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Make the most of summer while it’s still here! This week, you can go to two Doors Open festivals (in Cornwall/SDG and Rideau Lakes), tour beautiful houses in Almonte, cheer for Indigenous athletes in Ottawa, meet artists in Shawville and Carleton Place, thrill to the Sunset Ceremony at Fort Henry, go to a garlic festival in Carp, enjoy a summer festival in Bells Corners or Thurso, or hit one of five summer fairs! And that’s just a sampling of what’s in store. You can even run a 5K race through clouds of foam in Montreal or laugh at a cat video festival in Ottawa. Truly, something for everyone.
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Head to a corn festival in Athens
Centennial Park in the village of Athens will be hopping from 9am to 4pm on Saturday, August 16, during Athens Cornfest. There will be live music, kids’ activities (including a children’s parade), food and craft vendors, and, of course, lots of fresh buttered corn. Free admission.
Check out a summer bash in Bells Corners or Thurso
The Bells Corners Summer Bash on Saturday, August 16, is a free, day-long event for the whole family. You can enjoy live music, bouncy castles, animal fun with Little Ray’s Reptiles, a food and vendor market, and more. It’s all happening at 2135 Robertson Road in Ottawa’s west end.
Meanwhile in the Outaouais, the Petite Nation en fête festival in Thurso (August 14 to 16) will offer visitors live music, workshops, food trucks, performances by the Flip Fabrique circus troupe and more.
Join a house tour in Almonte
The Almonte Town and Home Tour on Saturday, August 16 includes stops at historic sites and beautiful homes, and raises money for the local hospital foundation and the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum. Tours of sites such as the Mill of Kintail are included.
Cheer for Indigenous athletes at TD Place
The 2025 Masters Indigenous Games (August 14 to 17) will see Indigenous athletes from around the world competing in all sorts of sports—including volleyball, basketball, Arctic sports and golf—at Ottawa’s TD Place. The opening ceremonies will take place at 6pm on Thursday, August 14. A cultural village will run throughout the four-day event, where you can enjoy live performances, traditional sports demonstrations and hands-on activities, and shop for Indigenous crafts, art and food. Free admission.
Catch a concert
In the mood for live music? Your choices this week include Stewart’s Glen at the Grotto in Alexandria (August 13), Elliott Brood at the Motel Chelsea (August 14), Colin Linden at the Neat Coffee Shop in Burnstown (August 15), Rory Taillon at Little Red Wagon Winery in Shawville (August 16) and Suzie and the Sunbeamz at the Ottawa Tennis Club (August 17). For links to these and many other shows, see my concerts listing.
See the Sunset Ceremony at Fort Henry
On Friday nights in August—including Friday, August 15—you can see the Fort Henry Guard go through its paces during the Sunset Ceremony at Fort Henry National Historic Site in Kingston. The event includes precision military drills, stirring drum music and a rousing finale of fireworks and it’s quite popular, so advance ticket purchase is recommended.
Dig into poutine in Brockville
Attention, all fans of gravy-doused cheese curds and fries: Brockville Poutine Feast is coming to Brockville’s Centennial Park from August 14 through 17. As well as digging into the namesake snack, you can take part in singalongs, a scavenger hunt, a curd pong tournament and more. (If you really want to flirt with danger, you can sign up for the Five-Pound Poutine Challenge, which dares you to eat that much poutine in 15 minutes.)
Be Greek for a day in Ottawa
Watch Greek dancers and enjoy live Greek music. Nibble on souvlaki, moussaka and more. Family-friendly Ottawa Greek Fest (August 14 to 17, and August 22 to 24) is about as close as you can get to the Parthenon or Santorini without jumping on a plane! The video above is from a few years ago, but it will give you a taste of what to expect. The festival takes place at the Hellenic Event Centre at 1315 Prince of Wales Drive, between Baseline Road and Meadowlands Drive; check the website for details on shuttles and offsite parking. Free admission.
Enjoy jazz in Prince Edward County
The Prince Edward County Jazz Festival (August 12 to 17) is taking place in venues across Prince Edward County, including churches, wineries, pubs and even a cemetery. About two dozen acts will be playing all sorts of styles of jazz. Ticket prices and concert times vary.
Visit a market in Bourget
The Bourget Community Market on Saturday, August 16, will see vendors setting up their tables beside the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail from 10am to 2pm.
