Winterlude visitors like it cold and snowy: Thousands descend on Snow Kingdom to enjoy slippery slides and sweet treats
Katia Dmitrieva, The Ottawa Citizen
Winterlude is a veritable rite of passage for Ottawans and creates fond memories for years to come.
But what if the white playground of ice sculptures, snowy slides, and the winding Rideau Canal Skateway were a little bit greener?
Festival organizers are finding it more difficult each year to maintain the winter wonderland as climate change takes its hold over the season.
“Winterlude in Ottawa is all about having the snow, the slides, and the ice sculptures,” said Adam Mullins, who spent the day with nine family members, including his wife, Cara, and two children. “If that would change, it would take away from the tradition.”
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Winterlude visitors like it cold and snowy
Thousands came to the opening weekend of Winterlude, taking in skating, ice sculpting, sledding and more. Residents and visitors alike had a hoot on the icy hills in the Snowflake Kingdom at Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau.
Photo Courtesy of Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa snow carvers take third place at Winterlude
By Mark Brownlee
The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — With amateur skaters taking to the world’s largest skating rink nearby and Canada’s best taking to the speed skating track in Vancouver, it seemed like a fitting choice for best sculpture at this year’s Winterlude competition.
A pair of gigantic hockey skates, carved out of snow by the team from Alberta, won best sculpture at this year’s Winterlude competition Saturday afternoon at Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau.
“There’s lots of beautiful stuff here and lots of creative people and they do wonderful things so you never know what’s going to happen with the voting, so it’s hard to win,” said team member Eric Burton.
The team members — Burton, Brian McArthur, and Michael Decaire — weren’t afraid to put their feet where their inspiration was either, as they took to the Rideau Canal themselves only a short time before winning the prize.
“We skate at home all the time and really enjoy going out and skating and think many people do,” said team captain McArthur. “It’s such a quintessential part of our winters that we thought it’d be nice to memorialize and make a big sculpture about skates.”
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Locals find family fun at Winterlude
TRACEY TONG
METRO OTTAWA
Winterlude may be known for bringing tens of thousands of people to Ottawa every year, but it also gives locals a chance to find entertainment right in their own backyard.
Family Day long weekend brought thousands of locals to Winterlude’s three sites, including the Rideau Canal Skateway, Confederation Park and Jacques-Cartier Park yesterday.
“Last year was a bad time for the economy,” said Ottawa resident Jennifer Parker. “I think a lot of families are really glad for quality activities they can take their kids to easily, that the kids will actually enjoy, and that won’t break the bank.
“Children shouldn’t have to miss out because the economy was in a slump.”
Parker and her husband brought their kids to Jacques-Cartier Park yesterday, where there were snow slides and ice fishing events.
Ottawa resident Becky Draper has enjoyed skating on the canal and Beavertails during Winterlude for years, but this year was extra special — it marked the first Winterlude for her year-old son.
City resident Jim Shivas never misses Winterlude. His favourite activities include skating on the canal and checking out the ice sculptures. The weather was perfect for winter fun this weekend, he said.
“As long as you can still see the stuff and go skating, that’s what matters to me,” he said. “I’d come out at -20.”
Bernadette Bailey and her daughter, Hannah, take advantage of Winterlude offerings by playing host to out-of-town friends and family every February.
While some people never miss Winterlude, other residents discovered it for the first time.
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Winterlude Ice Sculpture to Honour 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Navy
OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Feb. 10, 2010) – The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of State (Agriculture) and Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer of the National Capital Commission, will honour the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy by illuminating a Navy-themed ice sculpture as part of Winterlude 2010.
Rear Admiral Nigel Greenwood, Assistant Chief of the Maritime Staff, will also attend the event.
The sculpture depicts the HMCS Sackville, Canada’s last remaining Flower-class corvette of the more than 120 built in Canada during the Second World War.
Location: “Rogers Crystal Garden”, Confederation Park (Laurier Avenue, across from City Hall), Ottawa, Ontario
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010
Time: 6:30 p.m.
This ceremony will be attended by Veterans and other guests of the Canadian Navy.
For more information, please contact:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Janice Summerby
Media Relations Advisor
Office: 613-992-7468
or
Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
Sophie Doucet
Press Secretary
Office: 613-992-3465
Cell: 613-608-3252
or
National Capital Commission
Kathryn Keyes
Senior Communications Advisor
Office: 613-239-5636
Cell: 613-859-9565
Fireworks, human chain for Haiti kick off frosty fun at Winterlude
TRACEY TONG
METRO OTTAWA
Between new features and old favourites, Winterlude had a “picture-perfect” start this weekend.
“We can truly say that the best of Canadian winters has converged in Canada’s capital,” said Guy Laflamme, vice-president of the Capital Experience, Communications and Marketing with the National Capital Commission.
The opening ceremonies on Friday night were a big success, with more than 25,000 people gathered at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and at Major’s Hill Park and Jacques-Cartier Park for the first-ever Winterlude fireworks display, Laflamme said.
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WINNERS OF THE 23RD ROGERS INTERNATIONAL ICE-CARVING COMPETITION
Over the first weekend of Winterlude, the National Capital Commission (NCC) hosted 38 professional carvers from 13 different countries at the Rogers Crystal Garden 23rd International Ice-Carving Competition, held in Confederation Park. This year, 12 carvers participated in the Singles Category, and 26 carvers participated in the Pairs Category. They each had 28 and 30 hours, respectively, to create their masterpieces.
The NCC is pleased to announce the winners of the 23rd Rogers International Ice-Carving Competition in the Singles and Pairs categories.
Singles Category
1st place: Junichi Nakamara (Japan), sculpture entitled Princess Coral
2nd place: Sebastien Sanchez (France), sculpture entitled Resurrection
3rd place: Gordon Matkun (Croatia), sculpture entitled Fire Fight
Media Choice Award: Junichi Nakamara (Japan), sculpture entitled Princess Coral
Pairs Category
1st place: Hiroaki Kimura and Masaki Takahashi (Japan), sculpture entitled Kimono
2nd place: Samuel Girault and Michal Mizula (France|Poland), sculpture entitled Human Illusion?
3rd place: Armando Baisas + Ross Baisas (Philippines), sculpture entitled Chimera
Media Choice Award: Samuel Girault and Michal Mizula (France|Poland), sculpture entitled Human Illusion?
NEW! VOTE ONLINE for the Best Winterlude Ice Carving Contest ¾ Rogers People’s Choice: Vote for your favourite sculpture for a chance to WIN a trip for two with WestJet. Visit Winterlude.gc.ca for more details. (contest open until Sunday, February 21, 4pm)
On Friday, February 5, carvers taking part in the Rogers One-Block Challenge transformed one block of ice into a sculpture inspired by the theme “Myths and Legends” in two hours. The winners of the Rogers One-Block Challenge at Confederation Park are:
1st place: Benjamin Rand (USA)
2nd place: Greg Butauski (USA)
3rd place: Ross Baisas (Philippines)
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.
