Things to do in Ottawa this week: August 23–29

This is a wet-then-clearing week, and your plans should bend with it. Sunday through Monday bring rain and overcast skies—think indoor, cozy, covered. By Wednesday the clouds thin out, Thursday turns muggy with thunderstorm risk, and Friday dips back to drizzle before Saturday settles into cool, mostly dry air. The lesson: front-load indoor events early, save the outdoor patios for late-week breaks.

The Wiggles—the Australian children's performance phenomenon—land at The Arena at TD Place on Wednesday, August 26 at 2:30 PM, with a second performance the same day. This is not a niche draw; both shows will pack the room, and if you have young children or are hunting a full-family outing, these tickets are already scarce. The show lands during the week's driest stretch, which helps logistics.

If you're looking at live music with real heat, Westboro Legion hosts a seven-band metal night on Saturday, August 29 at 6:30 PM, featuring Kruelty (a Japanese death-doom outfit) alongside Dead Heat, Anhedonia, Force Of Will, Pinpoint, Enhanced Lethal Abilities, and Acid Rot. Tickets start at $38 CAD. It's a tight, sweaty room filled with people who actually care about the sound; this is not background music. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus—an American rock band formed in 2003—plays Overflow Brewing Company the same night at 8:00 PM, a more accessible draw if you prefer vocal-driven rock in a brewery setting.

Atlético Ottawa takes on Inter Toronto FC at The Stadium at TD Place on Friday, August 28 at 7:00 PM. MLS football is live sport in a major league; the energy is real, and this is a home match for a city finally building its own soccer identity.

On the food side, Somerset West has a new landmark: Kozhi, Chef Teegavarapu Sarath Mohan's 24-seat fine-dining fried chicken restaurant, sources organic birds from 90 kilometres north of Montreal and does serious work with something as simple as fried poultry. It's the kind of place worth planning around—book ahead and make a night of it after catching one of the weekend shows. For a quick pivot before or after an event, Meet Noodle又见壹面 on your local strip serves fast, proper Asian noodles without pretension, and Bistro Ristoro (Italian, modest prices) is reliable for a warm indoor meal during the early-week rain. If Saturday's weather holds clear and cool, The Grand Pizzeria and Bar offers solid Italian with a front window where you can watch Centretown walk by.

Note: Brassica, the Westboro fine-dining spot known for its banoffee pie, closes August 22—if you've been meaning to go, you've missed it. But Kozhi opens that same stretch, so the neighbourhood's kitchen evolves.

If I had one night this week, I'd catch Kruelty and the metal bill at Westboro Legion on Saturday—the sound is loud and uncompromised, the crowd knows exactly what it came for, and you'll leave with your ears ringing and your sense of what Ottawa's underground actually builds intact.