Ceilí on the Canal

July 30 from 2pm - 5pm

The Ottawa Branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann invites you to a free Céilí on the Canal beside the Bytown Museum.

Between 1826 and 1832 many Irish immigrants lived in very poor conditions and the only break from the drudgery and hard work would have been to sit around and play the music of Ireland and to dance the steps that were part of their heritage. Their music and dance was often the only thing that helped them through the long cold winters and the hot humid summers.

Members of the local branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which is dedicated to the promotion of Irish language, dance, music and song, will be there to help you play and dance along.

Bring a picnic, lawn chair, fiddle, flute, bodhrán, spoons, harmonica, accordian etc.

For more on the Ceìlì, visit their website at:
http://www.ottawacomhaltas.com

Children's Celebration of World Heritage

July 29 from 10am - 3pm

The Rideau Canal Festival will inspire children to love and appreciate World Heritage Sites with our Children Celebration of World Heritage.

Activities include musical programming and interactive workshops and activities. Kids of all ages can also join in on Ottawa’s first World Heritage Sites Parade.

Colonel By Bistro

July 30 - August 1

Visitors of the Rideau Canal Festival can relax at our Col By Bistro in Confederation Park and Bytown Museum /Ottawa Locks site. Enjoy a variety of tasty food from local vendors.  There’s even a licensed bar serving Kichesippi Beer, the offical beer of the festival. 

All our food vendors are part of our Aim-for-Zero initiative so you can love the food and be kind to the earth!

And who knows Colonel By himself might drop in!

Colonel By Day Celebration

August 1 from 11am - 4pm

Join us for Colonel By Day Celebration! This free, fun-filled day celebrates Lt. Colonel John By and the builders of the Rideau Canal! 

Explore your local heritage with blacksmithing, lace making, musketry demonstrations, live music, traditional Scottish dancers, professional face painting, interactive tabletop exhibits, costumed characters, free admission to the Bytown Museum, and more!

Connecting Children with World Heritage

July 28 - August 1

The Rideau Canal Festival is proud to offer Connecting Children to World Heritage. This program encourages children to celebrate heritage in an environmentally friendly way.

Under the direction of artist and art educator, Monique Martin, children and their families are invited to 2 different activities that provide an opportunity to explore the significance of the Rideau Canal while celebrating Parks Canada’s 100th Anniversary.

Click here for more information.

Gaelic Unplugged

July 31 from 1pm - 4pm

Featured Performers:   
John Dahms with Célí Mayhem and Patrick LaPlante and
The Corktown Célí Band

Grab your fiddle and join the fun at Gaelic Unplugged! Music and dance is a rich part of Canal Heritage and the Rideau Canal Festival is pleased to offer this opportunity to see some of the best Gaelic performers in Ottawa.

Hosted by The Gaelic Hour, Austin Comerton, there’s no charge and everyone can play! 

If you want to be part of the performance contact:
program@rideaucanalfestival.ca.

Rideau Canal Guided Walking Tours

The Rideau Canal: UNESCO World Heritage Site

July 28  and July 29
1pm in French and 3:30pm in English
Duration: 2 hours

Free with a Festival Passport
Admission: $5

Tours depart from the Parks Canada Kiosk at
Bytown Museum/ Ottawa Locks

The Rideau Canal borders the western edge of the University of Ottawa campus and is considered one of the world' most remarkable examples 19th-century engineering prowess. What's more, the canal still works exactly as it did 175 years ago when it was inaugurated by Colonel John By, the royal engineer who headed its construction. A campus building is named after Colonel By.

Such is the marvel that explains UNESCO's decision in 2007 to add the canal to its prestigious list of world heritage sites—the first ever site in Ontario to achieve that status.

Not surprisingly, the Rideau Canal, constructed under very harsh conditions and in part by Irishmen and French Canadians, has a fascinating story full of twists and turns. Come discover the Ottawa locks, the Bytown Museum [Ottawa's oldest public building], the monument commemorating the workers who died during the construction, and Major's Hill Park, a magnificent green expanse where Colonel By's statue and the ruins of his home are tucked away.

The tour includes several stops at historical interpretation panels and runs roughly two hours. Bring water and wear comfortable walking shoes—you will walk across the locks and climb a steep slope.

Tour Guide Michel Prévost is the University of Ottawa's chief archivist and the president of the Société d’histoire de l’Outaouais. The Rideau Canal holds a special place in his heart, and he regularly gives guided tours of this historic man-made water link between Kingston and Ottawa.

Architectural and Engineering
Wonders Along the Rideau Canal

July 30 at 10am Duration: 1 hour
Free with a Festival Passport
Admission: $5

Tour departs from the Parks Canada Kiosk at
Bytown Museum/ Ottawa Locks

Take a walking tour along the Rideau Canal between Entrance Bay and Corktown Bridge to see the imposing architecture and engineering along the first mile of the canal corridor.

Hear the story of the architects, engineers and history of important structures such as the Alexandra Bridge, The Fairmont Chateau Laurier, Government Conference Centre, National Arts Centre, National Defence HQ, Laurier Bridge, Drill Hall, and Lisgar Collegiate. Imagine an earlier era when canal shipping created Ottawa’s commercial artery, when railway tracks lined the canal’s east side, and when the Queen Elizabeth Driveway was created as Ottawa’s first scenic parkway.

Tour guide David Jeanes is a retired professional engineer and Vice President of Heritage Ottawa. As president of the public transportation advocacy group, Transport 2000, he has a long-standing interest in the transportation history of the canal corridor. He has researched, written, and lectured about many of the structures on the tour.

