A dog festival in Pembroke and a thrifting event in Smiths Falls. A sunflower maze near Wakefield and a night market in Orléans. The Lock and Paddle event at Ottawa’s Hartwell Locks. Great Kingston restaurants, And the chance to win a posh train trip through the Canadian Rockies! It’s all in this week’s newsletter.
Calendar of events: Dog festival, thrifting, Lock and Paddle
From thrifting in Smiths Falls and a night market in Orléans to music in Thurso, a fair in Vankleek Hill, a garlic festival in Carp, and busker and dog festivals in Pembroke, this week’s calendar of events features something for everyone. You can even bring your canoe or kayak to Hartwells Locks near Carleton University to go through the locks with hundreds of others during the Lock and Paddle event!
This week's featured contest
Wow, the prize in this week’s contest is a doozy: a luxury train trip for two through the Canadian Rockies, including roundtrip transportation to British Columbia. The whole package has an estimated value of $16,000! The contest is open to Canadian residents of legal age, with some restrictions. Enter by December 31, 2026.
Heads Up: Cycling, a sunflower maze and a trendy motel
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 near Wakefield. This post also has the scoop on a music festival cancellation, Cornwall cycling, a new peace museum, Outaouais paddling, a trendy PEC motel, a chance to get your colours done and Ottawa’s upcoming 200th birthday celebrations.
Did you know …
… that you can help support Ottawa Road Trips by using any of the accommodation maps on my website to book a place to stay? If you make a reservation via any of the maps on my site, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. (Thanks!)
How do you do it? Just click on the button below!
That will take you to one of the many accommodations maps that appear on my website. When the map opens, type your destination into the search box in the top left-hand corner of the map (where the black arrow in the screenshot above is pointing to the words “Ottawa, ON, Canada”) to search for accommodations anywhere in the world!
The perks of membership
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And before I sign off this week
Here are a few Ottawa Road Trips posts from the past, in case you missed them:
Trying to find something from an earlier newsletter? You can read previous issues on the Ottawa Road Trips Substack page.
That's it from me for now. I'll be back in your in-box next week with more ideas. Until then, happy road tripping!
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.