Saturday June 14th marks the 8th edition of the Westport Heritage Festival, a family-friendly festival where you can spend the day relaxing in the village. Our 700 residents love opening the town up to visitors and their families. Come out and enjoy the festival, kids can roam through the petting zoo and have their faces painted, you can take home a freshly made rhubarb strawberry pie.

Each June the picturesque village of Westport celebrates its small town charm and heritage with an all-day street festival where dozens of vendors sell art, crafts, unique one-of-a-kind gifts and delicious homemade food, it provides a chance to showcase the village charms to new people coming from Ottawa and Kingston.

Thacker recently said, “The event celebrates our success as a village and as a community. Westport is not immune to the ups and downs of the economy and what have you, but we persevere and are rewarded with a vibrant, vigorous village. Each year we marvel at the number of people that return. It’s been said before; nobody’s a stranger very long in Westport”.

Information Contact:
Nicki Thacker, Westport Heritage Festival – 613.273.4780; visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/heritagewestport

This coming May 17 come down to Seely’s Bay for the Red Canoe Festival. There are a series of canoe and Kayak events, fitness events, a fishing tournament, and tons of activities for the little ones.

Shop in the Red Canoe Open Marketplace, enjoy a pancake breakfast or meal at Volunteer Firefighters BBQ.

So much to see and do, it’s going to be fun for the whole family! So don’t miss out, come to Seely’s Bay and stay for the whole day.

Events
Bowfin and Pike Tournament 6am-3pm
Kayak 101 Clinic 8-10:30am
Legion Pancake Breakfast 8:30-10:30am
Spring Back into Motion 9-10:30am
Fisheroo Silent Auction 9am-3:30pm
Kids and Cops Fishing 9am-noon
Red Canoe Fest Marketplace 9am-3:30pm
Antique Boat Display 9am-3:30pm
The Art of Paddle Making 9am-3:30pm
Adventure – Paddle Smart Interactive Demonstration 9:30am onwards
Paddling for Fitness 11am-12:30pm
Paddle Pursuit 11am-1pm
Silent Poker Run 1:30-3:30pm
Uncle Waldo’s Wacky Tacky Variety Puppet Show 11-11:40am & 2-2:40pm
Volunteer Firefighters Chicken BBQ 4:30pm
Harmoniacs Singalong Seely’s Bay Legion 7-9pm

This Victoria Day weekend, come out on Saturday, May 17 at 8:30am for VICTORIA DAY IN THE VILLAGES!

There will be various events in the villages around the township of Leeds & 1000 Islands to celebrate the start of summer!
Tour your way through the villages and enjoy!

In Seeley’s Bay there will be a number of events to take in including the Crafts & Trunk Sales; Paddling & Fishing; Giant Puppets; Food & More. www.redcanoefest.com

Travel to Lyndhurst for their community Yard Sales, Huge Plant Sale, and Sidewalk Sales.613.928.1196

Come down to Lansdowne for the LAFR Plant Sale, Mom to Mom Sale, Bake Sale, Trunk/Trailer/Tailgate Sale, and Sidewalk Sale. lafr@1000islands.com

Lastly, Rockport will be holding its Sidewalk Sale, Plant Sale, Lunch Cruise, Lobster Dinner, and Sunset Dinner Cruise. www.rockportcruises.com

These are great events

Come the Elgin Public Library on Wednesday  May 14, for stories, activities, games and art for children and their families. Always free and always drop-in. Contact Vicki at 613-359-5315 or vstevenson@rideaulakeslibrary.ca for more information. This free event is open from 10:30-11:30am.

Come to Camp Iawah on May 17 for a free open house event and Beach BBQ. Fun for the whole family. Get to know our camp and our services. Also register your young ones for camp!

The last flag to be flown at Security Headquarters in Kabul will arrive in Westport on May 6 as part of the Soldier On Relay. The flag will arrive at the Westport Legion at 2:30 (approximately). A large receiving party will assemble at the Legion to welcome them. Members of the public are invited to attend to show their support. The flag will then travel to Parliament  Hill in Ottawa for the National Day of Honour on May 9th. More details are available on our blog and FB page.

This May join us at The Cove for an incredible Mediterranean inspired menu from Chef Joanne Edwards and her team. Wine talk by Andrew Rastapkevicius of Lifford Wine Agency.

Grazie!

The Rideau Lakes Figure Skating Club’s Spring skate session is now accepting registrants to join the skate club in their Canskate programs. Early registrants enjoy a discount, so join today! http://www.rlfsc.com/index.html

Want to ride a really BIG BIKE? Join the Elgin Lions on April 29 as they raise funds and awareness for heart and Stroke by riding the famous big bike starting at 10:30 am. You can ride or sponsor a rider – contact Ross Hawkins for details at 613-359-5833. Lunch provided!

This April 20-26 it’s time to do your community duty. Pitch-in & help clean up roadsides, parks, school yards & shorelines. Pick up your free pitch in (yellow) bags at the Municipal Office, Post Offices, libraries & local businesses. Call 1-800-928-2250 Ext 230 for more information. Thank you to our dedicated volunteers who “pitch-in” each year. Your efforts truly make Rideau Lakes a welcome community!