Ottawa Events Calendar

Summertime science!
2025-07-02 - 2025-09-01 | 1867 St. Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa, K1G 5A3, 1867 St. Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa, K1G 5A3
Summertime science! is a celebration of curiosity, creativity, and exploration—all summer long! From immersive dome films and outdoor experiments to vintage train rides and behind-the-scenes tours, visitors of all ages can enjoy a variety of science-themed activities, indoors and out.

Songs from the Shed
2025-07-03 - 2025-11-06, 2025-07-08 - 2025-11-11, 2025-07-10 - 2025-11-13, 2025-07-15 - 2025-11-18, 2025-07-17 - 2025-11-20, 2025-07-22 - 2025-11-25 | Sparks Street, from Elgin Street to Lyon Street, Ottawa, K1P 5B7, Sparks Street, from Elgin Street to Lyon Street, Ottawa, K1P 5B7
A collaboration between the Downtown BIA and the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC) is bringing local music to The Shed on Sparks Street all summer long! The lunchtime concert series, Songs from the Shed, will take place every Tuesday and Thursday from 12pm-1:30pm. Music lovers from the Ottawa region are invited to come enjoy lunch outdoors with a variety of captivating singer-songwriters in solo or duo formations. The project will be run by Ottawa’s own Jessy Lindsay, bilingual singer-songwriter and program coordinator.

Relief of the Sentries
2025-07-05 - 2025-08-04 | 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, K1A 0A1, 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, K1A 0A1
Sentries will be mounted at the front door and front gate of Rideau Hall.
The rotation of sentries between the Guard Room and the sentry posts takes place every hour beginning from 10 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m.

Live from the Booth
2025-07-05 18:00 - 2025-11-08 20:00, 2025-07-12 18:00 - 2025-11-15 20:00, 2025-07-19 18:00 - 2025-11-22 20:00 UTC
This summer, Sparks Street pulses with the energy of Ottawa’s electronic music scene through Live from the Booth, a free outdoor concert series presented by the Downtown BIA and Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC). Every Saturday evening, local DJs and electronic artists transform the pedestrian mall into a vibrant dance floor, offering music enthusiasts an energetic start to their weekends.

Linger | Claire Desjardins
2025-07-10 - 2025-07-26
Wall Space Gallery is proud to present a solo show by Claire Desjardins. This new body of work explores the quiet, lasting emotions that remain as life moves forward. Through softened palettes and abstract forms, Desjardins reflects on memory, loss, and daily comforts—inviting viewers to pause and connect with the stillness within.

THINGS WHICH ARE PER SE CONTINUOUS: The Michael Nesbitt Collection, Winnipeg
2025-07-11 - 2025-12-15 | 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, K1N 9N4, 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, K1N 9N4
This exhibition celebrates a major gift to the National Gallery of Canada from Winnipeg collector Michael Nesbitt. Featuring paintings, sculptures, and mixed media works, it explores connections between Nesbitt’s transformative donation and the Gallery’s permanent collection. Anchored by Lawrence Weiner’s evocative text piece, the exhibition highlights the enduring impact of artistic continuity across time and space.

Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge
2025-07-14 - 2025-08-31 | 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa, K1P 5W1, 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa, K1P 5W1
This pop‐up exhibit by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights speaks to decades of human rights violations against 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians who wanted to serve their country and the brave activists who fought back. It is designed to educate and inspire Canadians to help create a future in which the rights of all 2SLGBTQI+ people are respected.

Parasol Festival
2025-07-16 - 2025-07-26 | 15 rue Jos-Montferrand, Gatineau, J8X 0C2, 15 rue Jos-Montferrand, Gatineau, J8X 0C2
What started as a craft beer festival has evolved into a full summer experience — a warm atmosphere, a unique setting, tasty discoveries… a true little getaway.

Always a Bridesmaid
2025-07-16 - 2025-08-02 | 400 King Edward Avenue, Ottawa, K1N 7M7, 400 King Edward Avenue, Ottawa, K1N 7M7
Four lifelong friends made a pact on prom night to always stand by each other—as bridesmaids. Now, more than 30 years later, these Southern besties are still keeping that promise, supporting one another through every wedding, no matter how chaotic.
Join this laugh-out-loud journey as the beleaguered bridesmaids navigate the ups and downs of love, marriage, and friendship, proving that true bonds stand the test of time.
Praised as “uproarious… cleverly structured, flawlessly written” by the Smithfield Herald, and described as “heart-warming and hilarious” by Charity Apple of the Times-News, this comedic celebration of friendship and love is not to be missed.

Oniro
2025-07-17 - 2025-07-21 | 399, route 323 North, Montebello, J0V 1L0, 399, route 323 North, Montebello, J0V 1L0
Experience a magical forest walk at Parc Oméga as the story of wolf cub Oniro unfolds through light, sound, and immersive storytelling. Created by artist Michel Lemieux, ONIRO features 17 illuminated scenes along a 60-minute trail. First departures begin at sunset.

