NCC diversifies Winterlude, making it less dependent on cold weather
Mark Brownlee, The Ottawa Citizen
Photo courtesy Ottawa Citizen, by Pat McGrath
Unpredictable February weather will force Winterlude to focus less on its winter theme in the years to come, organizers say of the festival that has traditionally drawn tourists by celebrating Canada’s cold climate.
Fluctuating temperatures have wreaked havoc on the event in the past few years. Temperatures went as high as 10 C on the Friday before the last weekend of the 2011 edition, forcing organizers to change some marquee events such as the ice sculpture competition and to temporarily close the Rideau Canal to skating.
The event’s organizer, the federally-funded National Capital Commission, has already moved to diversify its lineup from such traditional winter-themed activities to those not dependent on weather. This year’s events include a jazz festival in Confederation Park and a beer and ice wine festival in Gatineau.
Full story on the Ottawa Citizen Website: NCC diversifies Winterlude, making it less dependent on cold weather
Winterlude 2012 will remember the War of 1812
Alicja Siekierska, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — Feb. 3 will mark the start of Winterlude 2012, the 34th edition the city’s popular three-week long winter festival.
The National Capital Commission unveiled new details about the annual winter extravaganza Tuesday, which will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 as well as the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Coast Guard. There will be various activities honouring the anniversaries throughout the festival.
The NCC will work with more than 50 programming partners — more than ever before — to bring a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities to the event.
NCC CEO Marie Lemay says the increase in partnerships will not only make for a “bigger and better” Winterlude, but it will also bring more community involvement.
“We want the community to take ownership so it’s not just the NCC’s Winterlude,” says Lemay. “Community groups have really taken part in it, building it and taking ownership of it. So it’s everybody’s Winterlude.”
One of the new partners is the Ottawa Jazz Festival, which will launch the first annual Winter Jazz Festival with a series of concerts Feb. 2 to 4, most at the NAC’s Fourth Stage.
Read more on the Ottawa Citizen website: Winterlude 2012 will remember the War of 1812
Residents, visitors enjoy last days of Winterlude
By Bruce Deachman, The Ottawa Citizen
Photo Courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen
After a premature and, many might say, all-too-brief dalliance with springtime, Ottawa got back to the cold, hard business at hand — winter — Sunday, as thousands of people donned balaclavas, long johns and extra socks and ventured outside to take part in Winterlude before it closes for yet another year on Monday. An obliging Mother Nature pushed the mercury down from Friday’s high of 11 to a more bracing -15 (take away nine more to feed the windchill), allowing the NCC to reopen Jacques-Cartier Park and a large stretch of the Rideau Canal Skateway for the second-to-final day of the popular festival.
At Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau, the numerous perennial ice slides remained the chief attraction, although there was no shortage of goings-on to keep even the most hyperactive occupied. As tots built small, precarious houses from brightly coloured blocks of snow and ice, older kids roasted marshmallows over a wood fire or climbed, and ultimately fell off, various play structures. One youngster, eager for a hug from something large, warm and furry, twice approached one of the Winterlude mascots — they’re called Ice Hogs, but closer resemble bloated chipmunks — but each time turned away screaming for her mother. Others tried their hands — or feet, rather — at snowshoeing, while still more, such as nine-year-old Nicholas Cox, on his fourth visit to a Winterlude venue, attempted to scale a rock wall.
Full story on the Ottawa Citizen website: Residents, visitors enjoy last days of Winterlude
Winterlude: Japan/Canada duo create winning ice carving
Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Photograph by: Pat McGrath, The Ottawa Citizen
A duo from Japan and Canada took top honours at Winterlude’s annual international ice-carving competition.
Junichi Yakamura of Japan and Hideshi Terada of Canada won first prize for their piece, Life in the Balance. It features a school of tropical fish rising out of an intricately-sculpted sea.
Full story: Japan/Canada duo create winning ice carving
32ND WINTERLUDE A RESOUNDING SUCCESS: Winter Fun Brings Out The Crowds
The National Capital Commission (NCC) is pleased to announce that the 32nd Winterlude, Canada’s winter celebration, was a resounding success. Although no official survey was conducted this year, organizers estimate that over 600,000 visitors enjoyed the official sites over the three weekends of Winterlude, which took place from February 5 to 21, 2010.
