Ottawa is among the coldest capital cities in the world and we’re going to celebrate that.
The 41st annual Winterlude Festival begins Friday.
This year’s edition runs Feb. 1 to 18.
Event locations include Gatineau’s Jacques-Cartier Park, the Rideau Canal, the ByWard Market, Sparks Street, Downtown Rideau, the Glebe and more.
Mélanie Brault, with the Ministry of Canadian Heritage, tells CTV News there’s something for everyone.
“Jacques-Cartier Park is really a destination that’s really centered around families. There are lots of slides, lots of entertainment for kids, but also kids at heart,” she says. “But also there’s lots of other activities at our other destinations, like the ByWard Market, where we’re going to have our 32nd annual international ice carving competition.”
You can see a full calendar of events here.
The Ministry of Canadian Heritage says this year’s festival, in addition to the iconic annual winter activities and highlights, will showcase indigenous culture on the 1st weekend and LGBTQ2+ culture, history and pride on the 2nd weekend.
There will be road closures on the weekends and Friday evenings to accommodate various events:
Queen Elizabeth Driveway will remain open at the following locations to accommodate local traffic during the Winterlude festival.
Additional traffic congestion and parking restrictions will be in effect in the Byward Market during the Winterlude festival. Parking restrictions during Winterlude weekends are the following: