A tradition from 1979

The National Capital Commission created Winterlude in 1979 to celebrate Canada’s northern culture and climate. Canadian Heritage describes it as an annual event in Ottawa–Gatineau, associated with the February winter season.

Outdoors, together

The festival’s official history describes activities such as tube sliding, skating and ice sculptures alongside cultural programming. These describe the festival’s character; individual activities and operating conditions should always be checked against the current programme.

Read the current edition

For a future visit, use the official festival website to confirm dates, venues and updates. Our suggestion is to build a flexible day with time indoors between outdoor stops. The images used in this journal are creative illustrations of gathering, not documentary images of Winterlude or a forecast of winter conditions.

Read the original source

Canadian Heritage — About Winterlude

Open source website ↗

Checked 11 October 2026. Event details may change. Creative photographs do not document the event described.