Winterlude Facts for Kids

For other uses, see Winterlude (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids Winterlude
An ice sculpture bearing the Winterlude logo.
Genre	Winter festival
Begins	January 31, 2025 (2025-01-31)
Ends	February 17, 2025 (2025-02-17)
Frequency	Annually
Venue	Confederation Park Jacques Cartier Park Rideau Canal Skateway
Location(s)	Ottawa, Ontario Gatineau, Quebec
Country	Canada
Inaugurated	1979 (1979)
Previous event	February 2 - 19, 2024
Next event	January 31 - February 17, 2025
Organised by	Canadian Heritage

People ice skating on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, January 2005.

Winterlude is a super fun annual winter festival. It takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec. These two cities are together known as Canada's National Capital Region.

The Department of Canadian Heritage organizes Winterlude. It first started way back in 1979. This festival is one of Ottawa's biggest attractions. It brings hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. In 2007, Winterlude had a record 1.6 million visits. That record still stands today! BizBash, a big event company, has even called Winterlude one of the top 100 yearly attractions in Canada and the United States.

What to Do at Winterlude
- Cool Places to Visit
- Exciting Races and Challenges
How Long Does Winterlude Last?
Images for kids
See also

What to Do at Winterlude

Cool Places to Visit

The most famous part of Winterlude is the Rideau Canal Skateway. It is 7.8 kilometers (about 5 miles) long. This makes it the largest skating rink in the entire world!

Another main spot is the Snowflake Kingdom. You can find it in Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau. This park turns into a huge "snow park." It has awesome ice slides and amazing snow sculptures. Many events and activities for kids also happen here.

Confederation Park is also known as Crystal Garden. This is where you can see the ice sculpture competition. There is also an ice lounge and live music concerts. Marion Dewar Plaza, right by City Hall, has the Rink of Dreams. This ice-skating rink hosts skating shows and DJ dance parties. You can also see cool interactive art displays there. Dow's Lake also offers a large skating area. It hosts many different activities too.

Other fun things to do include special exhibits at Ottawa's museums. There are also unique events in the ByWard Market and on Sparks Street. Many other activities happen all over the city.

The festival has special mascots called "Ice Hogs." They are fictional creatures that look like groundhogs. The story says they appeared during the last Ice Age. They came from a magical ice vortex. The Ice Hogs add a touch of magic to Winterlude. Everyone, young and old, loves them and the winter season.

Exciting Races and Challenges

Several exciting races happen during Winterlude. The Gatineau Loppet started in 1979. It is a famous cross-country ski race. It takes place in Gatineau Park. This event also has snowshoe and Fatbike races.

Since 1984, the Winterlude Triathlon has been part of the festival. This winter triathlon has changed its format and location many times. Currently, the race includes an 8 km skate across the Rideau Canal. Then there is a 5 km run along Colonel By Drive. Finally, a 6 km ski happens at Mooney's Bay Park. Other fun races include "bed racing" and "ice dragon boat" racing.

How Long Does Winterlude Last?

Winterlude usually lasts for three weekends. It typically happens in February. The festival often ends on Family Day, which is a Monday.

During the weekdays between the weekends, there are fewer events. This means the skating rink is less crowded. The ice conditions are also perfect. Only about a thousand skaters might be there. On weekends, many more people visit. The places to change skates and food kiosks stay open during the weekdays.

Ottawa's weather can be tricky. Warm temperatures sometimes affect Winterlude. Mild weather is not good for the Canal ice. The ice needs to be around -10 °C (14 °F) to freeze properly. So, how long the skating season lasts can change a lot. Most events are usually fine, even if ice and snow sculptures melt a bit early.

The Rideau Canal is open for skating for about 50 days on average. But this can vary a lot. In the 2001–2002 season, it was open for only 34 days. This was a record low at the time. But the very next season, 2002–2003, it was open for 72 days! The longest skating season ever was 95 days in 1971–1972. The shortest was just 18 days in 2015–2016.