I have lots of tips for you this week, for travels near and far. Close to home, there’s a new chef at the Tavern at the Gallery, yoga among the tulips in Edwards, and new shops in Perth and Westport. You can ease the pressure on your wallet by checking out free fun in the Outaouais, or free admission for Mom at Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry. I’ve also found some good advice on checking your travel insurance to see exactly what it covers before booking a long-distance trip. Read on for these and other timely tips.
- Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm in Edwards is hosting its first-ever Dinner in the Pasture on Saturday, July 17. The four-course menu will include options for non-vegetarians, vegetarians and vegans. Local ingredients will be given a chance to shine.
- Next time I’m in Perth, I’ll be checking out Mallowbee, a new shop at 40 North Street. It appears to be filled with cute and cool items, including squishy toys, collectibles and Korean beauty products.
- Speaking of Perth, the town’s Stewart Park Festival is holding a fundraising dance party on Saturday, June 6, with tunes by Kingston-based Motown tribute ensemble Heatwave.
- Upper Canada Village, the living history site in Morrisburg, is opening for the season on Saturday, May 9. And admission will be free for moms on Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 10).
- Fort Henry in Kingston opens for the season on Sunday, May 10, and moms will get free admission there that day, too.
- Porter Airlines has launched daily non-stop flights from Ottawa to Windsor and Sudbury.
- Porter has also announced new seasonal flights from Ottawa to Aruba, Montego Bay (Jamaica) and Los Cabos (Mexico).
- Looking to save a bit of cash? Tourisme Outaouais has a useful post about 25 free activities in the Outaouais and Ottawa. They include the hiking trail and observation tower at Mont Morissette Regional Park, which I’ve long been a fan of. (Check out my review.)
- Tickets are available now for the Galop Canal Bluegrass Festival in Iroquois (June 17 to 20).
- Napanee gift and clothing shop Starlet has opened a second location at 2 Church Street in Westport. (It’s so new that you have to dig around the website a bit to find the Westport address.)
- Chef Rene Rodriguez, a winner of multiple TV cooking competitions (Beat Bobby Flay and Top Chef Canada) has just taken over the reins at Tavern at the Gallery. If you haven’t been, it’s a pretty outdoor spot tucked into a courtyard at the National Gallery of Canada.
- Green Corners Farm in Russell has some interesting-sounding events coming up in its tulip fields, including a sound bath on Saturday, May 16, and yoga in the blooms on Monday, May 18 (holiday Monday). There are also English and French gardening workshops for children on Friday, June 5 (a PA day).
- This CTV News story has some timely (and sobering) tips on what your travel insurance may or may not cover. For instance, if your flight is cancelled due to fuel shortages, you may be out of luck.
- A new survey shows that two-thirds of Canadians are thinking about limiting or cancelling their summer road trips due to high gas prices. All the more reason to keep your road trips close to home. Hey, isn’t there a website packed with ideas for outings within a few hours of Ottawa? 🤣
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.
