♨️ Get ready for a sauna in the Ottawa River, next to the River House swimming pool. The National Capital Commission has put out a request for proposals to build a 15 to 25 person, year-round sauna barge. It wouldn’t be the first of it’s kind: Montréal has Bota Bota spa-sur-l’eau and HAVN operates in Victoria. The Commission hopes to welcome its first customers by December 31. – Josh Pringle at CTV

🔍 The City’s Auditor General has found that the Ottawa Police Service doesn’t have enough cars on duty, takes too long to recruit new officers, and allows ‘unsuitable’ candidates to continue training. Nathalie Gougeon has published the report on her office’s website, which will be discussed by the Ottawa Police Service Board on Friday. – Arthur White-Crummey at CBC 

🏒 Adult men’s and women’s recreational hockey starts registration next week. We’re letting you know now because it always gets oversubscribed very quickly. – City of Ottawa

📮 Rural residents in Eastern Ontario have been told that Canada Post will no longer be lifting the flag on their mailboxes when it delivers the mail. Canada Post says that the flag isn’t supposed to be used that way – it says the flag should be raised when a resident has outgoing mail not when the mail carrier makes a delivery. So it has decided to stop doing it. – Katie Griffin at CTV

THURSDAY

• ✳️ Hamilton has started its run at the NAC. You have until August 17 to see the award-winning musical. 

• Navan Fair kicks presents an early-season 2025 country fair with a ‘Muddy Boots and Country Roots’ themed edition. Expect farm demos and livestock shows, antique tractors, concerts, food, and fun. Oh, and something called the Guiness World Record 50 Horse Hitch.  

• If the weather allows, A Company of Fools presents The Comedy of Errors in Fisher Park (near Wellington Village and Hampton Park)  from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. 

• 🆓 Rain or shine, the 8th annual Bowman’s Bar & Grill’s IPA Day returns Wednesday August 8 with live music, raffle prizes, and, naturally, the best IPA from seven local breweries (5:00pm til 11:00pm ).  A portion of the proceeds will benefit Operation Come Home, which assists youth experiencing homelessness to achieve their goals. NOTE: the party takes place in the parking lot, so if you must drive there, you'll have to seek parking elsewhere.   

• It’s Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones at the Broadway Bar & Grill Central's Trivia Night. 

• A (Bad) Night at the Movies is screening the gloriously cheesy dystopian story The New Barbarians (1983), which looks like it cobbled together its futuristic mise-en-scène with leftover, first-generation Battlestar Galactica props and shoulder pad-era Cybertruck prototypes. 

• Pay just $10 at the door at the weekly Thursday Swing Dance by Ottawa Vintage Swing. 

• ByTowne Cinema: Samia, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Together 

• Mayfair Theatre: Eddington, Sorry, Baby, Boogie Nights 

  Gigs

• Spike and the Gimme Gimmes. Bronson Centre Music Theatre

• Victor Nesrallah. Night Oat

• Broken by Friday, Mori Dori, Fire Manic. House of TARG

• Cardamom Years, Lady Grey & the Phantoms, Apostlebird, Ceippo. Rainbow Bistro

• Irene’s Blues Sessions with Guest Host Dave Bignell. Irene’s Pub

FRIDAY

• ✳️ Hamilton has started its run at the NAC. You have until August 17 to see the award-winning musical. 

• The Killaloe Craft & Community Fair, which has been operating each summer for nearly 50 years, is one of the only non-profit, volunteer-run festivals to continue for so long. 

• 🆓 Check out Ottawa International Buskerfest for the best in street entertainment from around the planet. It's all going down on Sparks St and at World Exchange Plaza August today through Sunday. 

• 🆓 Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore runs one of the most feel-good book sales in town. Luckily for us, The ReStore Reads Book Fair is back this Friday (10:00 am to 8:00 pm) through Sunday (9:00 am to 4:00 pm on both weekend days) at the Stittsville location (3 Iber Road). Prices start at $1.

• If you're dashing in to the Pot & Pantry on Elgin St this Friday, be prepared to be distracted by the gorgeous milk-and-plant-based ice cream at the Merry Dairy truck parked outside. 254 Elgin St. From 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. 

• Art house welcomes internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist Lauren Bush and her trio.

• Ottawa reggae legends Aurora’s Reef open the Titans game (6:00 pm to 7:00 pm)..

• 🆓 Capital Pop-Up Cinema screens My Girl at Beechwood Cemetery. 

