Winterlude Second Weekend Highlights

Canadian sport, comedy, and fashion shine during the second week of exciting activities

OTTAWA, Feb. 5, 2014 /CNW/ - The second week of the 36^th Winterlude, the Capital's winter celebration, promises to be an exciting one. Winterlude continues in Canada's Capital Region until February 17, 2014.

Here is a sampling of some of the activities taking place during the second week of Winterlude.

Crystal Garden in Confederation Park

This Thursday, February 6 at 6:30 p.m., Veterans Affairs Canada will illuminate a unique ice sculpture to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. Visitors to Crystal Garden can marvel at this impressive sculpture made from one hundred blocks of ice.

As our Canadian athletes get set to compete at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, visitors to Winterlude can join an outdoor viewing of the Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 7, beginning at 10:30 a.m.

On Saturday, February 8, professional ice carvers face off in an ice-carving championship and students from local high schools will create colourful ice mosaics as part of Kaleidoscope.

Later that evening, Canadian comedic sensation Rick Mercer and his hilarious friend Patrick McKenna bring stand-up comedy with a message to Winterlude with the Stand-Up to Bullying Comedy Hour beginning at 7 p.m. This special event to bring awareness and support to local youth mental health initiatives is presented by the Cracking up the Capital Comedy Festival and leads into the Winterblast DJ Dance Party, a youth celebration with electro hip-hop group Ain't No Love!

On Sunday, February 9, visitors will learn the secrets of ice carving and how carvers use their tools to create a work of art from a block of ice.

Members of the public will have an opportunity to create their own ice carvings with the help of professionals during the Public Ice-Carving Challenge on Sunday, February 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Registration required, participants must be at least 18 years of age.)

What's more, visitors to Crystal Garden will have the opportunity to:

• enjoy the crystalline masterpieces created at the 27th Crystal Garden International Ice-Carving Competition during the first weekend of Winterlude
• visit the public art exhibition "Winter Memories" and discover Canadian artists' interpretations of winter
• take in a beautiful work of ice art to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Mexico
• explore the Arctic through a unique photo exhibit that features the work of scientists in Canada's Great North
• meet the Kettle Boys for some "olde time" fun
• learn about ephemeral art and create their own sculpture, or participate in making an ice mosaic sculpture
• experience Memories of Ice, an original work for the reactable, the cutting-edge digital music instrument
• see the United Buddy Bears Ice Sculpture, highlighting the unity and friendship between Canada and Germany
• journey through Canada's vast Arctic in the footsteps of a Norwegian explorer, documented in a stunning photo exhibit
• warm up with Cool Moves, featuring dances and acrobatic stunts
• discover Crystal Garden at night as it transforms into a massive snowy dance floor for the Sub-Zero DJ Nights

The Winterlude fun continues across the street at Ottawa City Hall all weekend with:

• Enbridge "Energy on Ice" skating performances on the Rink of Dreams, Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
• a showcase of Ottawa's wintry past at the Ottawa Museum Zone

Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques-Cartier Park, Gatineau

Presented by Canadian Heritage and the Ville de Gatineau, Snowflake Kingdom is North America's biggest snow playground. It is the ideal destination for the young and the young at heart. This family-friendly paradise features giant snow slides and an outdoor amphitheatre.

On Winterlude's second weekend, visitors will have the chance to:

• meet the Ice Hog family, Winterlude's official mascots, and get one of their famous hugs
  
• hold an official torch from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and take a seat in a bobsleigh for a unique photo opportunity
  
• play broomball, a winter sport that originated in Canada
  
• experience downhill skiing with qualified instructors and learn important tips for the slopes from the Canadian Ski Patrol
  
• visit the Aboriginal Village and interactive exhibit "Winter Camp Life," featuring a display of tools for survival in the wintertime and a winter game called "snowsnake"
  
• join a bundles' race like a voyageur from the past in the Parks Canada Zone
  
• live the adventure of the Aboriginal trappers, French-Canadian coureurs des bois, and European merchants of the fur-trade era at Maison Charron
  