“Winterlude offers residents and visitors from around the world a chance to enjoy a Northern experience that is typically Canadian. The NCC is proud to contribute to promoting Canada’s Capital Region across Canada and around the world,” said Jean François Trépanier, Executive Vice-President of Operations at the NCC, during the Ice Hogs’ farewell, Winterlude’s closing ceremony.
Winterlude 2010 highlighted the 40th season of skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway, the Olympic Winter Games and Canada’s solidarity with Haiti, through a special project with the Red Cross.
American Express® Winterlude Opening
The American Express® Winterlude Opening at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and Major’s Hill Park was a great success. More than 25,000 people attended the sports and cultural performances and watched the fantastic musical fireworks display.
The NCC is increasingly seeking federal partnerships to offer diversified cultural programming that highlights the treasures of the Capital Region’s federal institutions. The successful partnership with the Canadian Museum of Civilization demonstrated the potential of this approach.
Rideau Canal Skateway
The Rideau Canal Skateway, the world’s largest naturally frozen ice rink, was open from the National Arts Centre to Dows Lake, during all three Winterlude weekends. The quality of the ice surface allowed events and activities to take place along the full length of the Skateway. Today marks the 23rd day of consecutive skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway and the 40th season will continue while conditions allow.
An initiative that engaged youth, Urban Art, an exhibit expressing young local artists’ vision of the Rideau Canal Skateway through graffiti, drew large crowds to the outdoor gallery at Dows Lake. These works will remain on display throughout the entire skating season.
Winterlude visitors had many opportunities to enjoy winter fun and become more acquainted with Canadian traditions during activities such as the Great Canadian Beaver Cup Pond Hockey Classic, the Annual Bedzzz Bed Race, Subway® Learn to Skate lessons, and the Portrait Gallery of Canada’s exhibition of the portraits of Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Rogers Crystal Garden at Confederation Park
Rogers Crystal Garden enchanted the thousands of visitors and those who love ice sculptures, during the three weekends of Winterlude.
The 23rd Rogers International Ice-Carving Competition, with 38 professional sculptors from 13 countries, included several competitions that took place in Confederation Park. Visitors could also take in a majestic sculpture celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy, an ice replica of HMCS Sackville, as well as the impressive six-tonne ephemeral ice sculpture of a polar bear.
Rogers Crystal Lounge was also the place to be for those who enjoy DJ music. The performance by well-known DJ Dan Desnoyers attracted a large crowd.
Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom
Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau was a paradise for children, youth and families. Thousands of visitors slid down the 30 slides, made their way through the Olympic-themed snow maze and tried their hand at ice fishing on the Ottawa River.
The NCC, in collaboration with the Ville de Gatineau, presented the National Snow Sculpture Competition, the theme of which was “Winter Fun.” The 10 teams, representing various Canadian provinces and territories, each had the task of carving a 40-tonne block of snow. The sculpture entitled Snow Skates, created by the team from Alberta received top honours, winning both the Jury’s Award and the People’s Choice Award.
Several performances, such as “Arthur L’aventurier,” also captured the attention of visitors to Snowflake Kingdom. The screening of the Québécois film La Guerre des tuques, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, was very popular, as were the walkabouts by the Ice Hog family, Winterlude’s famous mascots.
The NCC is proud of Winterlude’s success, and of the successful skating season on the Rideau Canal Skateway. The NCC gratefully acknowledges the support and collaboration of some 700 volunteers, and its many sponsors and partners, including the City of Ottawa, the Ville de Gatineau, OC Transpo, the Société de transport de l’Outaouais, Veterans Affairs Canada, the Government of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Canadian Forces, the Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable, American Express®, Rogers, Sun Life Financial and WestJet.
The NCC is inviting the public to mark their calendars for the 33rd edition of Winterlude that will take place from February 4 to 20, 2011.
For more information about the NCC, please call 613-239-5000, 613-239-5090 (TTY), 1-800-465-1867 (toll-free) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY), or visit www.canadascapital.gc.ca.
Final weekend of Winterlude
The National Capital Commission (NCC) is pleased to invite residents and visitors to take part in the third and final weekend of the 32nd edition of Winterlude.
