NAFOW Tours 2025 ~
All tours are priced individually and are not included in the Festival Pass.
#1 ~ Thursday, August 28, 2025, Bus loads at 8:30am, Return 12:30pm
"Ottawa with a Welsh Flavour" (SOLD OUT)
A 3-hour coach tour of the sights of Ottawa, identifying early Welsh settlers, personalities and connections. It includes a 1-hour visit to Rideau Hall, official residence of the Governor-General. The tour includes locations of important events over the years for the Ottawa Welsh Society, the Ontario Welsh Festival, and the North American Festival of Wales. Guide David Jeanes is vice-president and treasurer of the Ottawa Welsh Society and a former president of Heritage Ottawa. His father was from South Wales and he has travelled throughout Wales in search of his roots.
The tour mentions 15 persons from Ottawa's history with Welsh connections, including one of the founding settlers whose family house still stands as one of the oldest wood-frame houses in Ottawa; the founder of the Ottawa St. David's Society, (later Ottawa Welsh Society), Eisteddfod and St. David's Day dinners; and a Governor-General whose grandparents were famous personalities in Wales. There are about sixty places of interest along the 25-kilometre (15-mile) tour route. About half of them have a Welsh connection and they include many of Ottawa's tourist attractions and landscapes.
"Ottawa with a Welsh Flavour" (SOLD OUT)
A 3-hour coach tour of the sights of Ottawa, identifying early Welsh settlers, personalities and connections. It includes a 1-hour visit to Rideau Hall, official residence of the Governor-General. The tour includes locations of important events over the years for the Ottawa Welsh Society, the Ontario Welsh Festival, and the North American Festival of Wales. Guide David Jeanes is vice-president and treasurer of the Ottawa Welsh Society and a former president of Heritage Ottawa. His father was from South Wales and he has travelled throughout Wales in search of his roots.
The tour mentions 15 persons from Ottawa's history with Welsh connections, including one of the founding settlers whose family house still stands as one of the oldest wood-frame houses in Ottawa; the founder of the Ottawa St. David's Society, (later Ottawa Welsh Society), Eisteddfod and St. David's Day dinners; and a Governor-General whose grandparents were famous personalities in Wales. There are about sixty places of interest along the 25-kilometre (15-mile) tour route. About half of them have a Welsh connection and they include many of Ottawa's tourist attractions and landscapes.
#2 ~ Thursday, August 28, 2025 - 12:30pm -3:00pm
Welsh Highlights at the National Gallery of Canada
This half day tour to the National Gallery of Canada includes admission and one-hour guided tour of the Museum which will focus on paintings by Welsh artists or with Welsh connections. Return transportation from the Delta Hotel included.
When the National Gallery of Canada was established in 1880, its collection consisted of a single 19th-century landscape. More than 140 years later, the Gallery is home to more than 87,000 works of art, along with extensive library and archival holdings. Comprising works from antiquity to the present day, the Gallery has one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art in the world, as well as masterworks from numerous other artistic traditions. In addition to showcasing works of art, the Gallery preserves, studies and shares works in every conceivable medium, including photography, sculpture, painting, installation and the decorative arts. It does this through conventional means such as exhibitions and publications, as well as through its website, social media channels and other forms of international outreach. Housed in one of Canada’s most iconic public buildings, the National Gallery of Canada is among the world’s most respected art institutions. As part of its ongoing evolution, and in response to the changing expectations of museum-goers, the Gallery recently renewed its entire narrative on Indigenous and Canadian art, sharing a new and compelling story of artistic production in this country, from time immemorial to the present day. While remaining committed to core values that include tradition, outreach and the sharing of knowledge, the National Gallery remains ever-alert to new ways of connecting with audiences, while showcasing the importance of art to the human condition — now and for generations to come.
#3 ~ Monday September 1, 2025 – Bus loads at 8:30am, return 5:00pm ~
Upper Canada Village
Our full-day tour on Monday will start with a one hour bus trip to the village of Morrisburg on the shores of the St. Lawrence River where we will spend the day at Upper Canada Village. Established in 1961, Upper Canada Village is a premier living history destination, depicting rural life in English Canada circa 1866. The village offers an immersive journey into the past. There are over forty meticulously preserved historical structures, including homes, mills, and workshops. These buildings were saved and moved up the hill before the river was flooded to make the St. Lawrence Seaway. Guides are dressed in period clothing and give demonstrations of life and work in the 1860’s. Bread making, cow milking and cooking demonstrations are on offer, and we expect to see lots of horses that weekend. In addition, there is a flour mill, shoemaker, broom maker, cheese factory and woolen mill on site. A village store sells souvenirs of all sorts.
Our lunch will be at the Willard Hotel. Servers are in period dress, and the menu is based on foods eaten around that time.
Upper Canada Village
Our full-day tour on Monday will start with a one hour bus trip to the village of Morrisburg on the shores of the St. Lawrence River where we will spend the day at Upper Canada Village. Established in 1961, Upper Canada Village is a premier living history destination, depicting rural life in English Canada circa 1866. The village offers an immersive journey into the past. There are over forty meticulously preserved historical structures, including homes, mills, and workshops. These buildings were saved and moved up the hill before the river was flooded to make the St. Lawrence Seaway. Guides are dressed in period clothing and give demonstrations of life and work in the 1860’s. Bread making, cow milking and cooking demonstrations are on offer, and we expect to see lots of horses that weekend. In addition, there is a flour mill, shoemaker, broom maker, cheese factory and woolen mill on site. A village store sells souvenirs of all sorts.
Our lunch will be at the Willard Hotel. Servers are in period dress, and the menu is based on foods eaten around that time.