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.
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.
WINTERLUDE’S SUN LIFE SNOWFLAKE KINGDOM WELCOMES THE YOUNG AND THE YOUNG AT HEART
This morning, the National Capital Commission (NCC) and Ville de Gatineau, accompanied by special guests and Winterlude mascots, the Ice Hog family, officially opened Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom. Located in Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau, this enchanting site will welcome the young and the young at heart during Winterlude, from February 5 to 21, 2010.
“Gatineau is very happy to welcome the biggest snow playground on the continent. This year once again, thousands of visitors to Jacques-Cartier Park will get to shoot down some 30 giant slides and enjoy snow sculptures. Winterlude is the best family celebration of the winter, and an excellent opportunity for visitors to discover and appreciate our city,” declared Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau.
“In one week’s time, Canada will be hosting the Olympic Winter Games, and the NCC is proud to highlight this Canadian event in many of its Winterlude activities; visitors to Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom and Winterlude’s other official sites will be able to discover more about winter fun in Canada and about Olympic sports,” said Guy Laflamme, Vice-President, Capital Experience, Communications and Marketing of the NCC.
With gigantic snow slides and a huge snow maze dedicated to Olympic sports, Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom will truly be celebrating winter fun. Visitors will be amazed by the ski and snowboard trampoline show, featuring Canadian ski and snowboard athletes performing impressive aerial feats on the trampoline.
Visitors to Jacques-Cartier Park are also invited to stop in at Place Gatineau, a play area presented by the Ville de Gatineau, which offers a wide range of activities for the whole family, including kite flying, Arctic sports and snow volleyball.
Once again this year, visitors can try their luck at ice fishing, thanks to the collaboration of CREDDO (Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable de l’Outaouais). During the first weekend of Winterlude, young people aged 8 to 12 can participate in an introductory fishing workshop and, during the second and third Winterlude weekends, ice fishing will be open for all to try.
The National Snow Sculpture Competition, presented in collaboration with the Ville de Gatineau, is a favourite activity among visitors to Winterlude. Teams of sculptors representing Canada’s provinces and territories will take on the challenge of transforming giant blocks of snow (3.7 metres x 4.9 metres x 3.7 metres) into larger-than-life works of art, inspired by the theme “Winter Fun.” As of the second weekend of Winterlude, the public will be able to admire these amazing sculptures.
The Canadian Forces are proud to be participating in the Winterlude 2010 celebrations. Visitors to Jacques-Cartier Park will have an opportunity to meet members of the Canadian military and learn about what they do in different parts of the world and in Canada’s North. People can test their skills in the cold weather by participating in a 30-metre (100-foot) obstacle course requiring strength and coordination. Exhibit areas will be open to the public Fridays to Sundays, 10 am to 5 pm, during the three Winterlude weekends.
Knitting is back in style! Visitors can warm up at the Maison Charron and groove to the sounds of the DJ — while helping to create an original work of art that will be displayed in the Park. Urban Knitting will take place on Saturdays and Sundays, from noon to 4 pm.
Everyone is invited to join us for a memorable evening under the stars for the Sun Life Movie Nights. A series of winter-inspired, short animated films will be presented on a giant snow screen on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, starting at 6:30 pm. On Saturday, February 6, Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film La Guerre des tuques.
Visitors to Jacques-Cartier Park will also have an opportunity to meet the Ice Hog family, get one of their famous Ice Hog hugs and see the new show Topsy-Turvy (11:30 am and 1 pm), an acrobatic, circus-inspired show featuring Papa Ice Hog and the duo Circ-u-l’air at the Sun Life Stage. Other exciting shows will also be presented at the Sun Life Stage. During the first weekend, visitors will discover the unexpected and exceptional adventures of Arthur L’aventurier. (2:30 pm, 4 pm, French only show)
Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom will be open Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays, from 9 am to 8 pm (except Sunday, February 21, until 6 pm) and Fridays and Saturdays, from 9 am to 9 pm (except Friday, February 5, until 10 pm). During Quebec’s professional development day (Monday, February 8) and Ontario’s Family Day (Monday, February 15), the Park will be open from 9 am to 8 pm.
For more information about activities at Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom, 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 the Ville de Gatineau at 3-1-1. To find out more about programming for Winterlude 2010, visit the following websites: Winterlude.gc.ca or www.gatineau.ca/winterlude.
