Fireworks in Ottawa on Victoria Day 2016 weekend: where to watch

The City of Ottawa is recommending people leave the fireworks this Victoria Day weekend to the professionals, though this Sunday one of the usual launch pads for pyrotechnics will be silent.

• Victoria Day 2016: What's open and closed in Ottawa

The Riverside Park Recreation and Community Association announced earlier this year they were taking a one-year hiatus from their annual fireworks display at Mooney's Bay Park, with plans to focus on the 2017 event.

The event, which drew thousands last year, leaves a void in the city for people hoping for a large-scale fireworks display that's also free.

There are, however, a few events in and near the city on Sunday.

• The Canadian Tulip Festival at Lansdowne Park celebrates its penultimate day Sunday with Electric Tulip, a fireworks display on the TD Place soccer field that runs from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $15, $5 for children age 10 to 16, and free for children 9 and under.
• The Fisher Park Community Recreational Council is hosting its annual fireworks and barbecue from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• And if you live in the city's rural south end, it may be worth the drive to the annual Ashton Victoria Day fireworks display in Ashton, Ont., beginning at 7 p.m.

As for lighting up and sending off your own fireworks, the City of Ottawa says while they recommend people don't set them, they say those that do must follow the city's bylaws.

The city's rules include:

• Fireworks may be discharged only on the day of, day before or the day after Victoria Day — Monday, May 23.
• They must be discharged by someone 18 or older, and on private property, with permission of the property owner.
• Minimum safety distances as indicated on the fireworks product must be maintained from spectators, buildings and vehicles.
• The fireworks display must not cause danger or nuisance to any person or property.
• The sale of consumer fireworks, except on Victoria Day and the seven business days immediately preceding Victoria Day, is prohibited.
• Professional firework displays, such as those on Parliament Hill, and smaller-scale versions at public parks on holiday weekends, may only be discharged by someone over 18 who holds a permit issued by the Ottawa Fire Chief.
• Firecrackers are prohibited from being used or sold in the City of Ottawa or Province of Ontario.
• Anyone selling, purchasing or using firecrackers within the City of Ottawa is in violation of the Fireworks Bylaw as well as provincial law.