OTTAWA -- Winterlude will celebrate two notable anniversaries in 2020.
The 42nd annual winter festival will highlight the 150th anniversary of Manitoba joining Confederation, and the decisive role the Métis Nation played.
It will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rideau Canal Skateway.
Local Liberal MP Mona Fortier, recently named to the federal cabinet, unveiled the Winterlude 2020 programming in an announcement at the National Arts Centre on Wednesday.
Despite concerns about contaminated land at Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau, the Snowflake Kingdom winter playground will go ahead there this year.
Sparks Street will be the main hub of festivities on the Ottawa side of the river, with events all the way from the ByWard Market to Preston Street.
An average of 600,000 visitors take part in Winterlude every year, nearly a third of those from outside the region.
The annual winter festival runs from Jan. 31 to Feb. 17 this year.