Head outdoors in Renfrew County
Attention, outdoorsy types: The Water and Dirt Festival (August 8 to 17) offers activities for just about every sports lover, including a triathlon, a fundraising “doggy paddle,” kayak fishing, yoga, a volleyball tournament, a regatta and a whole lot more. Events take place across a wide swath of Renfrew County, with Petawawa as a major hub. Check the website for registration details and fees, which vary from event to event.
Get your garlic fix in Carp
At the Carp Farmers’ Market’s Garlic Festival (August 16 and 17), you can shop for garlic bulbs, spreads, dressings and more. There will also be garlic tastings, garlic shots (uh, I’ll watch, thanks!), garlic cooking demos, garlic growing workshops and more. And once you’ve exhausted all the garlic options, you can check out the rest of the farmers’ market.
Be blissful in Eganville
The Bhakti Bliss Yoga and Music Festival in Eganville (August 15 to 17) promises a substance-free weekend of yoga, music, ecstatic dance, breathwork, sound healing and more. You can camp and swim, too.
Hit a sidewalk sale in Hintonburg
The Heart of Hintonburg Sidewalk Sale on Saturday, August 16, will see some 15 businesses on Wellington Street West and Somerset Street West setting their wares outside for sale and offering special activities. The event in central Ottawa’s Hintonburg neighbourhood runs from 10am to 4pm.
See the world in Sherbrooke
The Festival des Traditions du Monde de Sherbrooke (August 13 to 17) celebrates the cultures of the world with 90 shows, and 25 workshops and activities, on 10 stages—everything from Afro-Congolese electronic music and Uruguayan tango to Indigenous folk-rock and Bollywood/Middle Eastern dancing. And there’s food, too, from 17 international restaurants! It all unrolls in Quintal Park (1671, chemin Duplessis, Sherbrooke). Sherbrooke is a little under four hours’ drive east of Ottawa, in Quebec’s Eastern Townships.
Dance the night away in Centretown
I was today-years-old when I learned that the small, landscaped patch of ground at the corner of Metcalfe and Gloucester streets in Centretown has a name: Metcalfe Plaza. And it’s hosting a grand opening party on Thursday, August 14, from 7pm to 10pm. DJ TDOT will be spinning tunes, and food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Tiptoe through the sunflowers near Cornwall
Cornwall tour company See-Way More is offering a Sunflowers and Self-Care Tour on Sunday, August 17. Aimed at couples and pairs of friends, the 4.5-hour tour will include a stop at a sunflower farm and a guided hand reflexology session.
Browse for art in Shawville, Carleton Place and Wakefield
You can meet six local artists and buy their works during the vernissage for a new show, Reflections on Water, at Cafe 349 in Shawville on Thursday, August 14. The opening runs from 5pm to 7pm.
Riverfront Artscape is a new outdoor art event taking place on Saturday, August 16, in Carleton Place. Along the river walkway beside the Carleton Place Gallery (210 Bridge Street), you can browse for works by 32 juried fine artists and artisans. Plein air painters and caricature sketch artists will be on hand, too. The Almonte Song Circle will provide live music, and food vendors will be serving up tacos and more.
Art in the Park continues in Parc Roquebrune (Turntable Park) in Wakefield on Saturday, August 16, from noon to 4pm.
See heritage buildings in Cornwall and SDG, and in Rideau Lakes
The popular Doors Open event comes to Cornwall and the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry on August 16 and 17. Thirty-one interesting buildings across the region—including sites in Cornwall, Dunvegan and Williamstown—will be welcoming visitors and hosting special activities. Free. (P.S.: The Glengarry Pioneer Museum is also offering a rug-hooking workshop on Sunday, August 17. It’s $75 per person and pre-registration is required.)
Also on August 16 and 17, Rideau Lakes Township will also be holding its Doors Open event, featuring 19 notable sites in Delta, Portland, Elgin and nearby communities. Again, there will be activities for visitors, and admission is free.
Buy books in Kemptville
Looking for some good used books? The Kemptville Youth Centre’s annual book sale is running from August 15 to 17 at the Ferguson Forest Centre (275 County Road 44, Kemptville). In past years, the total number of books for sale has topped 50,000, so expect a wide selection.