• check out the young talent spinning at Blizzard: A DJ Battle, with special guest DJ Lady B
  
• see graffiti art at its best
  
• test their physical fitness in the Canadian Forces Winter Obstacle Course
  
• laugh and dance along with talented performers at the Snowflake Stage
  
• try a kicksled, the outdoor activity that millions of Scandinavians love
  
• build a snow lantern and when the sun sets, discover the park at night
  
• visit the XTREME Zone, where they can try a zip line, bungee trampoline, pedal go-karts on snow, and a giant maze

The Rideau Canal Skateway

The Rideau Canal Skateway, the world's largest skating rink, is centre stage for many activities during Winterlude's second weekend.

Beginning Friday, teams from across Canada will compete in the 6th annual Beaver Cup Pond Hockey Championship at Dows Lake.

Visitors to the Skateway will also have the opportunity to test their skills at the Giant Tiger Interactive Hockey Zone, move their muscles at the GoodLife Fitness Zone, or warm up with hot apple cider and play the OLG Sno-Bus Snowball Toss game at the OLG Sno-Bus Station at Fifth Avenue.

This fantastic 7.8-kilometre ice surface, which opened for its 44^th season on December 31, 2013, offers families and fun-seekers a wide variety of services, including food concessions, skate and sleigh rentals, skate sharpening, rest areas, and boot check services.

Programming Partners

For the 36^th Winterlude, more than 90 programming partners, from Ottawa and Gatineau's private and public sectors, have come together to offer visitors a wide-range of indoor and outdoor activities aimed at animating the Capital like never before.

Here is just a sampling of what is taking place on the second weekend of Winterlude:

• The Cracking Up the Capital Comedy Festival doles out jokes at a variety of shows, including Laugh Out Loud, the Youth Improv Games, Women in Comedy, and the Festival Finale
  
• Ottawa Fashion Week hits the runway at the Hilton Lac-Leamy and celebrates winter haute couture with Project Mirari at the Canadian Museum of History
  
• the National Arts Centre Orchestra presents Parker Plays Mendelssohn and Peter and the Wolf
  
• Shenkman Arts Centre is the place to hear The Goodluck Assembly and Kaïn perform, or to take part in the Fête Frissons winter carnival
  
• The Ski and Snowboard Rail Jam Competition hits the Glebe
  
• the 5-km Yeti Challenge: Winter Obstacle Race is on the slopes at Ski Edelweiss
  
• the theatrical and musical piece Le Chant de Sainte Carmen de la Main takes the stage at Maison de la culture de Gatineau
  
• visitors can Warm-up on Wellington West and see five unique and eclectic art galleries during First Thursdays Art Walk
  
• the sounds of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra: Bella Napoli fill the air at Dominion-Chalmers United Church
  
• the Enriched Bread Artists warm body and soul with Icing-d-icing special art events
  
• the Chinatown Lunar New Year Lion Dance Parade brings good fortune on Somerset Street
  
• Downtown Rideau CHILL FACTOR continues with Resolution 2014, a showcase of Ottawa's vibrant filmmaking scene at the ByTowne Cinema, plus Ice Sculptors at work and Snow Much Fun at the Bytown Museum
  
• an array of culinary experiences are served up such as the Tuscan Winter Evening at Burnt Butter Italian Kitchen, An Evening by the Fireplace at the Clos Baillie Vineyard, the 23rd annual ByWard Market Stew Cook-Off, a guided Chocolate Lovers Tour, and a Cassoulet Dinner with Beer Tasting at Les Brasseurs du Temps.

Associated Links
Follow Winterlude on Twitter @Winterlude #Winterlude and on Facebook.

For more information about Winterlude, 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.winterlude.gc.ca.

SOURCE: Canadian Heritage

Contacts

Marisa Monnin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage
and Official Languages
819-997-7788

Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
[email protected]