Morning, Ottawa. It's a big one: three Sens home games in eight days, the REDBLACKS' last regular-season home game, free Diwali dance at the NAC and one very large rock show in Kanata. Plus soup dumplings. Lots of soup dumplings.
This weekend
🪔 ArohaFest Diwali Dhamaka at the NAC: Thu Oct 15 & Fri Oct 16, 6 PM (about 90 min each)
Peter A. Herrndorf Place, National Arts Centre (1 Elgin St). A free, bilingual Diwali festival of dance by local Ottawa groups. Thursday is Best of Bharatanatyam; Friday is Dancing Diyas: India's Folk Soul, with folk dances from Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. A good follow-up to last week's Diwali Mela. Price: Free.
Thursday · Friday
🎸 The Black Keys: Peaches n' Kream World Tour: Sat Oct 17, 7:30 PM
Canadian Tire Centre, Kanata. The biggest arena concert of the week. Tickets $107.65 to $177.45 plus fees.
CTC events · Tickets
Reminders: Fall Rhapsody is winding down in Gatineau Park: the free NCC shuttle runs every 30 minutes, daily except Wednesday, until Sun Oct 25 · The Lansdowne farmers' market is in its outdoor season's final stretch: Sun Oct 18, 9 AM to 3 PM, Aberdeen Square. The outdoor season ends Oct 25.
Next week
🍂 Loreena McKennitt: The Mask and Mirror 30th Anniversary Tour: Tue Oct 20, 8 PM
Southam Hall, NAC. Fan favourites in the first set, then the full album in the second. Tickets at the link below.
NAC
🎤 Jimmy Carr: Laughs Funny Tour: Thu Oct 22, 7:30 PM (doors 6:30 PM)
The Arena at TD Place. Ages 16+. Tickets $65.28 to $90.08 plus fees.
TD Place · Tickets
📚 Ottawa International Writers Festival: opening night: Thu Oct 22
Library and Archives Canada (395 Wellington St). At 6:30 PM, Roshan Danesh and Jody Wilson-Raybould; at 8 PM, Michel Jean, Norma Dunning and Michelle Porter. Most sessions are also streamed. Tickets, passes and livestreams are sold separately at the link below.
Festival events
Sports
🏒 Senators vs NY Islanders: Thu Oct 15, 7 PM
Canadian Tire Centre (1000 Palladium Dr, Kanata). First of three home games in eight days. Tickets from $48.65 plus fees.
Sens schedule · CTC events · Tickets
🪓 REDBLACKS vs Toronto Argonauts: Lumberjack Night: Fri Oct 16, 7 PM (doors 6 PM)
The Stadium at TD Place, Lansdowne. The last regular-season home game at TD Place, and it's a flannel-themed night. Dig out the plaid. Tickets $25 to $140 plus fees.
TD Place · Game day info · Tickets
🏒 Ottawa 67's vs Oshawa Generals: Sat Oct 17, 7 PM
The Arena at TD Place, Lansdowne. The 67's first home game since Oct 3, and an affordable night of junior hockey. Tickets $25 to $50 plus fees.
Game preview · Tickets
🏒 Senators vs Florida: Wed Oct 21, 7:30 PM
Canadian Tire Centre, Kanata. Tickets from $112.60 plus fees.
Sens schedule · Tickets
🏒 Senators vs San Jose: Thu Oct 22, 7 PM
Canadian Tire Centre, Kanata. Tickets from $86 plus fees.
CTC events · Tickets
Food
🥃 Whisky Global Ottawa: Sat Oct 17
Rogers Centre Ottawa, downtown. Two sessions: 1 to 6:30 PM (premium, early entry) or 2 to 7:30 PM. General admission from $135 plus tax (regular $175), including samples and a catered meal. New this year: a tequila showcase.
Whisky Global
🌲 Forest-to-Table dinner: Sat Oct 17, 6 to 8:30 PM
Just Food Community Farm (2391 Pepin Ct, Gloucester). A Forêt Capitale Forest fundraiser: a three-course meal built on boreal ingredients, cooked by a C'est Bon Ottawa chef. Tickets at the link below.
Event details
One dish this week: soup dumplings & pan-fried buns
The Ottawa Citizen's Oct 8 review of Zen Bowl got us craving Shanghainese. Here are three places to get your fix. It's not a ranking, and fair warning: the press on these is thin, mostly two Citizen reviews, one of them from 2024. Go taste for yourself.
Zen Bowl: 569 Gladstone Ave, Centretown. A takeout spot run by siblings from Shanghai. Pan-fried pork buns are $6.79 for 4 and soup dumplings are $7.99 for 8 (prices per the Citizen; the restaurant's site doesn't post them). Hours differ between the review and the restaurant's own site, so call ahead. Online ordering is paused for now; it's pickup only. Website · Citizen review
Bite & Bite Shanghai Fried Bun: 1465 Merivale Rd, Nepean. Sheng jian bao, $7.99 for 4. Website · Citizen, 2024
Sammi Soupe Dumpling: 41 York St, ByWard Market. Classic pork soup dumplings plus specialty fillings. See the menu: Menu · Citizen, 2024
Openings & closings
A quiet couple of weeks for new doors, so here's what's coming and what's going.
Coming soon: YangTze, 700 Somerset St W in Chinatown, is reopening under new management. As of Oct 13 its own site still says "Coming Soon." (YangTze · Ottawa Business Journal)
Last chance: Tomaso Grilled Pizza and Panini (450 Kanata Ave) says it will close "this fall." No final date yet, so go while you can. (Announcement)
New-ish: Zen Bowl on Gladstone opened in late July and just got the Citizen treatment. See above.
🎃 Our Halloween guide is live
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the spooky season's got room to stretch. Our Ottawa Halloween guide is up. Go plan your October.
Read the Halloween guide
Book ahead
Ottawa International Writers Festival weekend: Oct 23 to 25, Library and Archives Canada. Emily St. John Mandel (Exit Party, Sat Oct 24, 4 PM), Cory Doctorow ("Life After AI," Sat Oct 24, 11 AM), Chris Hedges (Sun Oct 25, 2:30 PM), and David Szalay with Patrick deWitt (Sun Oct 25, 8 PM). Tickets at the link: Festival events
CRAVE Food & Wine Festival: Fri Nov 20 & Sat Nov 21, HISTORY Ottawa (47 Rideau St). Ages 19+. Tickets and session details at the link; sampling coupons are extra. On sale now. Buy direct: the organizer warns against third-party resellers. CRAVE FAQ
Arkells: Between Us Tour: three Ottawa nights: Wed Nov 25 at The 27 Club (tickets), Thu Nov 26 at The Bronson, 7 PM (tickets) and Fri Nov 27 at HISTORY (tickets). Live Nation
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Enjoy the weekend, 613. Wear the flannel, eat the dumplings. 🥟
The 613 Weekly
Details checked Tue Oct 13, 2026. Plans change, so confirm with venues before heading out.
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