Winterlude Weekend 1 Highlights: Capital Region’s winter celebration set to kick off with skating, sliding, ice carvings and the American Express® Winterlude Opening
The National Capital Commission (NCC) is ready to welcome residents and visitors for the 34th edition of Winterlude, which starts Friday, February 3, 2012. Over three weeks, until February 20, Canada’s Capital Region will be the ideal destination to discover Canadian winter traditions through a wide variety of cultural, sport, culinary and family activities.
Here is a snapshot of the activities taking place during the first weekend of Winterlude.
American Express® Winterlude Opening
Friday, February 3, Canadian Museum of Civilization
The celebration officially kicks off with the American Express® Winterlude Opening at 8:30 pm at the Canadian Museum of Civilization on February 3rd. The program will feature special lighting effects, historical characters and drummers, storytelling around cozy fire pits, an outdoor DJ dance party, and, at 9 pm, a fireworks extravaganza.
Visitors can take advantage of free admission on February 3, from 5 pm to 11 pm, to explore the museum’s many exhibits and enjoy special programming.
The event will also be celebrated at Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques-Cartier Park, which will remain open until 9:30 pm, offering another perfect vantage point to enjoy the evening’s fireworks.
Rogers Crystal Garden in Confederation Park
“Northern Passion” carved in ice
This weekend, there are plenty of chances to watch ice carvers from around the world create their crystalline masterpieces at Confederation Park. These include the Rogers One-Block Challenge on Friday, February 3 from 8 am to 10 am (Awards Ceremony: 5 pm), and the 25th Rogers International Ice-Carving Competition, where professional carvers from around the world put their talent to the test throughout the weekend (People’s Choice Online Voting Contest starts Sunday, February 5 at 6 pm).
On opening weekend, visitors to Rogers Crystal Garden will also have the opportunity to:
- visit an authentic Sami Lavvu from northern Norway;
- discover BlizzArt, an outdoor gallery featuring unique Canadian work of art;
- meet artists from northern Canada and see them perform in the Rogers Crystal Globe;
- groove to the tunes of the Sub-Zero Music Series;
- celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in ice and photos;
- learn about ephemeral art and create their own sculpture;
- experience the Yukon through the eyes of talented artists;
- find out more about the great Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, and his expedition through the Northwest Passage.
The public can start off their first Winterlude weekend with a delicious (and free!) pancake and hot chocolate breakfast at 10 am on Saturday, February 4, during the Eighth Annual Enbridge Pancake Breakfast (Festival Plaza at Ottawa City Hall, across from Confederation Park). While supplies last.
Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques-Cartier Park, Gatineau
Let the adventure begin — with the Ice Hog Family!
Presented by the Ville de Gatineau and the NCC, young and the young at heart alike will enjoy playing in this frosty paradise of giant snow slides. The fun begins on Friday, February 3, at 10:30 am, when Mama and Papa Ice Hog, and twins Noumi and Nouma, join the crowd for the official launch of Snowflake Kingdom – North America’s biggest snow playground.
On Winterlude’s first weekend, visitors will have the chance to:
- find their way through the A-maze-ing Fort Wellington;
- learn about the life of the people who lived in 1812 through interpretation, demonstrations and games;
- take part in a day in the life of a Coast Guard employee;
- test their physical fitness in the Canadian Forces Winter Obstacle Course;
- experience downhill skiing with qualified instructors;
- feel the rhythm at the Snowflake Stage featuring talented performers and acrobatic stunts;
- celebrate Yukon Days with performances and snow sculptures;
- visit the Adventure Zone, where they can try Jumpaï trampolines, rock climbing and catch a lift in a tethered hot air balloon (Feb. 3).
The Rideau Canal Skateway
Celebrating 42 seasons of skating
Each winter, the NCC transforms the Rideau Canal into the world’s largest skating rink, which was officially recognized as such in 2005 by Guinness World Records™. The Rideau Canal Skateway is centre stage for many activities during Winterlude. For the celebration’s opening weekend, the world-famous ice surface will host the 29th Annual Winterlude Triathlon and the 32nd Annual Accora Village Bed Race which take place at Dows Lake this Saturday. In addition to pioneer activities and crafts that take place this weekend at Bronson Avenue with the Canada Agriculture Museum, throughout Winterlude visitors to the Skateway will have the opportunity to:
- discover Portraits on the Ice, an outdoor art gallery presented by Library and Archives Canada, which this season commemorates the War of 1812;
- see Fire Weavers and other talented acts at the WestJet Fun ‘n Festival Zone;
- enjoy culinary demonstrations and sample creative Canadian dishes in the American Express Lounge at Fifth Avenue;
- sign up for a free 45-minute Subway® Learn to Skate session;
- take in storytelling theatre, traditional dances, songs and hand drumming with Aboriginal Experiences at Pig Island;
- and much, much more!