• If the weather allows, A Company of Fools presents The Comedy of Errors in Raven Park (Carlington) from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

• ByTowne Cinema: To A Land Unknown, My Mother's Wedding, 2025 Cat Video Fest, Detour: The Fly 

• Mayfair Theatre: Sorry, Baby, My Mother’s Wedding, Thief 

  Gigs

• Blingo Night. Pour Boy

• TEETH, Cruel Intent, In Passing. The 27 Club

• Michael Marcagi. Bronson Centre 

• Friday Night Open Mic. Grumpy's Pub & Eatery

• Just Fine, frown line, Guest Room Status, Superstar Crush, Hug Mosh. SAW Centre

• Irish Moutarde, Casual Tragedies, Subtrash. Dominion Tavern

• 80s Dance Party. House of TARG

• Live Music Friday. Broadhead Brewery

SATURDAY

• If you order your ticket to the Mystical Wise Women Water Lantern Festival in Andrew Haydon Park by Friday August 7, you'll save $5. 

• 🆓 You’ll know what a gat (갓) is if you caught ‘K-pop Demon Hunters’ on Netflix. The Korean Cultural Centre is holding ‘make your own gat’ paper crafting sessions every Saturday throughout August. Materials, instructions, and space to create are provided on site. 

• All sorts of gamer, kitsch, and generally geeky vendors will be in attendance at the Urban Art Collective Comic & Geek Night Market (4:00 pm to 9:00 pm). 

• It’s happening: the 80s return to the Brass Monkey in Chaud Stock 2025. If you rocked at legendary Ottawa venues the Chaud, The British, Barrymore’s, Hoopers, and Roxanne’s in the big hair decade, this is your night. 

• Road Trip: Take a wee day trip just beyond Ottawa’s Western edge to McNab/Braeside, for a good ol' rural time at the Valley Agricultural Festival. 

• 🆓 You’re mistaken if you think the All Things Bookish Market is only about books. You’ll find junk journaling and scrapbook kits, charcuterie cones and other fine food options, more than 20 vendors, and you can take part in the Build Your Own Blind Date With A Book. 55 ByWard Market.  

• 🚗 Road Trip: Equator Coffee’s annual Made with Love Vendors Market returns to Almonte. While you're planning your visit, sign up for a roastery tour. 

• 🆓 Muslimfest brings arts, culture, and entertainment to Cumberland Village Museum. It’s free to attend but you must book a ticket. 

• Craft beer-loving 20-and-30-somethings looking for new friends: Beyond the Pale’s City Centre location has an event just for you. Pints & New Friends 20s-30s Social Mixer is selling fast.  

• It’s Mexico’s turn to light up the sky at the Grands Feux in Gatineau. 

• Enjoy music by John Allaire Trio, wine, drinks, and snacks at the Reds, Whites, & Rhythms: Jabulani Concert Series in Richmond. $19.99 + HST per person.  

• There’s more than just shopping at Tanger Outlets today. Catch the Reptile Extravaganza from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

• Hamilton continues at the NAC. You have until August 17 to see the award-winning musical. 

• Toronto comic Mike Rita arrives at Yuk Yuk’s Ottawa West (at Biagio’s). 

• Weather permitting, A Company of Fools presents The Comedy of Errors in Canadensis Botanical Garden (Experimental Farm) from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. 

• Take a Wild Foraging Walk at Ottawa Farm Fresh. $25 per person. 

• Stretch your body and open your mind with Yoga at the Gallery. $25 + HST. 

• 🆓 Capital Pop-Up Cinema brings Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to Albert Island. You'll get a proper bang for your non-buck: a short film from the NFB and an episode of 'Stittsville on Patrol' will screen before the movie. 

• It’s War Machines Weekend at the Canadian War Museum. See military vehicles roar to life on the demo track behind the museum. It's all included with regular admission.

• ByTowne Cinema: 2025 Cat Video Fest, Restoration: Throne of Blood, My Mother's Wedding, Detour: True Stories 

• Mayfair Theatre:My Mother’s Wedding, Sorry, Baby, Magnolia 

  Gigs

• Little Bones. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa

• Override. Live from the Booth (Sparks St) 

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

• 🆓 Limited tickets are up for grabs to the Ontario Moonshine Festival at Top Shelf Distillers in Perth, Ontario. Book yours for Friday August 22, Saturday August 23, or Sunday August 24, which is also billed as Family Day. 

• Make your own Mini Fall Pumpkin Centrepiece at the Wild Willy's Plants and Flowers workshop on Thursday, October 30.