The 613 Weekly · Thursday, Oct 8, 2026
Leaves, pumpkins & a long weekend
Happy Thanksgiving weekend, Ottawa. The leaves are doing their thing, the markets are stacked with squash, and Monday is a day off. Here's what to do, where to eat, and what's actually open on Monday.
This weekend
🎤 Capital Music Awards
Fri Oct 9 · red carpet 6 PM, show 8 PM
Southam Hall, NAC (1 Elgin St). The big night of Capital Music Week: hosts Tyler Shaw and Kellylee Evans, live performances, and an Ottawa 200th-anniversary anthem to close it out. Tickets through the NAC; CxMW All Access/SuperFan pass holders can grab awards tickets for $15.
NAC tickets · Capital Music Week schedule
🍁 Fall Rhapsody in Gatineau Park
Runs to Oct 25 · free shuttle daily except Wednesdays
Thanksgiving weekend is usually prime leaf-peeping, and the NCC's Oct 6 colour meter has Gatineau Park at peak season. Skip the Pink Lake parking scrum: take the free shuttle (weekend seats are capacity-limited, so go early) or try the quieter Philippe Lake and Meech Creek Valley. Free.
NCC Fall Rhapsody
🪔 Capital's Diwali Mela
Sat Oct 10 · 11 AM – 11:30 PM
Cohere Centre, Hall 3 (4899 Uplands Dr). A big, free community celebration of Diwali, the Festival of Lights, with performances, food, shopping and kids' activities. Free admission and free parking.
Event details
🌿 Thanksgiving Market at Robert Plante Greenhouses
Sat Oct 10 & Sun Oct 11 · 9 AM – 4 PM
4228 Navan Rd, Navan. 200+ local vendors set up indoors among the greenhouses, so rain won't spoil it, and there's a café on site. Good for harvest shopping and host gifts.
Event details
🎃 PumpkinFest at Saunders Farm
Sat Oct 10 – Sun Oct 11 · 10 AM – 5 PM
7893 Bleeks Rd, Munster. Mazes, hayrides, pumpkins, playgrounds. The classic. Tickets are date-based and you book an arrival window; kids 2 and under are free, and some activities cost extra. The daytime haunted attractions aren't recommended for kids under 10.
Tickets & info
🥕 Ottawa Farmers' Market, Lansdowne
Sun Oct 11 · 9 AM – 3 PM
Aberdeen Square (1000 Exhibition Way). 85+ local producers, which makes it your last-minute Thanksgiving table run. The outdoor season wraps Oct 25.
Market info
Also on: Free drop-in Thanksgiving Storytime & Craft at OPL Ruth E. Dickinson in Barrhaven (Sat 10:30 AM) · summersets at the NAC Fourth Stage (Sat 8 PM).
Thanksgiving table: brunch & dinner picks
K's On The Keys (1029 Daze St). Festive Sunday Buffet, Sun Oct 11. Breakfast 9–10:30 AM ($22.95 adults / $19.95 seniors / $14.95 kids under 12); brunch 10:30 AM–4 PM ($36.95 / $29.95 / $19.95), 1.5-hr seatings. Details
Ironstone at Brookstreet Hotel (Kanata). Thanksgiving brunch buffet, Sun Oct 11, 10 AM–2 PM. $64.95 adults / $36.95 kids 4–12 / 3 and under free, plus tax & gratuity. Details
Zoe's at the Château Laurier (1 Rideau St). Three-course Thanksgiving dinner, Oct 10–12. Price not listed, so call or book online. Details
Butter tarts worth the trip
Not a ranking, just good places to pick up a box before dinner. In no particular order:
Three Tarts (464 Bank St, Unit 3). Classic, with raisins or toasted pecans. Walk-ins Sat & Sun Oct 10–11, noon–6 PM; closed Mon. (Thanksgiving pre-orders are already closed.) Shop
Black Walnut Bakery (979 Cameron St, Cumberland). Plain ($3.25), raisin or walnut. Sat Oct 10 8 AM–4 PM, Sun Oct 11 9 AM–3 PM. Shop
FRANKS Bakery & Deli (283 Greenbank Rd). Award-winning butter tarts. Sat Oct 10 9 AM–6 PM; closed Sun. Website
The Joy of Gluten Free (250 Greenbank Rd). Gluten-free butter tarts with raisins. Sat Oct 10 11 AM–4 PM; closed Sun. Shop
2 Sprinkles (GF) (Lansdowne market vendor). Butter tart 6-pack, $24 (online Thanksgiving orders are closed). They're on the Lansdowne market's vendor list, so look for them there Sunday. Shop
The Right Bite Bakery (market vendor). A few butter tart variations. In season they're at Westboro on Saturdays and Lansdowne on Sundays. Shop
Plan to buy Saturday or Sunday. Monday hours aren't confirmed for most of these.