The NCC and the Ville de Gatineau are proud to be working together with Sun Life and First Air.
Enbridge Gas to host a free Winterlude pancake breakfast – Feb. 6
TORONTO, ONTARIO – (Marketwire – Feb. 1, 2010)
Enbridge Gas Distribution will host a free Winterlude pancake breakfast on Saturday, February 6, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The community is invited to come by for free pancakes and hot chocolate in the Festival Plaza at Ottawa City Hall, across from Confederation Park.
Enbridge is a long-time sponsor of Winterlude and has hosted the pancake breakfast for the past six years. The breakfast is one of the opening events to help kick off Canada’s winter celebration.
“Enbridge and its employees look forward to getting Winterlude off to a great start,” says Will Akkermans, General Manager, Enbridge Gas Distribution. “Participating in this annual tradition is one of the ways Enbridge proudly supports the communities that we serve.”
For more information go to www.enbridgegas.com.
[Originally posted at http://newsblaze.com/story/2010020107240200001.cc/topstory.html.]
27 Years of Winterlude Triathlon in Ottawa
By Devashish Paul
www.xtri.com
2/2/2010
The Winterlude Triathlon is one of Canada’s oldest multisport events. This Saturday Feb 6, 2010, it goes into its 27th year in Canada’s Capital, Ottawa, Ontario. Typically, and I say typically, because mother nature works in weird ways, the event is held in the following format:
• 8K mass start speed skate event on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa
• T1 on the ice and change into XC skis, with a race distance of 5-6K depending on the year
• T2, back on the ice and then run 5K with 4K of it on ice, and 1k on a path beside the Rideau Canal
Typically the top competitors are done in around 1 hour, so if you want to put it into the context of summer triathlon, it is more like a sprint triathlon, but requiring a unique mix of winter sporting skills. It is traditionally the kick off event for both the Winterlude Festival in Ottawa, which is essentially a 2 week long excuse to party in the depth of winter with a variety of events centered around snow and ice around the historic Rideau Canal.
For those who have been here to race the Canadian Irondistance and half irondistance events in September, the Winterlude tri uses some of the same “geography” smack in the middle of town along the Canal that Colby built in the 1800’s so that the capital could be connected through waterways down to the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes system….now it is used largely by boaters during three seasons and skaters in the winter.
While you might think “what does an event like this have anything to do with triathlon in the ‘traditional sense,’” think twice. As you know, Canada is not just famous for producing hockey players, but we have a long history of producing Triathlon Olympic medalists and Kona champions. It is funny how a nation that is largely covered by snow and ice for 4-5 months can produce champions in the heat of Kona, Sydney or Beijing. Chalk it up to some of the mental tenacity that comes with growing up under some pretty harsh weather circumstances, where we learn from an early age that you can’t let bad days get in the way of training. Heat, cold, wind, snow, ice…in the mind you use the same psychology to work with nature to achieve personal victories.
So back to the Winterlude tri, while we get our swims in at the pool, battle nature during our runs and are confined to the trainer for any form of riding, many of us get ready for the next triathlon season with a mix of the above, complimented by XC skiing, snowshoeing and speed skating. The sports offer great compliment to our triathlon preparation and best of all, another “racing season” to beat ourselves up over.
I raced the Winterlude triathlon for several years and it is truly one of the most fun days of my year. Sure as heck beats the inevitable shuffle with the 800 lbs gorilla around 16 miles into an Ironman run.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Race Director Rick Hellard recently who aside from running this race is an accomplished athlete of his own right with an 8:41 Ironman PB and a former member of the Canadian Elite triathlon team. Rick also has a thriving coaching business (www.zone3sports.com) that has helped athletes from across the region achieve PB’s from first time Ironman finishes to overall IM victories.
To read Dev’s interview with Rick Hellard, click here.
Winterlude kicks off at Museum of Civilization – Feb. 5
By Tony Lofaro
The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — The 32nd edition of Winterlude opens Friday night at the Canadian Museum of Civilization with a splash that includes, among other special effects, a musical fireworks show.
The opening events take place indoors and outside the museum beginning at 7 p.m.
The evening includes The National Parcs, three musicians and a VJ who use strong lyrics and visuals to promote positive environmental messages in their show Timbervision. As well, those attending will see The Mythical Creatures on Stilts showcase with larger-than-life animal characters on stilts, and Nite-Lite, an interactive installation by artist Alexandra Gonzalez-Vucina that borrows from the concept of Lite-Brite, the popular toy from the ’60s and ’70s.
