Winterlude begins in some new locations
The capital's annual celebration of winter is under way, as organizers put an urban spin on the 41-year-old tradition.
Winterlude runs February 1-18 at an assortment of venues around Ottawa and Gatineau, including new locations like the ByWard Market and Sparks Street.
Tonight's opening festivies include the first edition of the SubZero Electro DJ Nights in the ByWard Market, featuring rapper KHAOS.
Advertisement
“That also will be held at the ByWard Market, so we'll have a host of different artists that will be performing,” said Melanie Brault, director of capital celebrations and program operations, Canadian Heritage. “On Saturday it's going to be an event presented by the French Embassy in Canada…and they've got some great DJs lined up for getting everybody moving in the cold.”
The Crystal Garden and the ice sculptures — usually in Confederation Park — also move to the ByWard Market this year. The Snowflake Kingdom stays put in Jacques Cartier Park, where there will also be indoor activities centred on Indigenous food and culture.
“There's lots of new activities that are planned around some of our key themes around cultural and artistic diversity,” said Brault. “There'll be a lot of programming around Indigenous culture and also with the LGBTQ2+ community.”
A full schedule of Winterlude events is on Canadian Heritage's website.
Winterlude runs February 1-18.
