21 events you won’t want to miss this weekend in Ottawa

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Bundle up and get out of your house this weekend as there are plenty of things to do in Ottawa! Did you know that Winterlude was created in the seventies to encourage people to stop hibernating and have some winter fun? Let’s have a look at this list of events!

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1. Winterlude

The 45th edition of Winterlude, one of the two most popular festivals in Ottawa, starts this Friday with lots of events and activities in various venues in Ottawa and Gatineau. Visit the Snowflake Kingdom at Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau, take a stroll on Sparks St to see beautiful ice sculptures, and enjoy many exhibits and activities at the Byward Market.
When: Feb 3 to 20.
Where: Various venues
Details: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/winterlude.html

2. RCMP Musical Ride Open House and Food Drive

Visit the RCMP stables and have a selfie with a Mountie and the beautiful jet-black Musical Ride horses! FREE.
When: Sat Feb 4 from 10am to 3pm.
Where: 1 Sandridge Road.
Details: Check out: https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/musical-ride/musical-ride-open-house

3. Winterlude Pow Wow

Experience a mini–Pow Wow or opening ceremony. There will be dancers of many styles and ages. FREE.
When: Sun Feb 5 from 11am to 4pm.
Where: Canadian Museum of History, 100 Laurier St, Gatineau.
Details: historymuseum.ca

4. Asinabka Festival

Enjoy indigenous films from the circumpolar North with outdoor screenings in a theatre made of snow! DJ and VJ performances after screenings, ice bar with hot drinks and snacks, fire pits to stay warm. FREE.
When: Friday Feb 3, Sat Feb 4 (outdoors) and Sun Feb 5 (indoors) from 6pm to 9pm.
Where: Lansdowne Park and Beandigen Cafe
Details: https://asinabkafestival.org/

5. Shiverfest

Manotick will be celebrating its winter festival with many activities for the whole family such as a pancake breakfast, a magic show, horse-drawn sleigh rides, a scavenger hunt, a skating exhibition and much more. FREE admission. Some activities required pre-registration.
When: Friday Feb 3 (6pm-9pm) and Saturday Feb 4 (7:30am-10pm)
Where: Various venues
Details: https://www.manotickvca.org/shiverfest

6. Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival

Enjoy two days of performances by Sarah Neufeld, Fraser Hollins and The Phoenix, OKAN, Felicity Williams / PURDY, and other artists. Tickets from $25.
When: Sat Feb 3 and Sun Feb 4
Where: Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue, Ottawa
Details: https://ottawajazzfestival.com/

7. Bouge Bouge 5KM

A unique indoor 5K run through the corridors of Rideau Centre and Shaw Centre.
When: Sunday Feb 5 from 7am to 11am
Where: 55 Colonel By Dr, K1N 9J2
Details: bougebouge.com

8. Ice Dragon Boat Concerts

The Ice Dragon Boat races were cancelled but not the free indoor concerts scheduled. Friday Feb 3, 4 and 5. At The Rainbow starting at 8pm. 76 Murray St. Check out: https://www.icedragonboat.ca/liveattherainbow/

9. Valentine’s Barket

A wide variety of gifts and treats featured by amazing vendors. Come and get a pic with your pooch. FREE admission. Sunday February 5 from 11am to 5pm at Beacon Hill Craft Club, 2200 De Montreal Road, Unit C1, Gloucester.

10. Bank of Canada Winterlude weekend

Family Day Weekend: see (and touch) unusual currency, build a piggy bank, learn what’s a need, and what’s a want. FREE. Saturday Feb 4 and Sunday Feb 5. Where: 30 Bank St. Details: bankofcanadamuseum.ca

11. Fringe. Ottawa Freedom Convoy Photo Exhibition

The latest photo exhibition by photographer Paul Ozzello. Jan 26 to Feb 9. At Art+ Gallery, 531 Sussex Drive. FREE.