Glacialis is an original performance piece by composer/percussionist Jesse Stewart who produces sounds from very unlikely sources. H2Orchestra features a hydraulophone, the world’s first and only water-based musical instrument which was invented by Canadian artist Steve Mann. Their performance will be in an outdoor bathtub.
Fireworks beginning at 8:50 p.m. will explode to musical accompaniment and can be viewed from the museum grounds, Major’s Hill Park or from Jacques Cartier Park. The fireworks soundtrack will be broadcast live on CHIN Radio, 97.9 FM.
After, DJ Misstress Barbara spins tunes outdoors in a giant bubble. Improvised dance moves to the music of DJ MIsstress Barbara will come from Thomas Clair, Rhonda Dextor, Driven Dance and Culture Shock. And inside the museum, Saltarello, a three-piece band from Rouyn-Noranda will perform instruments from different cultures.
Over at Major’s Hill Park, the Flying Canucks will showcase their freestyle ski and snowboard skills with extreme sports demonstrations. Jacques Cartier Park will also be the scene for the Tethered Hot Air Balloon that lights up and presentations of winter-inspired, short animated films will be screened on a giant snow screen.
To read the full article, click here.
Olympic fever infects Winterlude
Kyle Grant, Centretown Online News
Winterlude is catching Olympic fever this year, as Ottawa’s winter festival – inspired by the 2010 Games taking place in Vancouver at the same time – will feature a snow-and-ice sports theme and a special night devoted to cheering a local speedskater in her quest for gold.
But there will also be a sombre aspect to Winterlude, which begins Feb. 5, as skaters along the canal will be encouraged to make donations to a relief fund for victims of the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.
The National Capital Commission announced the official lineup of Winterlude activities at a press conference in Confederation Park on Jan. 19.
To read the full article and see a summary of Winterlude events: Olympic fever infects Winterlude
SHARE YOUR PHOTO MEMORIES OF THE RIDEAU CANAL SKATEWAY WITH THE NCC
To highlight the 40th skating season of the Rideau Canal Skateway, the National Capital Commission (NCC) invites all Canadians to share with us your best memories of skating on the Rideau Canal since 1971. The NCC is looking for images that represent the best the Rideau Canal Skateway has to offer for both residents and visitors to Canada’s Capital Region.
Whether they are postcard-like or family snapshots, black and white or colour, please send in your photos in .jpg, .gif or .bmp formats and no larger than 3 MB in file size, along with your name and the date the picture was taken, by visiting www.canadascapital.gc.ca/skateway. These photos will be displayed as a slide show on the NCC’s Web site at www.canadascapital.gc.ca/skateway or on big screens at Rideau Canal Skateway / Winterlude events.
For more information about the Rideau Canal Skateway, contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 1-800-465-1867 or visit www.canadascapital.gc.ca/skateway. Throughout the season, recorded information about skating conditions can be obtained by calling 613-239-5234 (24 hour recording). TTY (text telephone for the hearing impaired) is available at 613-239-5090 or toll-free at 1-866-661-3530.
Winterlude to raise money for Haiti
By JUSTIN SADLER, Ottawa Sun
As the National Capital Commission announced the lineup of Winterlude events Tuesday, CEO Marie Lemay said the commission would raise money for the aid effort in Haiti during the first weekend of the festival.”We’re very pleased to be able to do this.” Lemay said.
Lemay said the NCC would also be calculating the festival’s carbon footprint in an effort to make the event carbon neutral by 2012.
Winterlude highlights for 2010 include performances by H2Orchestra, a group that uses a water-based musical instrument called a hydraulophone; Glacialis, who will play music using instruments made of ice; and First Nations dancers.
Gatineau Coun. Joseph De Sylva said he is excited to see families take advantage of the biggest playground in the world at Jacques-Cartier Park.
He also expects the winter festivities to give the Gatineau economy a significant boost.
“It brings in up to $10 million just in Gatineau,” De Sylva said. “It’s good for all the hotels, restaurants, and businesses in Gatineau.”
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Georges Bedard said the economic benefits are also huge for Ottawa.
“Obviously it brings in tourists and it’s extremely important for our economic development to have as many tourists as possible,” he said.
To read the full article, click here.
