Celebrating winter in Ottawa on the last weekend of Winterlude

Kicking off the long weekend by snowtubing down the superslide at Snowflake Kingdom was a trip down memory lane for Karen Lee.

“I’ve been when I was a kid,” she said.

Lee travelled from Toronto for the final weekend of Winterlude, now in its 45th season, bringing her young family in tow.

“We wanted to bring the kids to experience it for the first time,” said Lee.

It's the first in-person Winterlude since the start of the pandemic and from games to ice sculptures and interactive art installations, there was plenty to do for the month of February.

“People are out people are experiencing Winterlude, it's about celebrating the joys of our Canadian winter whatever Mother Nature sort of throws at us,” said Melanie Brault, the director of Capital Celebrations with Canadian Heritage.

And Mother Nature threw plenty. An arctic blast delayed the start of the opening and then extraordinarily mild temperatures meant the city’s biggest attraction at Winterlude, the Rideau Canal Skateway, did not open.

“The thing I wanted to do was skate on it, I have brand new skates too,” said Luella Carpenter who came from Kitchener with older brother Tommy.

“I was upset about it not freezing,” he said.

But even without the canal, those experiencing the final days of Winterlude are taking it all in stride.

“I think we'll check out the museums and check out Sparks Street,” said Lee. “We’ll be back for Rideau Canal again one day.”