12. Black History Month

Movie night: The woman king  –  La femme roi. Thursday Feb 2, 6pm-11pm. At Scotiabank Theatre, 2385 City Park Drive, K1J 1G1. Tickets from $5. Check out Eventbrite.

13. Afro Ethnicity

Music, poetry, live performance, appetizers. Sunday Feb 5, 7pm-10pm. At 101 Clarence St. Tickets from $40. Check out Eventbrite.

14. Drag on Ice

Sunday Feb 5: At Vanier. Optimiste Park Ice Rink, from 11am to 2pm. At Lansdowne Park Ice Rink, from 4pm to 7pm. FREE.

15. Capital Hoops Classic

This is a classic basketball match between UOttawa Gee Gees vs Carleton Ravens. The men’s and women’s teams will face off this Friday Feb 3 starting at 6pm. At TD Place. Tickets from $25.

16. Public Skating at Rideau Hall

The historic skating rink at Rideau Hall, which dates back 1872, will be open to the public every weekend until March 5. FREE. No reservation required. No parking. Parking allowed on adjacent streets.
When: Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5pm. (weather permitting)
Details: gg.ca

17. Musical Evenings at Casino Lac Leamy

Bar 7 at Casino Lac Leamy is launching its musical evenings with a multimedia screen, and live performances, from Thursdays to Saturdays. FREE.
When: Thursday Feb 2 (Latin Fiesta) at 8:30pm Andy Rubal. Friday Feb 3 “StereoTypes”, and Saturday Feb 4 ‘This side up’ at 9:30pm.
Where: 1, Boulevard du Casino, Gatineau, QC J8Y 6W3.
Details: https://casinos.lotoquebec.com/en/lacleamy/explore/bars/bar-7

18. Farmers’ Winter Market

The Farmers’ market is back for the winter season every Sunday until April 30. Fresh vegetables and fruit, meat, baked goods, spirits, crafts and more. FREE.
When: Sundays from 10am to 3pm.
Where: Aberdeen Pavilion, Lansdowne Park. 1000 Exhibition Way.

19. Ice skating at the Rink of Dreams

Grab your skates and head to the most popular ice-skating rink in Ottawa for some winter fun! FREE. You can rent skates there!
When: Everyday from 9am to 11pm
Where: 110 Laurier Ave West.

20. Owl Rendez-Vous

Watch live owls in a special outdoor exhibition. At the Canadian Museum of Nature, 240 McLeod St, from Dec 14 to April 3, 2024.

21. Exhibition: Uramado AR, the awakening of the Tanukis

Uramado is a treasure hunt route in augmented reality. It tells the story of Tanukis which are spirits of the forest from Japanese mythology. The participants are invited to download the free app Uramado AR, Tanukis awake ( on IOS and Android ) to start this treasure hunt. FREE.
When: Mon to Fri from 9am to 12pm; and 2pm-4pm until April 30.
Where: Alliance Française Ottawa, 352 MacLaren St.
Details: https://www.af.ca/ottawa/details-de-levenement/?eventId=578#/

Enjoy!!

