Final weekend of March Break in Ottawa brings families outside

March Break is wrapping up for thousands of students across the province as the annual holiday marked the first break in three years without pandemic restrictions.

The spring-like weather meant many spent Saturday outside in the nation’s capital.

Centretown hosted a festival called Fire and Ice.

“It was good for the family to come out and enjoy the special meaning of what frozen ice and fire is all about,” said Roger Loyer, who is involved in the festival. “Kind of give people a chance to have fun and get into the colours of its purpose and reason.”

Many families were enjoying the outdoor exhibits.

“It’s really fun with the kids, getting to spend time with them and it brings back memories from when we had March Break,” said Shehzad Ismail, an Ottawa resident.

Young ones took time to create wood centrepieces at the event to put on display.

“It’s going really great, I have both of my children here and we are really looking forward to what Ottawa has for this festival because it’s our first time,” said Ruth Gostaw, who was at the festival with her two young kids.

As students took a break from their studies, Ottawa became a destination for those who were visiting out of province or town.

“We have had kind of a weird winter with the weather and we haven’t been able to go out skating so this is our first time downtown this year, it’s great,” said Mario Lambert, a parent of two.

Some city skating rinks, like the Rink of Dreams, remained open despite the warmer weather.