Popular 'Skate the Lake' festival cancelled due to poor ice conditions
This year's unseasonably warm weather has claimed another cherished winter tradition in the capital region.
Skate the Lake, a multi-day skating festival in Portland, Ont., has been cancelled because ice conditions aren't good enough to hold the event.
The event on Big Rideau Lake was originally scheduled for Jan. 28 and 29 but was postponed to mid-February. On Monday, organizers said it has been cancelled altogether.
“Obviously we are all very disappointed to have to cancel Skate the Lake 2023, but it is the right call," co-founder and past president Marco Smits said in a news release.
"After postponing the event to Family Day weekend we were hoping for a sustained period of cold temperatures and that just didn’t happen."
Aside from last week's polar vortex, temperatures so far this year have been milder than usual, and are expected to continue to be above seasonal norms for the next couple of weeks.
This year would have been the 18th edition of Skate the Lake, which used to be called the International Big Rideau Lake Speed Skating Marathon.
The multi-day skating festival has become a major attraction for skaters from across Canada and the U.S.
Smits said the future is bright for the event and organizers are already thinking ahead to 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.