Hello ORLÉANS!
Welcome to the 84th edition of Orléans Connect. As always, welcome new subscribers! 👋
Well, the 🗳️ municipal election is now over, and it looks like many incumbents, including Mayor Mark Sutcliffe have been re-elected. In Orléans, all incumbent councillors including Catherine Kitts, Matt Luloff, and Laura Dudas. Congratulations to all the councillors.
Notably, this 2026 election drew the lowest voter turnout in 23 years, i.e. only 36.21% of eligible voters cast a ballot.
Which leads us to the results of the poll we ran last week with our readers, which indicates that our readers are definitely politically active.
Have you voted in the municipal election yet? (233 people voted)
Yes (49.79%)
No, but I’m planning to (47.21%)
No, and I won’t (3.00%)
Also this week, we’ve got a brand new Food Spot Review, this time we took a visit to a newish addition to Orléans bakery / coffee shop scene in Les Moulins La Fayette. Read the review here.
🐶 🐱 We’re finally at the CATS semi-final and the 3rd to last round in the DOGS category in our Cutest Pets of Orléans Contest. We’re down to the final 8 dogs 🐕 and the final 4 cats 🐈. Today begins a new round of voting, and you can vote ⬇️ at the bottom of the newsletter for this week’s batch of contestants!
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Here’s the events happening in Orléans over the next 7 days and beyond ⬇️
Halloween is nearly here, say hi to Kevin, our friendly neighbourhood skeleton, hanging out at Sunshine Little Free Library.
Here’s our roundup of upcoming events:
Halloween-Themed Fun in and Around Orléans:
👻 October 29th - 31st - The Albert Halloween House for CHEO is on from 6:30-9 PM. Great for young children! Jump scares happen only on Saturdays, starting at 7:30 PM. Donate online to support the fundraiser for CHEO.
📍268 Pintail Terrace
🦫 October 30th - Nov 1st - BeaverTails pop-up at Gabe’s NoFrills. Enjoy the sweet delights of BeaverTails for three days only - Oct 30th - 4-8 PM, Oct 31st - 11 AM - 7 PM, Nov 1st - 11 AM - 7 PM.
📍 1226 Place d’Orléans Dr.
🎃 October 30th - Halloween Party with Rambler’s Blvd at the Orléans Legion. Costumes, live music, dancing and Halloween mischief. On from 7-11 PM.
📍800 Taylor Creek Dr.
🕸️ Oct 30th and 31st - Boston Pizza Orléans and Savvy Party are holding a spine-chilling experience with their HAUNTED PATIO to bring some Halloween magic to life! All day event both days.
📍 3884 Innes Rd.
🧟♀️ October 30th and 31st - sKreamers is a volunteer-run Halloween attraction, hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Eastern Ottawa, takes place at Proulx Farm. Haunted houses, scary wagon ride and live actors! Open from 7-9 PM (last wagon leaves at 9:15 PM, doors close at 10 PM).
📍1865 O’Toole Rd, Cumberland:
OCTOBER 31st
🎃 It’s PumpkinFest at Proulx Farm. Last day for pumpkin picking, corn maze, petting zoo and wagon rides! Open from 10 AM - 5 PM.
📍1865 O’Toole Rd, Cumberland
🧟 9th Annual Scarecrow Festival and Kids Monster Mash Food Drive Fundraiser. On from 10 AM-2 PM. Featuring a free BBQ courtesy of the Cumberland Lions Club, face painting, pumpkin carving, arts and crafts and more! Food drive in support of the Orléans-Cumberland community Resource Centre. Hosted by the Cumberland Community Association, sponsored by CoolHeat Comfort Systems.
📍2505 Old Montréal Rd, Cumberland
🧛Blackburn Community Association is hosting Kids and Youth Halloween Parties at Blackburn Community Hall (190 Glen Park Dr):
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM - Kids ages 2-7 years (must be accompanied by an adult). Halloween crafts, scavenger hunt and games! Prizes for best costumes! Meet Spiderman from 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
1:30-3:30 PM - Kids ages 8 - 13 years. Scavenger hunt, crafts and activities. Dr Rickenstein’s Lab Science Show from 2-3 PM.
8-10:30 PM - All-ages Halloween Monster Mash Dance Party (kids 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult). Show off your dance moves under the cool laser lights!