Explore Lowertown West with Heritage Ottawa

July 31 at 10am Duration: 1.5 hours

Free with a Festival Passport
Admission: $10

Tour departs from the Parks Canada Kiosk at
Bytown Museum/ Ottawa Locks

Lowertown West is the heart of old Bytown where canal workers first settled and some of Ottawa's earliest residential, commercial, and institutional structures can be found. The walk takes participants around Major’s Hill Park, up to Nepean Point, and then looks at some of the historic buildings in Lowertown and the ByWard Market.

Your guide is Hagit Hadaya, architectural historian.

The Rideau Canal: UNESCO World Heritage Site

August 1 at 1pm in French and 3:30pm in Engish
Duration: 2 hours

Free with a  Festival Passport
Admission: $5

Tour departs from the Parks Canada Kiosk at
Bytown Museum/ Ottawa Locks

The Rideau Canal is considered one of the world's most remarkable examples of 19th-century engineering prowess. What's more, the canal still works exactly as it did 175 years ago.

Not surprisingly, the Rideau Canal, constructed under very harsh conditions and in part by Irishmen and French Canadians, has a fascinating story full of twists and turns. Come discover the Ottawa locks, the Bytown Museum [Ottawa's oldest public building], the monument commemorating the workers who died during the construction, and Major's Hill Park, a magnificent green expanse where Colonel By's statue and the ruins of his home are tucked away.

Bring water and wear comfortable walking shoes—you will walk across the locks and climb a steep slope.

Tour Guide Jean Yves Pelletier is a historical resources consultant and board member of the Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa and the Friends of the City of Ottawa Archives. He has given walking tours of Lowertown Ottawa, Beechwood Cemetery since 2003. He also gives an annual tour of Ottawa’s historic Notre-Dame Cemetery.

Hidden Treasures of the Bytown Museum

July 28 - August 1

The Bytown Museum explores the stories of an evolving city and its residents, from its early days as Bytown to present day Ottawa.

Housed in Ottawa's oldest stone building, the Museum is located at the Rideau Canal locks between Parliament Hill and the Château Laurier—one of the most picturesque sites in the city.

This exhibition presents 41 exceptional artifacts from the Bytown Museum’s significant historic collection.   

Visitors will be able to see:

• 2 Regency chairs from Lt. Colonel By’s house
• The exquisite silver Drummond Cup
• 19th century prints depicting the newly named city of Ottawa. A marble bust of Lady Macdonald (wife of Sir John A. Macdonald)
• The recently restored Victorian-era Mayor’s Chair
• Early photographs by A. G. Pittaway of Ottawa
• Plus many other outstanding portraits, landscapes, and urban views.
• Five renowned curators - Janet Carlile, Lilly Koltun, Steven C. McNeil, Rosemarie Tovell and René Villeneuve - have authored scholarly texts about each artifact for the illustrated catalogue.
• Author Charlotte Gray has written an historical introduction to the exhibition catalogue.

Admission

$6 Adults
$4 Seniors/Students
$3 Children
$15 Families

Free with a Festival Passport

Check our Daily Schedule for more information.

Rideau Heritage Adventures

July 30 and July 31

Peddle or paddle your way along the Rideau Canal and discover the historic communities waiting to welcome you.  
Experience local culture and flavours – and a ride in a voyageur canoe! - Presented by the Rideau Heritage Route Tourism Association.

Visit the Bytown Museum/ Ottawa Locks for all the info on our paddling, cycling routes and tours following the Rideau Canal from Ottawa to Kingston.

Canoe rides are available on Saturday, July 30 from 11:00am to 4:00pm only.

Check our Daily Schedule for more information.

UNESCO Photo Exhibition

July 28 - August 1

The UNESCO Photo Exhibition is a display of spectacular photographs of over 55 of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, 15 of them which are here in Canada!

All photos provided by Our Place World Heritage.

This exhibition was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.

Check our Daily Schedule for more information.

Love Locks

July 28 - August 1
Artist: Monique Martin

“Love Locks” are the padlocks fixed onto a fence, metallic chain/string, bridge or structure to symbolize a special connection to a site. Attaching padlocks is a tradition visible around the world.

This Rideau Canal Heart structure was created so that you can “Lock your Love” by the Rideau Canal, to mark the memories of your visit to the Rideau Canal or express the special relationship you have with the canal.

The Rideau Canal Festival invites you to attach a padlock onto the Rideau Canal Heart structure and join us in the celebration and preservation of this unique and historical site for future generations. 

The Rideau Canal, extending 202 km from Ottawa to Kingston, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. 

Check our Daily Schedule for more information.

Waterway Soundfaire

July 30 from 1pm - 4pm

Under the Plaza Bridge adjacent to the Bytown Museum

What do you get when you combine 2 great festivals?
An afternoon of awesome interactive musical encounters presented by the Ottawa Chamberfest and Rideau Canal Festival.

Participants young and old will enjoy lively musical performances and the opportunity to make their own music on everything from violins, video screens, rattles, drums and even kitchen sinks!  Face painters, balloon artists and living statues artists will make it a memorable event for all! 

Musical Performances featuring:

• Asphalt Orchestra; not your average marching band!
• Jesse Stewart - Cube
• TorQ Percussion Ensemble
• Pattycake - hand-clapping virtuosos
• Arsis Estonian Youth Handbell Ensemble
• The Electronic Music Painter