Hey friends, It is one of the most wonderful and magical times of the year – the holiday season! From Hanukkah to Kwanza to Christmas, what is not to love?! For this blog post, the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association and I decided to feature some of the festive activities that are taking place this December in the Ottawa Valley. This blog will feature most of our communities in the Valley, so buckle up and prepare to have your stockings blown off with all the information jam-packed into this blog post.
Town of Arnprior
The Greater Arnprior Chamber of Commerce is hosting the Moonlight Mistletoe Market, which is happening every Thursday from November 25 to December 23 with each Thursday having a different theme. December 2 – stocking stuffers; December 9 – family market; December 16 – sip & shop; and December 23 – last-minute shop. For more information, please refer to the Greater Arnprior Chamber of Commerce Facebook page here.
Township of McNab/Braeside
Light up the Night in White Lake, taking place on Saturday, December 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in White Lake and is being hosted by the McNab Braeside Firefighters Association. Drive through complimentary stops include White Lake General Store for hot chocolate; The Kitchen at White Lake for chilli and cornbread; White Lake Women’s Institute for take-home hot chocolate kits; White Lake Fire Hall for Santa, Sparky and a gift for kids; Waba Cottage Museum & Gardens for candy canes; and White Lake Washing Co to take a family photo. For more information, check out the Facebook event page here.
Town of Renfrew
Miracle on Raglan Street is this year’s theme of the Downtown Renfrew Santa Claus Parade. The parade is set to take place on December 4 from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm. I love a parade that takes place after sunset because you get to experience the full magic of all the lights…can I get a heck yes!! This is a stationary parade where floats will be on display downtown in front of the Town Hall. There will also be an artisan outdoor market. More information can be found on the Downtown Renfrew Facebook page here.
Whitewater Region
The Festival of Small Halls is taking place in Westmeath at the Westmeath District Recreation Centre on December 11. This show is featuring Royal Wood and Sam Drysdale. Royal Wood has been deemed by iTunes to be “Songwriter of the year” and has multiple Juno nominations. Sam Drysdale attended the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles where it was proclaimed that he was a “songwriter to watch.” This is sure to be an excellent show. Tickets are available here.
Township of Bonnechere Valley
The Bonnechere Union Public Library is hosting a variety of events to commemorate the holiday season. From letters to Santa kits to Maker Fridays where kids can make a festive craft for $2. This takes place December 3, 10 and 17. The Bonnechere Union Public Library is even hosting a Hanukkah Pre-Teen night on Wednesday, December 1 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. During this session, a special guest will be talking about Hanukkah. For more information on any and all of the Bonnechere Union Public Library’s programming, check out their calendar of events here.
The Eganville Rotary Club is hosting a Santa Claus parade on December 12th at 1 pm. The parade will start at the arena on Jane Street, turn onto Bonnechere Street and across the bridge finishing at the legion. It has been said that the best viewing of the parade would be anywhere along the road from the Country Store on Bonnechere Street to Poppa Ron’s. It is also pretty exciting that the Rotary Club was able to convince Santa to make an appearance at the Eganville Legion after the parade. There will be hot chocolate and candy. For more information, contact the Eganville Rotary Club here.
Township of Greater Madawaska
The Township of Greater Madawaska has several festive events during this holiday season. The first is an outdoor Christmas market hosted by the Denbigh Griffith Lions on December 4th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. There will be local vendors selling their goods at the Christmas market and the Lion’s Club will be selling tourtieres, pre-ordering is required for the tourtieres.
I love going to vendor markets to shop for those ‘hard to buy for’ people in my life. Being able to gift people things that are one-of-a-kind and/or handmade is pretty special. More information can be found here.
The next event being held in the Township of Greater Madawaska is the Calabogie Santa Claus Parade.
The Calabogie Santa Claus Parade is set to take place on December 5 at 1:00 pm. When the parade is concluded, spectators are welcome to join Santa Claus for a drive-through greeting at the Calabogie Community Centre. More information can be found here. Also, shout-out to the big man in red for making himself available for all these parades. He is very busy during the Christmas season, so him finding the time for the parades is nothing short of magical.
