This week’s post is full of tips for those of you who like to plan ahead, whether you’d like to avoid traffic jams this week (along Moodie Drive and in Rigaud), bid on fancy vintages (at the Ottawa Wine Auction), get tickets to Carleton’s butterfly show (they’re always hot commodities) or even nab tickets to a Christmas home tour in Vankleek Hill. Yes, I said Christmas. Plus, I have the scoop on Flixbus’s new service to Montreal, a new waterpark in Ottawa’s west end, a just-announced show by Jane Siberry and more. You can even find out about my walk around Petrie Island last weekend.
Events
- If you want to go to the Williamstown Ribfest on Saturday, September 26, you need to plan ahead; ticket sales close at noon on Friday, September 18.
- Speaking of planning ahead: Tickets to the Annual Biology Butterfly Show at Carleton University (October 3, 4, 10 and 11 this year) usually get snapped up very quickly. So you might want to mark your calendar for 2pm on Tuesday, September 22, when ticket sales open.
- As I write this on September 15, there are fewer than 40 tickets left for the Ottawa Wine Auction on Friday, September 25. It’s a fundraiser for the Music and Beyond Festival.
- Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area in Kingston is offering a nature wellness retreat on the morning of Friday, October 16, that will include qi gong, yoga and a forest therapy walk.
- I know it’s hard to think this far ahead when we’ve barely put away our shorts and bathing suits, but tickets are available now for the Vankleek Hill Christmas Home Tour on Saturday, November 7.
- Canadian singer-songwriter Jane Siberry has just announced a show at the Robo Lounge in Ottawa on Thursday, December 3.
Other
- Flixbus has just expanded its service to run buses between Ottawa–Gatineau and Montreal. You can board at the St. Laurent or uOttawa O Train stations in Ottawa, or the Station de la Cité in Gatineau.
- In case you missed it on the Ottawa Road Trips Facebook page, I posted some photos from my walk around Petrie Island last week with the Ottawa Voyageurs Walking Club. If you enjoy long walks, I highly recommend joining this group! Membership fees are reasonable, and they usually run at least two walks a week (each usually with a 5K and 10K option) in places around the city. I’ve discovered all sorts of hidden corners of town since joining and met lots of great people.
- A trail in Algonquin Park made Travel + Leisure‘s recent list of top U.S. and Canadian fall hiking trails.
- Ottawa city council has approved a proposal to build a 236-room hotel on Palladium Drive that would include an indoor waterpark.
- Planning to drive through Rigaud this weekend? Be forewarned that a rally to oppose the ALTO rail project is happening on Saturday, September 19, which could lead to traffic tie-ups.
- Be prepared for slowdowns around the intersection of Moodie Drive and Highway 417 from September 16 to 18, as there will be various closures (including some ramp closures) to accommodate OC Transpo construction work.
- A used book store specializing in books for kids and young adults has opened in Adolphustown, near Napanee.
- If you think it was harder than usual to get a hotel room in Ottawa-Gatineau this year, you’re not imagining things. According to this CTV News story, hotel occupancy rates were up 3 percent year-over-year in Ottawa (June to August) and up 9.1 percent year-over-year in Gatineau (May to July).
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.
