What's happening in Ottawa this weekend: May 16-19
Tulips in bloom at Major's Hill Park in Ottawa. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at things to do in Ottawa and eastern Ontario this weekend.
Canadian Tulip Festival
The Canadian Tulip Festival continues all weekend at Commissioners Park in Ottawa.
Check out 300,000 blooming tulips at 26 gardens in Commissioners Park at Dows Lake.
Events this weekend include:
Sunday: Vintage Victory Party on Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Preston Street. The Victory Day Celebration includes Vintage Military vehicles and authentic Swing Dancers. The event runs from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday: The fireworks and drone show runs from 9:20 p.m. to 10 p.m. The show will mark the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands.
Saturday-Sunday: The Sens Street Team
Guided Walking Tours daily
Movies in the Park. Enjoy free movies on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Big Bug Boardwalk
ArtEast Ottawa Boutique and Activities
Dutch Pavilion featuring music, games and cultural experiences from the Netherlands
The Tulip Market
Play Zone
Ottawa tulips
The tulips blooming in Ottawa's Commissioners Park on Tuesday. (Andrew Adlington/CTV News Ottawa)
Check out the tulips
The tulips are in bloom across Ottawa. Here are several locations to check out the tulips:
Commissioners Park: The NCC says Commissioners Park is 'a showstopper,' with over 100 varieties of tulips in 30 tulip beds.
The Rideau Canal: Stroll, run or cycle along Queen Elizabeth Driveway and see the tulips.
Downtown Ottawa: The tulips are in bloom at Major's Hill Park, along Confederation Boulevard and at the National War Memorial.
Downtown Gatineau: Tulips are on display near the Alexandra Bridge, in Jacques-Cartier Park and at the Canadian Museum of History.
Tulips
The tulips blooming in Major's Hill Park on Sunday, May 11. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
NCC bike days
National Capital Commission's weekend bikedays continue all weekend..
The NCC will close the parkways and Queen Elizabeth Driveway to vehicles for active use.
Here is a look at what's open for cyclists, runners, walkers and other active use:
Kichi Zībī Mīkan (Vimy Place to Carling Avenue): 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday
Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway (Aviation Parkway to St. Joseph Boulevard): 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday
Queens Elizabeth Driveway (Fifth Avenue to Somerset Street): 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks are inviting fans to Queen's University in Kingston for Fan Fest on Saturday.
Doors open at 12 p.m. at Richardson Stadium. Meet the Redblacks and enjoy the kids zone.
Queen Victoria's Birthday Celebrations
The Upper Canada Village invites you to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday on Saturday.
Activities include military maneuvers, the 1860s athletic games and the Village's 'Queen' in Action.
Barrhaven Ribfest
Celebrate the long weekend with ribs and fun at the Barrhaven Ribfest.
The festival runs until Monday at Clarke Field on Houlahan Street.
Ottawa BlackJacks
The Ottawa BlackJacks tip off a new season Sunday at TD Place.
The BlackJacks host the Niagara River Lions for a 3 p.m. game.
CanGames Table Top Game Convention
Enjoy three fun-filled days at the CanGames Tabletop Game Convention at the Rideau Curling Club.
The event features every table top game you can think of, plus miniatures, board games and more.
National Arts Centre
Here's a look at what's happening at the National Arts Centre this weekend.
Until May 24: NAC English Theatre presents Mahabharata: Karma
May 17-24: Khana & Kaani Community Meal
Saturday: Rhiannon Giddens
Saturday: Curly Strings
Shenkman Arts Centre
Here's a look at what's happening at the Shenkman Arts Centre this weekend.
Saturday: Children of Aladdin – Le Jazz Hot Dance
613flea
613flea returns to Lansdowne on Saturday.
Visit over 150 vendors between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Lansdowne Farmers Market
The Lansdowne Farmers Market is back at Lansdowne on Sunday.
Connect with over 85 local vendors in the historic Aberdeen Square from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Main Street Farmers Market
It's the opening weekend for the Main Street Farmers Market.
The market is open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Grande Allee Park.
