Outdoors

July’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Liz Wheeler to support the Secondhand Stories chicken sanctuary’s second annual open house.

For the past 38 years, the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon festival has been inviting guests to take in the views of the region’s landscape, enjoy live performances, and take part in their Beauce Carnaval Amusement Park. This year, they are adding one more night of fun and an additional stage to their festival.

The Central Experimental Farm is a well-loved jewel in the heart of the city, boasting a rich and fascinating history, as well as a key role in Canada’s agricultural science. In a new five-session Speaker Series, the Friends of the Central Experimental Farm are sharing their horticultural and historic knowledge with the public, aiming to provide locals with a deeper understanding of the farm’s history and the fundamentals of horticulture that can be applied at home. Teaming up with scientists from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the free speaker series will cover different aspects of the farm’s relevance to the city, from invasive insects to famous women horticulturalists in history. The series has something for everyone.

The third annual Outaouais Herb Gathering festival is happening this weekend, Aug. 9-10 at the Old Findlay Farm in Gatineau.

Escape Backpack Game at Mackenzie King Estate is a free, one-of-a-kind adventure, blending history and mystery in the heart of Gatineau Park. Up to six participants, ages nine and up, navigate the picturesque Mackenzie King Estate while decoding clues about the storied life of its namesake to crack the lock combinations on their shackled rucksack. […]

Mādahòkì Farm is opening their doors to the wider public by introducing new visitor experiences, starting today. Apt613 was welcomed to tour the farm, take part in their equine assisted learning (EAL) program with Ojibwe spirit horses, and taste some new Grab & Go Indigenous offerings prepared by Mādahòkì Farm’s culinary team. 

In an effort to better understand blue space — the aquatic counterpart to green space — local writer Dan Rubinstein has travelled 1,200 miles (nearly 2,000km) by stand-up paddleboard. His recently-published book, Water Borne: A 1,200 Mile Paddleboarding Pilgrimage, documents his voyage and all the conversations he had with journalists and experts along the way.

Awesome Ottawa is giving two awards for March, one to Susan Johnston to support walking tours of Ottawa fiction and poetry, and one to Patricia Oliveira to support new mesh nets for basketball courts across the city.

REWILD Landscapes is a local queer-owned ecological “landcare” business. Its co-founder, Jeff Collins, rang in the new year with a pitch on CBC’s Dragon’s Den on Jan. 2.

Ahoy, matey! As the good weather makes its way to the city, Pirate Fest is here to bring family fun to Mooney’s Bay on June 8.

So much has happened with the roller skating community in Ottawa in the past year since my last post on roller skating updates! Since its store opening over a year ago, Ottawa’s local roller skating store Rideau Rollers has been going on strong, expanding to provide skate maintenance events, skatepark workshops with guest instructors, trail skating outings and even hosting a fundraiser show to support the Ottawa Trans Library.

On a cool evening at TD Place on May 1, fans were treated to a record-breaking performance by Atlético Ottawa as they dropped a converted touchdown on Valour FC, beating the Winnipeg side 7-0.

April’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Sam Rohe and Carlos Murray to support the Frank St. Bee & Butterfly Garden.

Looking to stay active over the winter? Here’s a roundup of urban winter trails that makes it easy!

February IS the happiest month of the year! Happiness Habits 613, a grassroots local wellness group, is back for another 29 days of free community experiences in February to dig deeper into cultivating happiness for the entire city. Through free indoor and outdoor community events, the nine pillars of happiness are showcased to everyone and anyone.