Jack Hanna
Kids: build a kite, hear a story, plant a daffodil
The Fall Festival in Dundonald Park will be rich in activities for kids, from making kites, to read-alouds, to planting daffodils.
The festival will be held on Saturday, September 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If it rains, the party in the park will be pushed to the next day, Sunday.
Kids will be able to join a kite-making workshop, put bulbs into the flower beds, paint a rock or do other crafts. And they can enjoy the free popcorn.
The always-popular story read-alouds, provided by the Ottawa Public Library in English and French, start at 11:30 a.m.
Performances of Chinese music and dance start at 10:15 a.m.
There will be all sorts of displays, on everything from sketching trees, to bees and pollinators, to the NeighbourWoods program (which ensures mature trees get the TLC they need).
The festival is jointly sponsored by the CCA and the Centretown Community Health Centre.
Housing for the hard-to-house
Some hard-to-house folks need support if they are to be able to remain in a home.
A CCA Zoom workshop on Monday September 26, at 6:30 p.m. will examine the need for supportive housing, how to provide it, and how to make it part of the community.
The speakers, from the John Howard Society, Options Bytown and Daybreak, are experienced in building and operating supportive housing to meet a variety of challenges.
For the link, email: affordable-housing-champions@centretowncitizens.ca
Catch BOTH history walking tours
The history walking tours out of the Elgin Street Market on Sunday mornings are still running – until Thanksgiving.
There are two different tours, offered on alternating Sundays. If there’s one you’ve yet to catch, email jack.2014@icloud.com to get the schedule for the remaining tours.
Blunders and Beauties tells of historic booboos made by those who govern, and Centretown’s architectural beauty.
The other tour, Canal and Communities, covers the building of the local portion of the Rideau Canal, and the communities that have lived on Centretown lands, from Indigenous encampments to a canal workers’ shantytown to early villages.
The kilometre-long tours take about an hour, and leave from Elgin and Waverley Sundays at 11 a.m. There’s no cost, although donations to the CCA are gratefully accepted.
Elgin Street Market — the place for pie pumpkins
The Elgin Street Market will be in full swing each Sunday until Thanksgiving.
A big item in autumn, says market manager Chris Penton, is pumpkins, especially the medium-sized gourds ideal for pumpkin pies.
Root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, onions and garlic are at their best – and Brussels sprouts.
And of course there’s everything else the market offers every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Boushey Square – vegetables; organic produce; craft beers, cider, honey, bread and pies; Lebanese and Italian foods; and even carpets.
Free Friday concerts in Dundonald Park
Prominent musicians will give free live performances on Friday evenings in Dundonald Park until the end of September.
The performances will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs.
Friday, September 23: Kenny Hayes performs original works ranging from folk and country to pop.
September 30: singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ky Anto showcases his versatility. Anto says his influences span country, jazz, punk, and classical.
The concerts are sponsored by the Dundonald Improvement Group and the Art House Cafe, a bistro, gallery and performance venue on Somerset Street West across from the park.
More music in the park
You can also catch live performances in Dundonald Park Saturday afternoons at 1 p.m.
Two acts perform September 17. Cellist Julian Armour will be joined by pianist Frederic Lacroix, followed by the Nepean Panharmonics Steel Band.
On the 24th, you can hear the Trillium Saxophone Quartet.