Thanksgiving Monday: mild, low-key, a few things still open

Happy Thanksgiving Monday. You've got 11°C and partly cloudy skies, which is genuinely mild for mid-October—grab a jacket you won't overheat in and get outside if you're the type. Sunset's at 6:23 PM, so plan your evening around that if you're heading out.

The city's running on holiday mode: the O-Train's on a reduced schedule today, so if you need to move around, check your route before you head out. Most retail and services are closed, which means it's a genuinely quiet day in the capital—the kind where you either lean into family time or take advantage of the peace.

A couple of things worth knowing this week: the Senators are off to their best start in 12 years, sitting at 4-1 after a comeback win in Nashville. If hockey's your thing, there's fuel in the tank. Elsewhere, Yannick La Salle, one of the city's own, just advanced to the 2027 Canadian Culinary Championship—worth following.

If you're thinking about food today, most regular spots will be closed, but if you're planning ahead for the rest of the week, there's a new spot in Centretown called Zen Bowl doing Shanghai soup dumplings and pan-fried buns—worth marking down for when things reopen tomorrow. There's also a Stittsville drama teacher making waves on the Great Canadian Baking Show as the show's first plant-based baker, which is a nice local flex.

For tonight, if you're looking to get out of the house, Cirque du Soleil's Luzia is running at St Laurent Shopping Centre at 4:30 PM—spectacle and acrobatics, indoors, warm. If live music's more your speed, Buffalo Traffic Jam's got Pictures of You Tour happening at the Bronson Centre at 7:00 PM. Both lean into that Thanksgiving Monday energy: something to do, but not frantic.

Otherwise, it's a day to settle in, move slow, maybe take the Canal or one of the neighbourhood strips if the weather holds. The long weekend's yours—make what you want of it.

Stay warm out there.