Winterlude is an annual

winter festival A winter festival, winter carnival, snow festival, or frost fair is an outdoor cold weather celebration that occurs in wintertime. Winter festivals are popular in D climates (see Köppen climate classification) where winter is particularly long ...

held in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and Gatineau,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

(collectively known as the National Capital Region). Winterlude is run by the

Department of Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity ...

and was started in 1979. The event is one of Ottawa's most important tourist draws, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. In 2007, it set a new attendance record of an estimated 1.6 million visits to one of the four Winterlude sites. BizBash has recognized Winterlude as one of the top 100 annual attractions in

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and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Activities

Attractions

The focal point of Winterlude is the Rideau Canal Skateway which at 7.8 kilometres (approximately 5 miles) is the largest skating rink in the world. Another primary site is Snowflake Kingdom, which is located in Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau. This site is turned into a massive "snow park" with ice slides and snow sculptures and also hosts numerous events and activities for children. Confederation Park, better known as Crystal Garden, is the site for the ice sculpture competition, the ice lounge and musical concerts. Marion Dewar Plaza at City Hall (across from Confederation Park) is the site of the Rink of Dreams, an ice-skating rink that hosts skating shows, DJ dance parties and interactive art displays throughout the Festival.

Dow's Lake Dow's Lake in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is a small man-made lake on the Rideau Canal, situated two kilometres north of Hog's Back Falls in the middle of Ottawa. It is at the south end of Preston Street, just south of Carling Avenue, and just to th ...

also has a large skating area and hosts various activities. Related activities include special exhibits at numerous Ottawa museums, special events in the Byward Market,

Sparks Street Sparks Street (''French:'' Rue Sparks) is a pedestrian mall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was a main street in Ottawa that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1967, making it the earliest such street or mall in Canada.

, and a variety of other events throughout the city. A group of fictional groundhog-like creatures called "Ice Hogs" serve as the mascots for the festival. Corridas Several racing events are held in conjunction with Winterlude. The Gatineau Loppet, inaugurated in 1979, is an internationally recognized cross-country ski race that takes place in

Gatineau Park Gatineau Park (french: Parc de la Gatineau) is a federal park located in the Outaouais, Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region, ...

. The event also holds

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

and fat bike races. Since 1984, the Winterlude Triathlon has also been part of the festival. The format and location of the winter triathlon has changed frequently over the years. The race currently consists of a 8km skate across the Rideau Canal, a 5km run along Colonel By Drive, and a 6km ski at Mooney's Bay Park. Other race events include bed racing and "ice

dragon boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family ...

" racing.

Duration

Winterlude lasts for three weekends, usually the first three weekends in February. Very few events take place from Monday to Thursday in between weekends 1 and 2, and weekends 2 and 3. This means that the skating rink is much less crowded and that the ice stays in a near pristine condition for much of the day, with only a thousand or so skaters sharing it instead of the greater numbers during the weekend. The skate changing shacks and food catering kiosks scattered along the length of the skateway, at the same level as the ice, are open during the week. The weather in Ottawa is notoriously unpredictable, and Winterlude often is hampered by warm temperatures. Mild weather is the bane of the Canal, as proper ice conditions require -10°C/14°F for proper freezing. The length of the skating season (which often extends past Winterlude) is therefore unpredictable. However, most events are usually not affected other than premature melting of ice and snow sculptures. The average length to which the canal is open for skating is 50 days, but varies greatly. In the 2001—2002 season there was a (then) record low 34 days of skating. The very next season, 2002–2003, the canal was open for a near-record high 72 days. The longest skating season was 1971—1972, lasting 95 days. The shortest was 2015—2016, lasting just 18 days.

Gallery

File:CHAC ABEL Y BANDERA.jpg, Mexican ice sculptor Abel Ramírez Águilar with one of his ice sculptures File:Winterlude Ice Train.JPG, Sculptures in Confederation Park are illuminated nightly. File:Balnaphone2010 02 09 13 37 53.jpg, H2Orchestra performing outside the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

. File:DowsLakeSkating.png, Skating at Dow's Lake. File:Winterlude Merlin.jpg, Winterlude performance art on stilts in Jacques-Cartier Park.

References

External links