Carp Farmers Market
The Carp Farmers Market is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday is Maple Day, with opportunities to learn about maple syrup from local maple producers.
Metcalfe Farmers Market
The Metcalfe Farmers Market has kicked off a new season.
The market is every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Metcalfe Fairgrounds.
Westboro Farmers' Market
The Westboro Farmers Market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The market is located in Byron Linear Park.
Museums
Click on the links for the schedule at museums in Ottawa and eastern Ontario:
Parliament of Canada Tours
Enjoy a free, guided tour of the Senate at the Senate of Canada Building, the House of Commons in the West Block and the East Block.
For tickets and tour times, visit https://rts.parl.ca/.
Parliament: The Immersive Experience
Explore the main Parliament Building, also called Centre Block, in this innovative experience.
Parliament: The Immersive Experience at 211 Sparks Street includes an exhibition and a 360-degree multimedia show that takes you on a tour through Centre Block, which has been closed since 2019.
The self-guided tour is 45 minutes.
Tickets are available at no cost at visit parl.ca.
Events Happening in Kingston this weekend
Friday: ONES – The Beatles #1 Hits at the Kingston Grand Theatre
Saturday: Soul of Motown at Kingston Grand Theatre
Sunday: One Man, Three Legends at The Spire
Sunday: Illumination Gala Performance at the Kingston Grand Theatre
Spring into Summer
The City of Kingston invites you to 'Spring into Summer' on Saturday.
Enjoy a day of activities, live music, food and fun, plus fireworks at 9:30 p.m.
The Spring into Summer event will be held at Lake Ontario Park from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Fort Henry
The Fort Henry National Historic Site opens for the season on Saturday.
The site is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Enjoy guided tours, artillery firing demonstrations and music of the regiment.
The Brockville Tunnel
The Brockville Railway Tunnel opens for the season this weekend.
The grand opening is Friday at 2 p.m., and the tunnel is open all weekend.
Take a walk through Canada's first railway tunnel and enjoy the light and sound experience.
Kemptville Buskerfest
Enjoy a weekend of street performances in Kemptville.
The Kemptville Buskerfest is Friday night and Saturday in downtown Kemptville.
Free parking is available at the North Grenville Municipal Centre.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Funeral procession honours shuttered Montreal music venues
Some Montrealers are hoping the city will go further in protecting music venues from noise complaints. Certain boroughs already started changing their noise by-laws, but some people say it just isn't enough. They held an unusual protest over the weekend.
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
New Manitoulin exhibition celebrates northern Ontario's beauty
A new exhibition celebrating Northern Ontario's landscapes opens this week at Perivale Gallery in Spring Bay on Manitoulin Island. Visitors can vote for a People's Choice Award winner. The show runs alongside the LaCloche Art Show, with the gallery open seven days a week.
CBC
7 hours ago
- CBC
Air travel complaints backlog could soar to 126,000 by 2028
Social Sharing Alex Laferrière was so frustrated by the treatment he, his wife and infant son received from Air Canada when their flights were delayed last July that he filed a complaint with the airline regulator. But he was even more disturbed to learn that the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has a backlog of complaints — over 87,000 — and it could take over two years for his case to be resolved "I thought, are you joking?" said Laferrière, from his home in Sturgeon Falls, Ont. "That delay is completely unreasonable." And now, new data obtained under Access to Information and provided to Go Public shows that backlog could increase dramatically — by as much as 45 per cent by 2028. "That's absolute nonsense," said Laferrière. "The system seems broken." An air passenger advocate agrees, and blames lengthy delays on the CTA's method of adjudicating complaints. "The system is way too complicated," said Gábor Lukács, founder of Air Passenger Rights. "It requires an unreasonable amount of resources to deal with each complaint." The CTA is an independent, quasi-judicial agency that reports to Parliament through Minister of Transport Chrystia Freeland. A spokesperson for Freeland said in a statement that the waitlist "must be addressed" and that the government is working to improve air passenger protections. Data regarding the backlog was obtained through Access to Information by public policy researcher Ken Rubin, who asked the CTA to project the number of complaints passengers will submit over the next three years. It provided low-, mid- and upper-range projections for 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28, based on forecasting done in May 2023. WATCH | Lengthy delays at CTA: In an email to Go Public, a spokesperson said the projections were, in part, "based on historical complaint volumes" but that the number of complaints has "continued to increase year over year," so the predictions could be low. Using the best-case prediction — which assumes the number of complaints filed drastically drops and the CTA continues to close them at its most recent rate — the backlog could decrease to 63,763 by 2028. But complaint volumes have been increasing since the CTA did its forecast. Using the worst-case projections, by 2028 the backlog could reach 126,000 — an increase of 45 per cent. That means disgruntled passengers could be left waiting well over three years for a decision. "I work in customer service at a credit union," said Laferrière. "If I told someone they have to wait 36 months for a mortgage, that would not be acceptable." What's causing the backlog? Lukács says the problem is that complaints about flight disruptions are broadly categorized into three groups: situations within the airline's control, situations within the airline's control but required for safety, and situations outside the airline's control. "We have an unnecessarily and disproportionately complex regime," said Lukács. "Which necessitates an extraordinary amount of evidence and a disproportionate amount of judicial time to decide whether compensation is owed." Lukács advocates adopting the European Union's system, where airlines can only avoid paying compensation under "extraordinary circumstances" — which do not include maintenance, many safety issues and staffing shortages. "In the vast majority of cases, eligibility becomes a very quick administrative task that can be done by people with very basic training," said Lukács. Call for harsher penalties The other issue, says Lukács, is the lack of steep penalties when airlines refuse to compensate passengers who are clearly owed compensation and are then forced to file with the CTA. In one example reported on Lukács's Air Passenger Rights Facebook page, a WestJet passenger's flight was delayed over seven hours but the airline denied her compensation, claiming it was a safety issue. When the CTA investigated and requested evidence, the airline didn't provide any and eventually paid the $700 owed under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. "There is no incentive for the airline to pay a perfectly valid legitimate claim under the rules," said Lukács. "Even where the airline has no evidence to support its position, they're just going to refuse to pay because most passengers may not have the stamina to pursue their case." Laferrière says he knows four other people who experienced the same flight delays as his family, but none filed CTA complaints. "Everyone said, 'Good luck. We're not going to waste our time with this,'" he said. Any penalties "should ensure that it becomes less profitable to break the law than to comply with the law," said Lukács. "The purpose is fostering compliance." Slow to implement cost recovery scheme In 2023, the federal government called on the CTA to implement a cost-recovery mechanism, which would force airlines to contribute to the cost of the complaint resolution process. The CTA proposed charging airlines $790 for each eligible complaint closed by the agency. Lukács says the penalty should be significantly higher, but payable only when "the complaint is found to have at least some merit." The cost-recovery plan has yet to be implemented, despite the CTA chair and CEO France Pégeot's saying one would be in place by the end of last year. A CTA spokesperson said there is no date set for the fee to be enacted. Since the CTA began consulting on the proposal last September, WestJet has met with various government officials at least 17 times to discuss, among other things, the CTA's "cost recovery proposals," lobbying records show. Air Canada has also lobbied government officials more than 20 times since last fall, but its monthly lobbying reports are less specific than WestJet's, listing only "transportation" or "aviation related policies, legislation and regulations" as the topics discussed. Two years ago, Ottawa designated almost $76 million to improve the complaints resolution process, yet the backlog has steadily increased. The government is in the process of updating the regulations — but Lukács says the proposed changes will define the vast majority of flight delays and cancellations as "exceptional circumstances" so no compensation will be owed. "It's just rebranding the same old broken system," said Lukács. Until that happens, Lukács doesn't recommend frustrated air passengers turn to the CTA — instead, he encourages them to file complaints in small claims court. Laferrière says, even though it's already been almost a year since he filed his complaint with the CTA, he's going to stick it out — curious to see when his case will be heard. He says it's "frustrating" to see taxpayer dollars fund an agency that doesn't seem accountable.