🧙🗑️ Halloween Park Clean Up at Fallingbrook Park from 12-2 PM. Wear a costume for a chance to win prizes. Gloves and garbage bags will be provided.
📍681 Deancourt Cres
🚲 Halloween Bike Parade from 1-3 PM (meet at 1 PM, leave at 1:30 PM), starting at Father Richard Ward Park. Costumes encouraged, and all ages and skill levels are welcome! Registration is encouraged to receive event updates (i.e., weather). Hosted by the Convent Glen Orléans Wood Community Association.
📍1073 Chablis Park
📚Sunshine Little Free Library is hosting Books and Boos from 2-9 PM. Swing by in your costume for some literary Halloween fun! Visit Kevin the skeleton, pick out a free book and get some treats!
📍2027 Newcarlisle Cres
👻 Stray Dog Brewing Co is hosting their SOLD OUT Halloween Ghost-themed Goth and Industrial Dance Party from 9 PM - 1 AM.
📍501 Lacolle Way
🎶 Broadhead Brewery is hosting Hip Hop Period, from 9 PM - 2 AM. Costumes are cool, but not mandatory. Straight bangers, your people and Halloween night, done right.
📍1680 Vimont Court
🎃 Pumpkin Walks - two locations - Sun, Nov 1st:
🎃 Bring your carved pumpkins to light the path for Convent Glen Pumpkin Alley, from 6-8 PM at Voyageur Park. Wear your costumes and enjoy free coffee and hot chocolate. There will be kids’ games and prizes.
🎃 Bring your intact or carved pumpkin(s) with a battery powered tea light to light the path for the Pumpkin Walk at Marsha Park (near the tennis courts), on from 6-8 PM. Join neighbours and friends for games, a photo booth and carved pumpkin contest! Costumes welcome and encouraged. Whole pumpkins will be donated to the food bank, carved pumpkins will be donated to a local farm.
🛶 October 31st - Petrie Island Canoe Club’s paddling community will be at Sobeys at Trim and Innes from 9 AM - 4 PM, to bag groceries and collect contributions to their GoFundMe campaign. They will also have a table with raffle items!
📍5150 Innes Rd
🎄 November 1st - The Heart of Orléans Holiday Market is on from 9:30 AM - 2 PM. Get a head start on your shopping with 130+ local vendors offering unique and thoughtful gifts.
📍290 Centrum Blvd
🦸 November 1st - Entertainment Ink! is hosting the Orléans Comic Book and Novelty Show, from 11 AM - 5 PM at Place d’Orléans. Local comic vendors, novelty/toy vendors, craft vendors, artists and writers in attendance. Cosplay encouraged!
📍110 Pl d’Orléans Dr
🎶 November 1st - A Concert for Community: Songs and Stories of Remembrance at the Navan-Vars United Church, from 2 - 3:30 PM. This special Remembrance Day community event features Gertrude Létourneau (singer, pianist and flautist), who worked as a therapeutic musician at Perley Health. Admission by donation - $20 suggested.
📍1129 Smith Rd, Navan
🧠 November 1st - Learn about the Psychology of Cults at Shenkman Arts Centre at 7 PM. Hosted by renowned cult investigator Mike King, this gripping live show dives deep inside the world of cults - how they form, why people join, and what it takes to break free.
📍245 Centrum Blvd
🪷 November 4th - Meditation and the art of feeling connected with Buddhist nun Kelsang Suma - every Wednesday from 6:30-7:45 PM until Nov 4th, at the Orléans Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. Cost $15/class, or $60 for 5-class series.
📍1705 Orléans Blvd
🧘🏽♀️ November 4th - Hatha Yoga and Meditation weekly free sessions hosted by the Greater Avalon Community Association, from 7-8 PM at Alain-Fortin Catholic Elementary School, in the gym. Beginners and children 10+ welcome.
📍676 Lakeridge Dr
🗓️ SAVE THE DATES 🗓️
🍷 The Orléans Cork & Fork Festival is on from Nov 6th-7th at the Shenkman Arts Centre. This event is a cozy and refined celebration of local food, wine and craft beverages, all accompanied by the warm ambiance of live music! 19+ event.
🍂 Cleaning the Capital Fall Edition at Big Bird Park on Sat, Nov 7th from 10 AM-12 PM.