Ottawa Chamberfest
2025-07-18 - 2025-07-27 | , Ottawa, , Ottawa
During the world’s largest chamber music festival each summer, you can delight in 120 concerts in Canada’s capital by leading international ensemble and solo musical artists.
For two weeks in late July and early August, some of the city’s most beautiful—and acoustically marvellous—churches, museums, galleries, theatres and heritage sites host indoor and outdoor performances by internationally renowned artists. Plus, the festival offers unique late-night Chamberfringe programming, which combines classical music with comedy, film, fantasy…and, sometimes, even cannabis!
Festival headliners have included Quatuor Danel, Kuné, Adrianne Pieczonka, Suzie LeBlanc, Angela Hewitt and the Canadian Brass.
Ottawa Chamberfest also hosts special programming throughout the year, so you can always get your chamber music fix!

The Procession at Corridor 45|75
2025-07-19 - 2025-10-19 | City Hall, Ottawa, K1P 1J1, City Hall, Ottawa, K1P 1J1
This sculptural installation features a funeral procession of genderfluid, otherworldly figures crafted from recycled materials. Created to honour the artist’s pre-transition self, it celebrates transformation and affirms queer and trans identities. Drawing from mythology and reimagined folk tales, the work invites reflection on change, memory, and becoming. Ottawa-based artist Aaron Daniels Casey blends surrealism and storytelling to explore identity through multimedia creation.

Image: Aaron Daniels Casey, Pink Doe, Trumpeter, Wolf and Indigo Dancer (installation), 2025, reclaimed fabric, jewellery and acrylic on newsprint and packing tape, variable dimensions, courtesy of the artist

Commissionaires Ottawa Open
2025-07-21 - 2025-07-27
The Commissionaires Ottawa Open is an annual PGA TOUR Canada tournament held at Eagle Creek.

Ottawa BlackJacks
2025-07-21 19:30 - 22:30 | TD Place, 1015 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 3W7, Canada
The Ottawa BlackJacks are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Ottawa. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

Ottawa BlackJacks vs. Brampton Honey Badgers
2025-07-21 19:30 - 23:59 | TD Place, 1015 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 3W7, Canada
Ottawa BlackJacks vs. Brampton Honey Badgers
BlackJacks return for the 2025 CEBL Season, taking on Brampton Honey Badgers

Strathcona Summer Faerie Picnics
2025-07-22
Cirquonscient returns to Strathcona Park with free evening Faerie Pop-up picnics featuring circus arts and aerial acrobatics. Settle in with a blanket or stop by as whimsical performers enchant audiences in a riverside setting. Enjoy a playful summer evening with some of Ottawa’s top circus and aerial artists.

Wood Terrace Series
2025-07-22 - 2025-07-23 | 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa, K1P 5W1, 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa, K1P 5W1
Spend your sunsets under the stars as inspirational artists share their musical visions of culture, identity and tradition. Access the NAC terrace directly from Elgin Street, the canal, or the Mackenzie King Bridge and take in the best free beats offered in Ottawa this summer.
Outdoor concerts every Tuesday and Wednesday night. Limited seating available. Please bring a chair to enjoy an evening of music and entertainment.

Black history in Ottawa Streets
2025-07-23 | W.E.P., 111, Albert Street,, Ottawa, K1P 1A5, W.E.P., 111, Albert Street,, Ottawa, K1P 1A5
Hop on a historic bus tour through the streets of Ottawa and uncover the vibrant tapestry of Black history in the capital and across Canada. Each stop shares stories of resilience, culture, and community.

Summer Sounds concert series at Andrew Haydon Park
2025-07-23
Enjoy free summer concerts by the Nepean Concert Band at Andrew Haydon Park every second Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Bring a chair and friends for an evening of music in the park.

Welcome Wednesdays
2025-07-23 | 901 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, K2C 3K1, 901 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, K2C 3K1
This summer, enjoy free admission and parking on select Wednesday evenings at the museum. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., explore animal barns, exhibitions, and the Demonstration Kitchen. Each visit features hands-on activities and new demonstrations for all ages.

Akoustik at St. Charles
2025-07-23
Akoustik at St. Charles is a free outdoor live music event in Vanier. Enjoy performances by local artists in a relaxed open-air setting at the St. Charles Market. A celebration of community and culture, open to all.

Requiem for Radio: Full Quiet Flutter (RFR: FQF)
2025-07-23 - 2025-07-26 | 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa, K1P 5W1, 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa, K1P 5W1
Requiem for Radio: Full Quiet Flutter (RFR: FQF) is a 60-minute live performance for human bodies, electrons, and radio waves. Architecture, technology, history, and the human body come together in this near-supernatural conjuring of the spirits of the demolished Radio Canada International (RCI) shortwave towers. Structured with thirteen movements for the thirteen radio towers, the performance follows the format of a traditional requiem, but for the RCI shortwave site that was once located near the border of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from where it transmitted shortwave radio around the world from 1944 to 2012.
The performers on stage interact with an elaborate set of invented and modified electronic instruments that use sensors, custom circuits, and wireless technology to play the ghosts of the radio towers with radio waves.
