I have lots of timely tips in this week’s Heads Up post! For instance, this week will be the best time to see the Perseid meteor shower, and it will also be prime time for visiting a sunflower maze in Wakefield. This post also has the scoop on a music festival cancellation, an opportunity to get your colours done, a new peace museum, places to paddle in the Outaouais, a trendy PEC motel and Ottawa’s upcoming 200th birthday celebrations. I’ll even tell you why folks on bikes will be spraying cooling mist on pedestrians in downtown Ottawa this weekend.
Cover photo of a sunflower by Johan Nilsson Holmqvist on Unsplash.
Events
- Did you know that Ottawa is celebrating its 200th birthday this year? The city is planning a huge Ottawa 200 bash on Saturday, September 26. However, you can get a jump on the celebrations at the month-long SoundScape Festival, which will feature a series of performances on Plaza Bridge in downtown Ottawa. The first SoundScape show is on Thursday, August 27; admission is free, but you need to register in advance or on site.
- The sunflower maze at Juniper Farm in Wakefield has been open since August 5 and usually runs for just two weeks (the big, beautiful flowers don’t last long). So if you’d like to try it, you’ll want to hurry.
- The Ottawa Stomp Music Festival, originally scheduled to be held at the Metcalfe Fairgrounds from August 14 to 16, has been cancelled.
- Tickets are available now for the Together for Nature Tour, a show featuring Indigenous artists, musicians and land protectors. Indigenous people from Northern Ontario will be sharing their stories and advocating for environmental protection. Inuk singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark and Juno-nominated singer-songwriter Terra Lightfoot will also perform when the tour stops in Ottawa on September 15.
- This week is expected to be the best time to see the annual Perseid meteor shower, so look up at night if the skies are clear (particularly if you’re far from city lights).
Discounts and deals
- Bee You Creative Styles—a vintage, consignment and gift shop in Sandy Hill—is bringing back its Colours & Cocktails events this fall. On September 13, October 9 or November 8, you can shop the store after hours, enjoy cocktails and mocktails, and get your colours done. The early-bird price is $69 a ticket; full price is $75.
Other news
- The Discover Cornwall and SDG Counties podcast highlights the food, history and destinations of the region southeast of Cornwall. Recent episodes have focused on topics as diverse as Cornwall-style pizza, the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project, and cycling fun.
- There’s still time to squeeze in some paddling adventures this summer, and this post from Tourisme Outaouais highlights all sorts of spots to explore in the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau region.
- This Stittsville Central story about the 36th anniversary of the Goulbourn Museum has lots of fascinating details about Stittsville’s history.
- Destination Toronto, the city’s tourism bureau, has created TO Glow Face Mist, a “collection of hydrating face mists inspired by four classic Toronto experiences: Golden Hour, Patio Season, Main Stage and Fandom.” This weekend, folks on TO Glow bikes will be roaming through Major’s Hill Park, Lansdowne Park and Commissioners’ Park, and along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, giving free chilled face mists to anyone who wants one.
- Paddling Magazine has an interesting story about the history of whitewater rafting on the Ottawa River.
- The Canadian Peace Museum is under construction in Bancroft and is seeking donations so that it can open.
- Travel writer Jim Byers has a fun review of the trendy Drake Motor Inn in Prince Edward County.
- If your long-distance road trip plans involve a stop in Halifax, check out my latest post for Perceptive Travel, Three reasons to visit Spring Garden Road.
- Canadian trips to the U.S. are down, but the reverse isn’t true. According to one survey, American travel to Canada rose by 10 percent in 2025 (over 2024 figures) and may rise by as much as 26 percent this year (above 2025 figures).
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.
