OTTAWA -- It's the first weekend of spring, and there are lots of things to do in Ottawa, eastern Ontario and western Quebec this weekend.

Spring officially arrives at 5:37 a.m. Saturday.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what's happening across the region this weekend.

SUGAR BUSH SEASON

Sugar shacks are open across the region. Please visit each locations website for more information.

LACE UP THE SKATES

You can go for a skate this weekend on Ottawa's outdoor refrigerated rinks. The city says you must book a free 45-minute reservation for a skating time at www.ottawa.ca/skating.

Reservations will be required to skate at the following peak times:

  • City Hall Rink of Dreams, 9 a.m. – 11 p.m. daily
  • Jim Tubman Chevrolet Rink of Dreams, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. weekends, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. weekdays
  • Lansdowne Park Skating Court, 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. weekends, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. weekdays
  • Ben Franklin Place Skating Rink, 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. weekends, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. weekdays

Rink of dreams

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING, SNOWSHOEING, HIKING

There's still time for one final cross-country skiing run this weekend across the national capital region.

Check out the NCC's Winter Capital interactive map to find suggested routes. Visit: https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/experience-your-winter-capital-ottawa-gatineau

A reminder that interprovincial travel is strongly discouraged. Residents are asked to remain on their respective sides of the Ottawa River as much as possible and to travel only for essential reasons.

Snowshoe trails are now open at Mount Pakenham. For more information, visit https://www.mountpakenham.com/

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by NCC-CCN (@ncc_ccn)

SKI SEASON

Ski hills in Ontario and Quebec remain open for spring skiing.

Health officials in Ontario and Quebec ask residents to avoid non-essential travel out of the province during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

PARC OMEGA

Parc Omega is Montebello, Que invites you to check out the wildlife in their natural habitat.

Discover Canada's wildlife along a 12 kilometre long safari, seeing elk, bison, wolves, bears and foxes. Parc Omega also has a wolf observatory.

For more information, visit parcomega.ca

Parc Omega

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF OTTAWA

It's the final weekend of the International Film Festival of Ottawa.

Each film screening will be available 48 hours after its scheduled start date, and you have 24 hours to complete your viewing once begun.

For a list of films, visit https://www.iffo.ca/2021

FRIDAYS AT THE FOURTH

The National Arts Centre presents Fridays at the Fourth live from Le Relais in Saskatoon.

Enjoy a free livestream performance featuring Shawn Jobin, a leading figure in the French-Canadian Hiphop movement.

For more information, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/28301

OTTAWA FARMERS MARKET

The Ottawa Farmers Market is open on Sunday at Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park.

The market is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

ANNE FRANK – A HISTORY FOR TODAY

The Canadian War Museum invites you to see the new exhibit, "Anne Frank – A History for Today."

The panel exhibition juxtaposes personal photographs, stories and diary entries, as well as one original artifact and two reproductions.

The exhibit runs until April 25.

For more information, visit https://www.warmuseum.ca/annefrank/

SPRING BREAK ACTIVITIES

Ingenium offers online Spring Break Activities.

Canada Agriculture and Food Museum: Edible Adventures  

Canada Aviation and Space Museum: Canada in Space  

Canada Science and Technology Museum: Creative Reset 

MUSEUMS

Museums in Ottawa are allowed to remain open in the Red-Control Level

Canadian Museum of History is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Visit www.historymuseum.ca

Canadian War Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Visit https://www.warmuseum.ca/

Canadian Museum of Nature is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit www.nature.ca

Canada Agriculture and Food Museum is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visit https://ingeniumcanada.org/agriculture

Canada Aviation and Space Museum is open 10 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Visit https://ingeniumcanada.org/aviation

Canada Science and Technology Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Visit https://ingeniumcanada.org/scitech

The Diefenbunker is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For information, visit https://diefenbunker.ca/en/

The National Gallery of Canada is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit gallery.ca

Museums are also open on some week days. Visit each museum's page for weekday hours.