Programming Partners
Truly making Winterlude the Capital Region’s winter celebration
For the 34th edition of Winterlude, more than 50 programming partners, from Ottawa and Gatineau’s private and public sectors, have come together to offer visitors a wide-range of indoor and outdoor activities aimed at animating the Capital like never before. Here is just a sampling of what takes place on the first weekend of Winterlude:
- 21st Annual ByWard Market Stew Cook-Off;
- the first annual Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival;
- Cool Science Saturday at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum;
- Northern Lights 2012: Northern Lights Business and Cultural Showcase;
- Ottawa Theatres Present Paul Brandt at Centrepointe Theatre;
- CARTE BLANCHE with Jean-Claude Marcus and Samuel Boivin-Provost presented by the Ville de Gatineau;
- The Mighty Popo: Gakondo is presented by the Ville de Gatineau;
- Downtown Rideau CHILL FACTOR.
For more information about Winterlude, please contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 613-239-5090 (TTY), 1-800-465-1867 (toll-free) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY), or visit the NCC’s website at Winterlude.gc.ca.
“Aboriginal Experiences” – Devastating Longhouse Fire in Ottawa
Aboriginal Experiences, Arts and Culture are sad to announce that on Friday, April 2nd (in the middle of the night), our longhouse, located on the sacred and historical Algonquin territory of Victoria Island, was burnt to the ground. Sadly, during the winter months a good portion of our “village” displays, seating, etc., is stored in the longhouse and was also lost in the fire. At this point, the Fire Department has declared the fire accidental, yet no less devastating to our team or the Aboriginal community as a whole who have been tremendously supportive, offering prayers and assistance.
Aboriginal Experiences is an award-winning cultural attraction that has been sharing native culture, teachings and arts with residents, students and international visitors to our Nation’s Capital since the summer of 2000. In 2009, it was selected as one of Canada’s “28 Most Significant Aboriginal Attractions”.
2010 was off to a fabulous start, as our company was selected as exclusive caterers for the 2010 Aboriginal Pavilion in Vancouver, and our dance troupe had the honour of performing at numerous events celebrating Aboriginal cultures with Olympic fans from around the Globe. We were looking forward to building upon that great success with our visitors for this coming season, scheduled to open May 1st.
Although insured, it is a challenging task to rebuild and replace so much of what was lost. However, no one has lost sight of the reason why Aboriginal Experiences exists and we will move forward, with the support of our community, to rebuild a venue for our talented team of artists to share their culture with “all our relations”.
Please visit our website, www.aboriginalexperiences.com, or contact us at 613-564-9494 for more info.
Visitors this year will be hosted in temporary shelters and have an opportunity to witness the “rebuild”.
On behalf of our entire team of Aboriginal Experiences, “Meegwetch” for the continued support.
Trina Mather-Simard
Strong Ottawa presence at Ontario House during 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games: Le Cordon Bleu chefs, Aboriginal dancers, Parliament Buildings featured
Ottawa Tourism will have a strong presence at the exciting Ontario House pavilion, located at 50 Pacific Boulevard at the Concord Place Community Celebration Zone, just steps away from some of the major venues of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Ontario House offers free admission to the general public in order to experience Ontario. With a daytime capacity of 450 people, visitors to Ontario House will be able to change the nightly illumination of three of the province’s major tourism icons—the CN Tower, Niagara Falls and Ottawa’s own Parliament Buildings—utilizing innovative new thought-controlled computing technology designed by Toronto-based firm InteraXon. After donning special headsets, guests will be taught to use their brainwaves to control the three light shows taking place in Ontario, over 3,000 km (1,864 miles) away.
“We’re excited to have this exposure at the 2010 Winter Games,” says Noel Buckley, President and CEO of Ottawa Tourism. “The world is coming to Vancouver, but they will have a chance to experience Ottawa at the same time.”
Other special Ottawa programming at Ontario House includes entertainment by Aboriginal Experiences, offering interactive experiences of First Nations culture and history through storytelling and dance performances. Aboriginal Experiences is also the official caterer at the Four Host First Nations Aboriginal Pavilion.
Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute’s award-winning chefs, Chef Armando Baisas and Chef Christian Faure, will delight crowds at Ontario House with ice carvings in the shape of iconic Ottawa landmarks, fruit and vegetable carvings, ice wine chocolate demonstrations, tastings and more.
Unfinished totem theft a mystery: Heavy stolen carving was to be auctioned for charity
Here is one of those things that make you ask, “Why?” As a community, let’s keep our eyes open for this missing totem pole, I can’t imagine that it would be that easy to hide.
Though carver Dewey Smith imbues his pieces with the spark of life, it’s still unlikely that a wooden bear, two salmon and an osprey escaped a fenced and locked outdoor workshop on their own.
But how else to explain the disappearance of a 2.3-metre-tall, 160-kilogram totem pole from the Aboriginal Experiences complex on Victoria Island?
“It was just about finished,” said Smith, a senior policy adviser with the Assembly of First Nations, who only learned of the two-week-old theft on Tuesday.
He estimates he spent 300 hours carefully encouraging the creatures to emerge from the white pine.
Description of the totem pole:
- A bear is at the base of the totem pole, sitting upright and holding a salmon emerging from its mouth
- An osprey is perched atop the bear with another salmon caught in its beak
- The bear’s eyes need detailing, the osprey’s beak and claws aren’t finished yet
- It is still at the carving stage, and there is no paint yet
Story source: Ottawa Citizen
