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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.