Canada 150 Edition of Winterlude Starts Today!

The Ottawa-Gatineau winter celebration runs from February 3 to 20.

February 3, 2017 – Gatineau – Department of Canadian Heritage

The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Member of Parliament (Ottawa Centre), on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, officially launched Winterlude this morning. She was accompanied by Mireille Apollon, Deputy Mayor and City Councillor for Gatineau, and Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa, among others.

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians will enjoy an array of activities at three official Winterlude sites: Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau, Confederation Park and Marion Dewar Plaza, and the Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa.

Festivities begin this evening at the Crystal Garden in Confederation Park, where an exciting carnival-style party is followed by musical performances by Karim Ouellet and Coleman Hell. Confederation Park will also host the Sub-Zero Concert Series, featuring Canadian performers on Friday and Saturday evenings (and Sunday, February 19) throughout Winterlude. Visitors to Confederation Park can also see ice carvers from around the world turn blocks of ice into stunning works of art, and relax in the new Metro Ice Café, which offers culinary demos, food sampling, and complimentary hot chocolate and cookies.

With its larger-than-life snow slides, the Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques-Cartier Park is an ideal destination for sports and winter games enthusiasts. This is also where visitors will get to meet the famous Ice Hog family, zoom down the mega zip line, attend shows like the Extreme aerial acrobatics and trampo-wall show, embark on a dog sled, pedal musical bikes to remix the songs of your favourite artists and admire sculptures made during the 2017 National Snow Sculpture Rendezvous. A digital art projection on snow sculpture, MosaïCanada 150, will also be showcased on the evenings that the Park is open.

The Rideau Canal Skateway, the world’s largest skating rink, will once again host some of Winterlude’s classic activities, including the Winterlude Triathlon and the annual Bed Race. This year, the Canal will also host the CIBC Shinny Hockey Day and the first-ever ice dragon boat race in North America—the largest of its kind in the world.

There will also be a wide range of activities presented by Winterlude partners at other venues around the region, such as the Snowmania Challenge, a competition to see who can build the most snowmen in one hour.

We wish to thank Winterlude’s official sponsors: CIBC, presenting sponsor of the Rideau Canal Skateway; OLG, which offers the free Winterlude OLG Sno-Bus shuttle; and Metro Ontario, the exclusive sponsor of the Winterlude Volunteer Program.