Things to do in Ottawa during the Family Day weekend

Benoit Martel watches his kids Anabelle, 9, Mikaella, 8, enjoy their Beavertail pastries as they sit in an ice lounge surrounded by a snow carving, at Snowflake Kingdom at Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau, Que., on the first weekend of Winterlude, on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at things to do in Ottawa during the Family Day long weekend.

• Here’s what’s open and closed on Family Day in Ottawa

Winterlude

Enjoy ice sculptures, snow slides, live music, free outdoor winter activities and more.

Events will be held in Confederation Park, Jacques-Cartier Park, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canadian Museum of History, the Canada Science and Technology Museum, the Bank of Canada Museum, the Vanier Museopark, and on Sparks Street.

Winterlude runs until Monday.

For a full list of events, visit the Winterlude website.

Rideau Canal Skateway

The green flag is flying on the Rideau Canal Skateway this weekend.

The full 7.8-kilometre stretch of the skateway is open between Rideau and Dow’s Lake, along with the stretch to the Carleton University Library.

For information on ice conditions, visit the NCC website.

Igloofest

Bundle up and enjoy a weekend of music at Igloofest Gatineau.

Friday night’s lineup features Kaskade, Swimming Paul and Queenyy. On Saturday, Steve Aoki, Audien and Jessica Audiffred take the stage.

Igloofest is at Place des Festivals Zibi.

Winterlude at the Diefenbunker

The Diefenbunker invites you to its Diefenbunker Winter Carnival on Saturday.

Enjoy snow sculpting, snow painting or traversing the snowy trails at the scenic bunker hillside.

Winterlude at the Bytown Museum

Explores the region’s winter traditions this weekend at the Bytown Museum.

Events will be held on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Create your own Victorian puzzle purse for Valentine’s Day, meet interpreters in historic costumes and learn the difference between different kinds of fur.

Disney on Ice

Hit the road with Mickey Mouse and his pals at Canadian Tire Centre.

Disney on Ice presents Road Trip Adventures until Sunday.

There will be three shows on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. On Sunday, see Disney on Ice at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

For tickets, visit www.ticektmaster.ca.

Ottawa 67’s

The Ottawa 67’s are home twice this weekend at the Arena at TD Place.

On Saturday, the 67’s host the Kitchener Rangers at 3 p.m.

On Monday, the Barrie Colts are at TD Place for a 3 p.m. game against the 67’s.

For tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.ca.

Big Bang Festival

Get into the grove with the Big Bang Festival this weekend at the National Arts Centre.

“A shower of music, fun discoveries, and joyful little bits of craziness awaits you,” the NAC said on its website.

Shows include Thelonious, Music Under a Midnight Moon, Mamadou Koita, the Sounds of Nothing and more.

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

National Arts Centre

Here is a look at events at the National Arts Centre this weekend.

• Friday: Dangerous Curves Burlesque on the Fourth Stage
• Saturday-Sunday: Music Room 1 – Drones and Tones at Babs Asper Theatre
• Saturday-Sunday: Music Room 4 - Good Vibrations
• Saturday: Matt Anderson – The Hammer and The Rose Tour with Mariel Buckley

Events in Ottawa

• Friday: My Funny Valentine, featuring Rick Currie at the Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe
• Friday: Heated Rivalry Night at the Bronson Centre
• Friday-Saturday: The Drowning Girls at the Kanata Theatre
• Saturday: Tyler Shaw – Valentine’s Day at the Bronson Centre
• Saturday: Kim Mitchell and David Wilcox at Hard Rock Live
• Saturday: Sing Along – Abdel Halim at the Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe
• Saturday: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet – Guitarfest at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre
• Sunday: Chris D’Elia at the Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe
• Sunday: Orléans Comic Book & Novelty Show at Place d’Orleans

Gatineau Loppet

Skiers from around the world will hit the trails in Gatineau Park this weekend for the Gatineau Loppet.

The 48^th edition of the cross-country skiing competition runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

For the schedule of races, visit https://gatineauloppet.com/?lang=en.

Westboro Beach Winter Carnival

The Westboro Beach Winter Carnival is Saturday at Westboro Beach on Selby Plain, at the corner of Atlantis Avenue and Lanark Avenue.

For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

613flea

Spend Valentine’s Day at 613flea at Lansdowne.

Check out 150 vendors at the Aberdeen Pavilion on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Lansdowne Farmers Market

The Lansdowne Farmers’ Market winter market is Sunday at Lansdowne.

Join over 75 vendors inside the Aberdeen Pavilion every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Skating/sledding

Ottawa’s four refrigerated rinks will be open this weekend. The four rinks are:

• Rink of Dreams at Ottawa City Hall
• Lansdowne Park skating court
• Jim Tubman Chevrolet Rink at Canterbury
• Ben Franklin Place skating rink.

The community outdoor rinks will be open.

The City of Ottawa says sledding hills will be open.

Rideau Hall Rink

Glide into history at the Rideau Hall Rink this winter.

There is public skating on weekdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and weekends from 1 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Museums

Click on the links for the schedule at museums in Ottawa and eastern Ontario:

• Canadian Museum of Nature
• Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
• Canada Science and Technology Museum
• Canada Aviation and Space Museum
• Canadian War Museum
• Canadian Museum of History
• National Gallery of Canada
• Ottawa Art Gallery
• The Bytown Museum
• The Diefenbunker

Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

A winter adventure awaits you at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum this weekend.

Events include the “Barn quilt activity,” story time and craft, a family movie and daily demonstrations.

Canada Science and Technology Museum

Celebrate the Family Day weekend at the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

On Saturday, celebrate science with Cool Science Saturday, with hands-on experiments and activities.

Also, build, explore and create all weekend with ParLUGment LEGO. It’s a chance to see hands-on STEM challenges, collaborative builds and marvel at incredible creations.

There will also be daily science demonstrations throughout the weekend.

Parliament of Canada Tours

Enjoy a free, guided tour of the Senate at the Senate of Canada Building, the House of Commons in the West Block and the East Block.

For tickets and tour times, visit https://rts.parl.ca/.

Parliament: The Immersive Experience

Explore the main Parliament Building, also called Centre Block, in this innovative experience.

Parliament: The Immersive Experience at 211 Sparks Street includes an exhibition and a 360-degree multimedia show that takes you on a tour through Centre Block, which has been closed since 2019.

The self-guided tour is 45 minutes.

Tickets are available at no cost at visit parl.ca.

Kingston Frontenacs

See the Kingston Frontenacs play this weekend at Slush Puppie Place.

On Friday, the Frontenacs host the Kitchener Rangers for a 7 p.m. game.

On Monday, Brantford visits Kingston for a 2 p.m. game.

Things to do in Kingston

• Saturday: Steve-O – the Crash and Burn! Canada Tour at the Kingston Grand Theatre

Cornwall

• Friday-Sunday: Cinderella, Enchanted Edition at the Aultsville Theatre
• Friday: Annual Juried Art Exhibition at the Cline House Gallery

Things to do in Brockville

• Friday-Monday: Brockville Winter Classic at the Rotary Rink
• Friday-Monday: BAC to the Movies: Zootopia 2 at the Brockville Arts Centre
• Friday: Brockville Braves at the Memorial Gardens
• Monday: Mac Johnson Family Day Festival at the Mac Johnson Wildlife Area