The Canada 150 celebrations have brought a lot of unique events and fun to the Ottawa region. One of those wonderful anniversary events is MOSAÏCANADA, a spectacular horticulture event that combines sculpture with gardening. The MOSAÏCANADA event has been running for a few weeks now, and I finally got the chance to visit and take the kids this past week. It didn’t disappoint.

MOSAÏCANADA is located in Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau. It features more than 30 different sculptures and arrangements.

The exhibit was created to reflect 150 years of history, values, culture and arts in Canada. There are representations from all parts of Canada – from Anne of Green Gables, to polar bears and inukshuks, to hockey players, all created from plants and flowers.

The size and scope of the creations is really impressive.

Admission to MOSAÏCANADA is free, and they will hand you a map upon arrival. There are guided tours available for $10 per person (free for ages 13 and under). The exhibit takes you along a path past all of the structures, about one kilometre long in total. It is all totally stroller friendly. Depending on how long you take looking at everything, I would expect the visit to take you anywhere between 45-90 minutes.

There are some refreshments sold on site; however, there are no official picnic or restaurant areas. And in order to keep the area clean, you are not supposed to bring lunch on site. I do encourage at least bringing your own water bottles on any hot day, and I brought along my usual snacks for the kids. There are lots of lovely spots to sit, have a rest and enjoy the view.

Towards the end of the display, we finally reached what I knew would be the highlight for my kids. She is officially supposed to be ‘Mother Nature’ but to all the kids and parents who are fans of the Disney movie ‘Moana’ she is known as ‘Te-Fiti”. My kids are huge Moana fans, and you could hear their squeals of delight as we approached the magnificent display.

Mother Nature was just spectacular, particularly the waterfall coming down from her hand. My photos really don’t do it justice.

This is just a really great place to walk around with the kids. Of course, make sure your phone is charged because there are so many fantastic opportunities to get photos of your kids or the whole family, with some of the most selfie-worthy backdrops.

A Few Important Notes:

• MOSAÏCANADA runs from June 30 to October 15, 2017 – so there is lots of opportunity to get out there!
• Opening Hours : everyday from 10 am to 7 pm
• As I’ve mentioned before…it’s FREE!
• Rain or shine – just dress accordingly, the paths could potentially get muddy in heavy rain
• Parc Jacques-Cartier, near the Canadian Museum of History. The entrance to the exhibition is at the corner of rue Laurier and rue Saint-Étienne.
• There is a parking lot right at Jacques-Cartier Park, but on a busy weekend you can expect the lot could be full. And even if it is not full, there is only one pay station (and it is so slow), and the line up to pay has been very long (I’m not joking, you can easily wait for 30 mins on a weekday). So I would recommend parking somewhere a few blocks away and just walking in. Even parking at the History Museum and walking two blocks over would be faster.