Run 5K through foam in suburban Montreal
If you’ve ever run a 5K and thought, “Gee, this course would be much better if it had a waterslide, a log roll and giant clouds of foam,” do I have the race for you. The 5K Foam Fest at the Mont Saint-Bruno ski centre on Montreal’s South Shore is a bonkers-looking race that also includes a cargo net climb, hurdles and lots of other obstacles. Register by August 12 for the early-bird discount.
Catch a music festival in Westport
Music Westport is an open-air festival in the Rideau Lakes village on Saturday, August 16, featuring folk, alt-country, surfer rock, retro soul and other music. Admission is by donation. The main stage is outdoors at The Cove Inn (2 Bedford Street), but there will also be minstrels wandering the streets, an artists’ alley by Westport Harbour, and magicians, hoop dancers and face painters at Lockwood Park.
Celebrate Capital Pride in Ottawa
This year’s Capital Pride celebration in Ottawa (August 16 to 24) is packed with a huge range of activities for members and allies of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, including a family picnic, a pageant, a variety show, a human rights panel discussion, a parade, a youth clothing swap….really, the diversity is endless!
Have fun at a fair in Ottawa, Russell, South Mountain, Vankleek Hill or Odessa
The Capital Fair (August 15 to 24) is at a new location this year (4899 Albion Road South, Ottawa), not far from its previous site at what is now the Hard Rock Casino. For its 50th anniversary edition this year, the fair boasts a big midway, arm wrestling, a demolition derby, an “extreme dog show” (colour me curious), magic shows, a cornhole tournament, live music and all sorts of other amusements. And if you’re planning ahead, Special Needs Day for visitors with physical and/or developmental disabilities is on Tuesday, August 19.
Just southeast of Ottawa, the Russell Fair (1076 Concession Street, Russell) runs from August 14 to 17. The fun includes circus workshops, sheep shearing, square dancing, a petting zoo, a midway, aerial shows, axe throwing, a demolition derby, a craft beverages festival and a packed schedule of live music.
The South Mountain Fair (August 14 to 17) offers truck and tractor pulls, live music, a midway, a demolition derby, livestock competitions, a beer garden and more. There’s also an opportunity on Thursday (11am to 1pm) for visitors with special needs to visit the fair before the gates open to the general public (pre-registration required). The fair takes place at the fairgrounds at 2967 Lough Road in South Mountain.
The Vankleek Hill Fair (August 14 to 17) has livestock competitions, a monster truck show, a volleyball tournament, a parade, concerts, antique tractor pulls, a demolition derby, pony rides and a midway, among other amusements. You’ll find the fairgrounds at 92 Main Street West in Vankleek Hill.
The fun at the Odessa Fair (August 15 to 17) includes a midway, a children and pets parade, live music, a lumberjack circus show, a climbing wall, livestock shows, and a demolition derby.
Giggle at cat videos in Ottawa
Alert long-time readers will know that I’m a sucker for all things cat related. So, of course, I have to tell you about the 2025 Cat Video Fest, a 75-minute compilation of cat videos coming to the Bytowne Theatre on Rideau Street several times this month. The next showing is on Wednesday, August 13, at 7pm.
Chow down on barbecue in suburban Montreal
The Montreal Ribfest (August 15 to 17) is a three-day festival in the Pierrefonds neighbourhood (13800 boulevard de Pierrefonds). Attractions include meat grilled up by multiple ribbers and lots of live music.
Channel your inner Irish person in Killaloe
The Killaloe Irish Gathering (August 15 and 16) promises lots of fun in the small village just east of Barry’s Bay. Highlights include bouncy castles, a scavenger hunt, face painting, a touch-a-truck event, a graveyard tour and, of course, lots of Irish music and dance.
Kick back with beers and tunes in Quebec City
In Quebec City, the Festibière de Québec (August 14 to 17) at the Quai de l’Espace 400e (100 Quai Saint-André) is slated to host a huge range of beverage makers and food vendors—including purveyors of non-alcoholic and vegan options—along with lots of concerts.
Have a Caribbean weekend in Belleville
During the Belleville Caribbean Festival (August 15 to 17), you can enjoy lots of tropical tunes and tastes. The celebration features a parade, food vendors and artisans, kids’ activities and lots of live music.
Need a place to stay?
If you’re planning to head to any of these events and you need accommodation, why not use the map below to find a place to stay? If you book a place (anywhere in the world!) using the map, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting this site!
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.
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.