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Five years living in Ottawa and still finding new spots I've never heard about before! I wouldn't imagine that in the middle of the Vanier neighborhood there would be a park with a Sugar shack there and where Maple syrup is produced. Sugar Shacks are usually found on the outskirts of the city or in the countryside. So, they say that makes the Vanier Sugar Shack the only one in North America located in the middle of a city. So worth a visit! And this weekend is the perfect occasion because they are running their Sugar Festival with lots of activities for the visitors. First, they will be offering Sugar Shack meals, you know, the classic scrambled eggs, sausages, pancakes and maple beans, and Maple Taffy, (the sweet made right on the snow). There will be a First Nations area, axe throwing, a lumberjack competition, indoor playing for toddlers, inflatable games, a mini petting farm, pony rides, sled dogs, beer tasting and musical performances. Have an awesome weekend!! The spring vibe invites us to go out and enjoy the longer days. If you don't know what to do this weekend yet, check out this list of events and share it with your friends. If you know about other events happening this weekend, feel free to share them in comments. 😊 How refreshing it is to take a stroll around downtown and Parliament Hill! I don't know if it's just me but I love it!! 😍 I love the architecture of those amazing Parliament buildings. I love to see the Peace Tower framed against the blue sky on a sunny day!! And I love to see people, probably tourists, at the Centennial flame taking pictures or throwing coins into the fountain. I feel their enthusiasm and I feel like a tourist or a newcomer, even though I've been living in Ottawa for 5 years. 😄 If you are a newcomer to Ottawa, or to the eastern part of Canada, you may want to experience the spring tradition of the Sugar Shack. The Sugar Shack season happens usually between March and April when the Maple tree sap begins to rise. It's the start of Maple syrup production. The Maple farms open their doors to visitors and offer delicious meals where the star is the Maple syrup. These meals usually are pancakes, 🥞 scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes wedges, and baked beans. Then you can enjoy Maple taffy on the snow, go on wagon rides, visit the petting farm, and of course visit the shacks where Maple syrup is made. My family and I went today to Stanley's Olde Maple Lane Farm, and we had a great time! We loved the food, and my daughters enjoyed watching the animals at the farm: cows and their newborns, horses, chickens, ducks, turkeys, peacocks, pigs, and goats - so many animals! The wagon ride around the farm was nice too. ☺️ We are in that part of the year where it's not winter but it doesn't look like spring yet, and we can even have some surprises like the snowfall that has been forecast for today. The winter sports season is almost over, the snow is melting, the brownish dead grass is visible, it's muddy, and it rains a lot. It's the ugly first part of spring. 😏 The bad news is that it usually lasts a whole month in Ottawa, from the end of March to the end of April. 🙄 The time passes very slowly this time of the year, or it seems to when one is impatient to see colours!! At least I saw a Robin yesterday. Canadians know that this bird appears in spring. That's the first signal, a sign of hope! But so far, that has been the only one for me. What spring signals have you got? Birds chirping? Tree buds? Wildflowers maybe? None? 🤔 If you're a newcomer, you might have heard that spending summer weekends in a cottage by a lake is for many people a big part of the Canadian lifestyle. My family and I tried that our second summer in Ottawa and it was amazing!! We loved it!! ❤ But what we hadn't tried before was going to a cottage in the winter until last weekend. Definitely it had a different vibe but was equally awesome and enjoyable!! ☺️ We have arrived at the last weekend of March and the first one of spring! 😃 Do you feel your moods are changing? Do you feel like going out? Check out this list of events and share it with your friends! EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY: We'll have to wait a bit longer for the spring colours to arrive in Canada. 🙁 But the worst has already passed! We're almost there, hold on! Did you really think that by the end of March winter was going to finally end? 😁 Tomorrow March 20, spring officially starts. Just the thought of this makes me so happy! 😃☺️ However, the reality is that it will be another month or so before we start seeing the spring colours, trees budding, and flowers start to bloom. What? Did you think that spring started at the end of March?? No way!! This is Canada, my friends! Canada's weather doesn't necessarily follow any official calendar. Sorry to disappoint you. 🙁 It's totally different here. So, if it follows what I have seen the last 5 years in Ottawa, we'll see one last snowfall in April. But you know, spring is in the air no matter what, even as we still see snow everywhere. Probably you are going to hear birds singing one of these mornings and your heart will feel joyous! 💗 That's the magic of spring! You feel it in the soul! I'd never experienced this in my country. It's a gift Canada has given me, and I love it! 😍 Welcome spring!! 🌸💐🏵🌺 We were waiting for you so badly!! If you are a newcomer and you have experienced your first winter in Ottawa or Canada, how are you feeling about spring? Are you impatient? Are you feeling the change in your moods?

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