Learn printmaking at a farm studio in Quyon
Artist Katharine Fletcher is hosting an eco-dyeing workshop in the studio at her gorgeous Quyon farm on Saturday, May 23. Participants will learn to create botanical prints using real ferns, leaves and flowers in this hands-on workshop. First, you’ll collect specimens for your artwork during a one-hour walk. Back in the studio, you’ll make one-of-a-kind artworks with your finds—and enjoy lunch with your fellow students. Disclosure: Katharine is a dear friend of mine, but I’d have mentioned this workshop regardless—it will make a great day trip!
UPDATE: This workshop has sold out BUT a second one has just been scheduled for Sunday, May 24.
You can learn to make Ukrainian Easter eggs in Ottawa
Have you ever admired gorgeously decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs (pysanky) and thought, “I’d love to learn how to do that?” If so, you’re in luck: the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada, Ottawa Branch, is offering pysanka workshops on Saturday, March 14, and Saturday, March 21. Three 2.5-hour time slots are available each day. All materials will be supplied and no experience is necessary. The workshops will take place at the Ukrainian Orthodox Hall at 1000 Byron Avenue.
CC’s on the Rideau is reopening for the season
Here’s a sure sign that spring is on its way: CC’s on the Rideau, a riverfront restaurant in Rideau Ferry, is reopening for the 2026 season on Friday, March 13. For the remainder of March, it will be open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 9pm.
Bakeries abound in the Outaouais
If you’ve been known to plan a whole trip around the chance to buy oatmeal cookies or chocolate-chip brownies (I know I have), then you’ll appreciate this Tourisme Outaouais guide to bakeries of the Outaouais. Whether you want to discover an Indigenous bakery in Saint-André-Avellin, a vegan/gluten-free bakeshop in Gatineau or fresh doughnuts in Shawville, this post will point you in the right direction.
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.