The final event being hosted in the Township of Greater Madawaska is Light up the Boogie Nights Contest. This is taking place on Friday, December 17 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The premise of this event is to stop in at the Calabogie Community Centre to grab some hot chocolate, a baked treat and then venture around the streets of Calabogie to check out all of the properties with light displays. When you have finished basking in the light displays, you are able to vote on your favourite. For more information, check out the link here.
Township of Killaloe-Hagarty-Richards
There will be a tree lighting and library open house hosted by the Township of Killaloe-Hagarty-Richards in partnership with the Killaloe and District Public Library on December 9th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. There will be a tree lighting ceremony, entertainment, refreshments and the library open house. It should also be mentioned that donations will be accepted at the event for the Killaloe and District Public Library. I love that so many of our local libraries are hosting festive events during the holiday season. They truly are the community gathering place. For more information on this event, check out the Facebook event page here.
City of Pembroke
Rogers Hometown Hockey is December 4th to 6th at 393 Pembroke Street W. This event is “Canada’s ultimate hockey festival…and you can expect a great weekend of FREE, COVID-friendly, hockey-related activities.” This event is free and you can register at https://tickets.hometownhockey.com/register/pembroke.
****Update**** The parade has been moved to December 18th and will now be a drive-in parade. For more information, check out the City of Pembroke website here. Returning this year after the hiatus last year is the Santa Claus Parade of Lights on December 11th at 5:00 pm. I attended the parade of lights prior to the pandemic and it was absolutely magical. From the energetic parade-goers to the beautiful floats and of course the man himself – Santa Claus, I love it all! I’m sure this year’s parade won’t disappoint! The theme for this year’s parade is ‘Christmas in the Ottawa Valley.’ You can find out more information on the parade here.
Town of Deep River
Not to be outdone, the Town of Deep River has several events. One of the things that I love about the Town of Deep River is that all of their events are truly quintessential community events. To be fair, that could also be said about the majority of the communities in the Ottawa Valley.
Christmas Tree Lighting Day sounds like it will be a big event in Deep River on December 4, commencing at 8:30 am. There are several different activities and workshops that are happening in conjunction with the tree lighting like the Christmas urn arrangement workshop and holiday-themed family photos. Several of these events require pre-registration and more information can be found here.
There is a Santa Claus Tour that is taking place on December 4th at 5:00 pm. One of the cool things about this parade is that it is being live-streamed on the Town of Deep River’s Facebook page. I will definitely be in my comfy clothes, sipping a cup of tea with my puppies while I sit in my living room watching the live stream of the parade. I seriously love that it is being live-streamed, now hoping that my internet does not decide to stop working in the middle of the parade…rural satellite internets problems!
Town of Petawawa
Petawawa’s Santa Claus Parade is taking place on December 4 at 6:00 pm. The route can be found below. It commences at 6:00 pm at Petawawa Plaza and finishes at the Petawawa Civic Centre. It is sure to be a magical time for the whole family. More information can be found on the Town of Petawawa website here.
Christmas Craft Show in Petawawa is set to take place on December 5 from 10:00 to 3:00 pm at the Petawawa Civic Centre. It is an excellent place “for those one-of-a-kind homemade and hand-made gifts for that special someone.” There is also free public skating at the Civic Centre from 1:00 to 2:30 pm. This is sure to be a Christmas-spirit-filled weekend in Petawawa. More information can be found on the Town of Petawawa Website here.
Tib’s Eve Party, hosted by The Shed and is set to take place at the Petawawa Legion on December 23. Live music will be performed by East Coast Experience. This is sure to be a party that is straight from the rock. A good friend of mine is from Newfoundland and she always talks about Tib’s Eve parties back home. To put it mildly, they are legendary. I’m sure this celebration is to live up to the name. For more information check out the link here.
Township of Madawaska Valley
The Barry’s Bay Santa Claus Parade is set to take place on Sunday, December 5th at 2:00 pm. More information on this parade can be found here:
Township of Brudenell-Lyndoch-Raglan
Saving the best for last is the Palmer Rapids Santa Claus Parade. This parade is scheduled to occur on December 12th at 2:00 pm. For more information on the parade, check out the link here.
Community Itineraries
Interested in reading more about things to do in the Ottawa Valley? You can read more here.