Thanksgiving Monday (Oct 12): open or closed?
Open
CF Rideau Centre: 10 AM – 6 PM (hours)
Tanger Outlets Ottawa (Kanata): 10 AM – 6 PM (hours)
Farm Boy Rideau: 10 AM – 7 PM (hours)
Metro Glebe (754 Bank St): 9 AM – 6 PM (hours)
Metro Rideau (255 Rideau St): 8 AM – 6 PM (hours)
Loblaws Isabella (64 Isabella St): 7 AM – 6 PM (hours)
Loblaws Rideau (363 Rideau St): 7 AM – 6 PM (hours)
Whole Foods Lansdowne (951 Bank St): 8 AM – 6 PM (hours)
Canadian Museum of Nature: 9:30 AM – 4 PM (hours)
Canadian Museum of History: 9 AM – 5 PM (hours)
NCC River House café: daily Oct 11–31, 9 AM until dusk (hours)
Closed
LCBO (holiday calendar)
Ottawa Public Library: all branches (holiday hours)
Metro: all other Ottawa locations (store locator)
Loblaws: Baseline Rd, Bank St, Carling Ave, Earl Grey Dr, Greenbank Rd, McArthur Ave, Merivale Rd, Ogilvie Rd and Robertson Rd (store pages)
The Beer Store: all Ontario stores closed on Thanksgiving Monday last year, but no 2026 notice is posted yet, so check your store's hours (2025 notice)
Bayshore Shopping Centre (hours)
St. Laurent Centre (hours)
Place d'Orléans (hours)
Good to know
OC Transpo: buses and the O-Train run a Sunday schedule. Line 1 runs 8 AM – 11 PM; Lines 2 and 4 run 7:30 AM – 11:30 PM. The 2-for-1 DayPass ($12.25) works all day. (details)
Garbage/recycling/green bin: no curbside collection Monday; pickup shifts one day later for the rest of the week. Multi-residential garbage containers are collected as usual, but multi-residential recycling and green bins are delayed one day. (City notice, via Coun. Glen Gower)
Trail Road landfill: open Monday, 9 AM – 5 PM. (City notice, via Coun. Glen Gower)
Para Transpo: recurring trips for Monday are cancelled. Book any trips you need now (booking opened Oct 5). (City notice, via Coun. Glen Gower)
Openings & closings
Closed: Pancho Villa on Elgin has shut for good after 42 years. Gracias for the memories. (CTV News)
Closed: Ek Bar (225 Preston St) was set to close at the end of September, owner Hemant Bhagwani told the Ottawa Citizen. He says a new team will bring a new concept to the space. (Ottawa Citizen)
Recently opened: Chainsmoker Urban BBQ, a halal barbecue chain from the GTA, opened at 451 Hazeldean Rd in Kanata in early August. (Ottawa Citizen)
Coming: Chef On Call is opening its first Ottawa location at 228 Bank St, targeting November. (What Now)
Now open: Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar's first Ottawa location opened in late September at Kanata Centrum (625 Kanata Ave). (Ottawa Business Journal)
Coming: D Spot Dessert Cafe, which already has a café on Kanata Ave, lists another Ottawa location as "coming soon" on its website. No address or date yet. (D Spot locations)
Book ahead
Allison Russell with AHI: Sun Oct 25, 8 PM, Southam Hall, NAC. Tickets
Disney Descendants, ZOMBIES & Camp Rock: Worlds Collide Concert Tour: Fri Oct 30, 7 PM, Canadian Tire Centre. Tickets
Roch Voisine: The Lightfoot Sessions: Sat Nov 7, 8 PM, Southam Hall, NAC. Tickets
Barenaked Ladies: Sat Nov 14, doors 7 PM, Hard Rock Live Ottawa (19+). Tickets
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Have a great long weekend, 613. Eat the second tart. 🦃
— The 613 Weekly
Hours and details checked Mon Oct 5 and rechecked Wed Oct 7, 2026. Plans change, so confirm with venues before heading out.