🌱 Join the Convent Glen Orléans Wood Community Association for the Invasive Species Removal, Sat, Nov 7th from 1-3:30 PM at Mystery Park. help remove invasive Buckthorn - an invasive plant species that impacts local ecology by displacing native plants and causes soil erosion. *For adults and youth ages 14 and up.
🎁 St Helen’s Christmas Bazaar is on Sat, Nov 7th from 9 AM-2PM, featuring music, homemade goodies, pies and preserves, handmade treasures, thrifting and kid’s crafts, as well as a cafe area for tired parents or grandparents to sit and enjoy.
👠 Drag Brunch is back at Broadhead Brewery on Sun, Nov 8th from 1-4 PM (doors open at 12:30 PM). Hosted by Glittershaker Events. Get your tickets now, before they sell out! 🎟️
🧠 Education Event: Understanding Alzheimer’s - Education and Prevention, held at Grace Hill Retirement Community on Nov 13th from 10 AM-12:30 PM. This free event will include a discussion on symptoms, risk factors, and prevention strategies. Learn about how the Memory Clinic is advancing research. A light lunch will be provided. Speaker: Julia Cappelli, MSc, Neuroscientist.
Do you have an event you want to see featured here? Let us know!
🗞️ NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT: 🗞️
🗳️ More news from the municipal election: Matt Luloff re-elected with 6,337 votes out of 17,557, while Candidate Bob Bell came second with 4,308 votes. A race that was likely determined by a lot of vote splitting. Laura Dudas won a third term with about 66 percent of the vote, while David Purchase came second with almost 20 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, in the most lopsided result in Orléans, Catherine Kitts was elected with 90.2% of the vote.
🚌 Newly re-elected mayor Mark Sutcliffe vows that his $95 transit pass plan will be in the 2027 budget. (CTV News)
🚨 Another vehicle (this time a Tesla) was caught going double over the speed limit, while another came close. The incidents happened on Navan and Tenth Line roads. (CityNews)
❓The Orléans-Cumberland Community Resource Centre (OCCRC) is redesigning its Youth Program (Grades 7-12) and wants to hear directly from local youth. They are inviting community members to share this survey and help amplify youth voices. Access the survey here.
🚗 Traffic fatalities are spiking in Ottawa, which the Ottawa Police are attributing to stunt driving and impaired driving. The city has already seen 32 fatalities this year, far outpacing last year’s total of 22. (CBC News)
🥫 St. Matthew High School’s fundraiser has now collected over 5,000 cans and raised over $6,000 for Orléans food bank. (The Canada Voice)
🛶 The Petrie Island Canoe Club is very close to meeting its fundraising goal of $78,000 with total donations now sitting at $75,654 as of this writing. There are only TWO DAYS left to donate if you wish to aid the effort.
🏥 More Ottawa and eastern Ontario hospitals are joining the MyChart digital health record system. (CTV News)
😷 Ottawa residents can now get flu and COVID-19 vaccines. (CTV News)
Photo courtesy of Wei’s Noodle House.
This week’s Orléans business spotlight is… 🥁 …Wei’s Noodle House, located at 1968 Portobello Blvd.
Wei’s Noodle House blends fresh ingredients and bold, vibrant flavours into an Asian fusion meal you’ll remember. They offer a wide range of handmade noodle dishes, savoury stir-fries, and colourful plant-based plates, so every guest finds something to enjoy, vegans and vegetarians included. Drop in for a quick lunch, settle in for a relaxed meal with friends, or call ahead for pick-up. Every dish on their menu pairs genuine, traditional taste with a contemporary twist, made to hit the spot every time.
Stay tuned for a full Food Spot Review of Wei’s Noodle House in the coming weeks.
If you wind up visiting them, make sure to tell them that Orléans Connect sent you.
This beautifully maintained and extensively renovated 3-bedroom home offers approximately 2,700 sq. ft. of living space across three levels in sought-after Fallingbrook. The professionally designed open-concept main floor features a stunning gourmet kitchen renovation (2018) stretching over 34 feet, complete with an impressive 11-foot island, 6-foot breakfast nook, gas range, abundant workspace, and exceptional flow for everyday living and entertaining.
Image source: COMFREE, Brokerage via Realtor.ca
CUTEST PETS OF ORLÉANS VOTING - Round 4
Okay Orléans - it’s time to VOTE! It’s another round of super cute pets, and we want to hear from you. Pick the cutest pets among the pairings below!