The National Capital Commission (NCC) is pleased to invite residents and visitors to take part in the third and final weekend of the 32nd edition of Winterlude, Canada’s winter celebration, which kicked-off on February 5 and ends on February 21. Here is an overview of some of the activities taking place during the final weekend of Winterlude.
The NCC is proud to celebrate the Olympics during the 32nd edition of Winterlude. On Sunday, The NCC, in collaboration with the Ottawa Pacers and Gloucester Concordes Speed Skating Clubs, will stage speed skating demonstrations on an Olympic-size skating oval on the Rideau Canal Skateway at Dows Lake. The event gets underway at 2 pm with demonstrations of individual and pursuit skating, followed by a battle of the blades between Ottawa Senators Alumni and local competitive speed skaters. From 3 pm to 4 pm there will be public skating on the oval, with speed skates and gloves available for use from 4 pm to 5:30 pm. A radar system will be set up to record skaters’ speeds. Beginning at 5 pm, residents and visitors will be able to view live coverage from Vancouver of the 1500 metre Olympic speed skating competition on a giant screen. The competition features the Capital’s own Kristina Groves.
Again this weekend, residents and visitors will be able to learn about Canadian northern traditions, and be entertained at three official sites in Canada’s Capital Region.
To read the full press release, click here.
Winterlude sculptors wow crowd with 40-tonne skates
By Stacy O’Brien – Red Deer Advocate
A monumental pair of hockey skates — nearly five metres high — by two Central Albertan artists won top prize at the Winterlude National Snow Sculpture Competition in Gatineau, Que., this past weekend.
The sculpture, titled Snow Skates, was the work of snow sculptors Brian McArthur of Red Deer, Michael Decaire of Mirror and Eric Burton of Edmonton.
The teams worked with a 40-tonne block of snow close to five metres high, more than three metres deep and more than three metres wide. Starting on Feb. 9 and working until Feb. 13, the three men sculpted the snow for up to 12 hours each day, putting in 55 hours altogether to finish the artwork on time.
The artists roughed out the design using shovels then used carving tools and scraping tools known as rasps, working from the top of the project down to the ground, to create the unique design.
“It’s really physically demanding,” said Decaire, who has made furniture for more than 30 years, with his business Michael Decaire Fine Furniture. “It’s snow and you think it’s soft and it’s easy to move around. But it’s almost like you’re shovelling your driveway for four and a half days.”
McArthur said they got the idea to make the world’s largest pair of skates to go with the Rideau Canal, which is often called “the world’s largest skating rink”. The theme for this year’s Winterlude was Winter Play, with the mandate to promote winter activities, so the skates were a perfect fit.
“Snow Skates”
To read the full article, click here.
Winterlude is good for Byward business
For 500 businesses and 250 storefronts in the ByWard Market, Winterlude provides a shot in the arm for what would normally be a slower time of year.
Thanks to the influx of tourists that are brought in by the Winterlude festivities and the opening of the Rideau Canal Skateway, businesses in the market see a really important spike, said Jasna Jennings, executive director of the ByWard Market Business Improvement Area.
Winterlude is typically one of those busy times of year that the businesses look to make their year, said Jennings.
Nearly all the hotels in the market and surrounding area are completely sold out of rooms during the event, said Jantine Van Kregten, director of communications for Ottawa Tourism. The Chateau Laurier has been sold out for a while, the Westin is full, the Marriott is full, the Lord Elgin is full.
According to the National Capital Commission, 650,000 people attend Winterlude annually, one-third of which are from out of town.
To read the full article, click here.
WINTERLUDE FLASH MOB SUPPORTS CANADIAN OLYMPIC ATHLETES
The National Capital Commission (NCC) produced its first-ever flash mob this past Sunday at Dows Lake on the Rideau Canal Skateway as part of Winterlude, Canada’s winter celebration.
The event and the resulting video demonstrates Canada’s Capital Region’s enthusiasm and support of Canadian Olympic athletes who will be giving their all at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
This video is available on the NCC’s website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca/flashmob.
The NCC wishes to thank the more than one hundred residents and visitors who participated in this unique event. Special thanks also goes out to the Ottawa Valley Curling Association, the Ottawa Pacers and the Gloucester Concordes Speed Skating Clubs and canal skaters who joined in the event.
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.
To read the full article, click here.
