The OTTAWA sign as snow falls in downtown Ottawa. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa)
While the cost of groceries, property taxes and home ownership keeps rising, there are things you can do in Ottawa this winter without breaking the bank.
You can visit Winterlude in Ottawa and Gatineau, go cross-country skiing for free at several trails in Ottawa or tour the Parliament buildings.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at nine things you can do for free in Ottawa this winter.
Winterlude
Experience the best of Canadian winter at Winterlude.
The popular winter festival in Ottawa and Gatineau includes a number of free events on Sparks Street, the Snowflake Kingdom at Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau and in the ByWard Market.
Winter Pride is set for the weekend of Feb. 10 to 12.
The Winterlude National Ice-Carving Championship kicked off on Sparks Street Saturday morning. The competition was delayed one day due to the cold temperatures. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
Rideau Hall Winter Celebration
The public is invited to Rideau Hall on Feb. 11 for the Winter Celebration.
Activities include:
Eisstock – a traditional Alpine winter sport similar to curling
Giant Skis
Indigenous Activities - activities that reflect the diversity of Indigenous communities through traditional music, dance and various workshops
Korean traditional games
Nunavut traditions - Rideau Hall says students from Nunavut Sivuniksavut will share their Inuit culture and language through drumming, dancing, throat singing, Inukshuk building and other winter activities
You can skate for free at Ottawa's four refrigerated outdoor skating rinks.
The Rink of Dreams at Ottawa City Hall is open daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (weather permitting).
Lansdowne Park skating court is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (weather permitting).
The Jim Tubman Chevrolet Rink (Canterbury) is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (weather permitting).
Ben Franklin Place Skating Rink (101 Centrepointe Drive) Open daily (weather permitting).
Cross-country skiing
You can cross-country ski for free at the following areas, but donations are encouraged.
Canadian War Museum – Admission is free on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., but a timed ticket is required.
Canadian Museum of History Admission is free on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., but a timed ticket is required.
National Gallery of Canada – Free admission every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. You must book your ticket in advance.
KIDS EAT FREE
Children can eat for free at several restaurants in Ottawa.
Zak's Diner – Kids 10 and under eat free Sunday to Thursday (holidays excluded) from 4 p.m. to close, with the purchase of one adult meal and beverage. Offer available at the Zak's Diner locations in the ByWard Market, on Elgin Street and in Kanata. Visit the restaurant's website for details.
Jonny Canuck's – Kids eat free on Sundays between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. For more information, visit the restaurant's website.
Mandarin Restaurant – Kids aged 4 and under eat free from the buffet (up to two kids per paid adult)
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
The increase in excise duties on all alcoholic products is being temporarily capped at two per cent starting next month instead of a planned six per cent increase.
The federal budget shows the government's proposed dental-care insurance program will cost more than double what the Liberals originally thought, driving it up by another $7.3 billion over five years.
Tucked into the 2023 federal budget unveiled on Tuesday in Ottawa, the Liberals have announced plans to explore implementing a standard charging port across Canada, in an effort to save Canadians some money and reduce waste.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government plans to launch a National Counter-Foreign Interference Office, amid ongoing scrutiny of allegations that Beijing interfered in recent federal elections.
In the wake of another deadly mass shooting in America, that saw children as young as nine years old shot and killed, the gun control debate is going nowhere, writes CTV News political analyst Eric Ham.
Another American community is reeling after a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville. These are the three children and three adults whose lives were taken by the shooter.
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
Almost three years after a man disguised as a Mountie started murdering people in Portapique, N.S., on the night of April 18, 2020, the senior RCMP officers and staff involved in the tragic case have all either retired or moved into new jobs.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
New Brunswickers suffering from a mystery neurological disorder are calling for an investigation into potential environmental causes of the health problems they've been living with for more than two years.
The man who killed a 16-year-old boy remembered as an avid adventurer has been wanted on an arrest warrant issued in a Newfoundland courtroom for nearly two years.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
A Toronto man is wanted for a February incident in which he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman he followed off public transit before taking her phone and sexually assaulted her again, police say.
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while performing an arrest in Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec (SQ) has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years. She was assigned to the post of the MRC de Maskinonge. Another officer was injured during the incident, but their life is not in danger.
Montreal police say they have identified two more victims found in the rubble of a fire in Old Montreal 12 days ago. Charlie Lacroix and Walid Belkahla, both 18, are the sixth and seventh victims of the fire.
A 22-year-old McGill student who suffers from a terminal disease could soon lose access to the medication she needs because she's graduating from university.
The driver of a pickup truck, a 47-year-old woman, has died after a crash with a tanker on MR55 in the Greater Sudbury community of Lively on Tuesday morning, police say.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
A London toddler is fortunate to have avoided serious injury after a giant cinderblock came through her bedroom window in the middle of the night. Around 4 a.m. on March 26, Riiver was sleeping with her head right under the front window of her home on Emerson Avenue.
London fire crews are currently tackling a ‘large grass fire and working barn fire’ in the southeast section of the city Tuesday afternoon and are asking the public to avoid the area.
OPP are investigating after discovering a child who was vital signs absent in West Elgin on Monday. According to police, no foul play is suspected in the child’s death.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
A Saskatoon couple says they felt ignored by police after their five-year-old foster son was attacked by a dog outside the Meadowgreen Confectionary on March 22.
The Pizza Hut employee who was shot at his workplace earlier this month is on the long road to recovery, his sister has confirmed Tuesday to CTV News Edmonton.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Authorities are asking witnesses to come forward after security at Simon Fraser University discovered the head of the school's Mahatma Gandhi bust had been removed.
Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said the city will more than likely continue to follow Health Canada guidelines when it comes to asbestos cement pipes (ACP) that carry drinking water to residents’ homes.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The OTTAWA sign as snow falls in downtown Ottawa. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa)
The Winterlude National Ice-Carving Championship kicked off on Sparks Street Saturday morning. The competition was delayed one day due to the cold temperatures. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
