Winter festivals are a great way to enjoy the winter season. They provide the perfect opportunity to get together with friends and family, celebrate and have fun.
Canada Winter Festival is one of the most popular winter festivals in Canada. It has been held every year since 1978 and has grown from a small event to one of the largest winter festivals in Canada. The festival offers many different activities for people of all ages.
The festival offers various events such as ice sculpting, snow sculptures, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and much more for people who want to enjoy the beautiful Canadian landscape during this time of year.
Winter festivals are a great way to enjoy the cold weather with your loved ones while having fun and celebrating!
TOP WINTER FESTIVALS IN CANADA 2023
Winter festivals in Canada are not just about the cold. They are a part of the country’s culture and heritage.
The winter festival season is upon us, and with it comes a variety of Canadian festivals celebrating winter in all its glory. From ice skating to skiing to snowshoeing, there’s something for everyone at these festivals across Canada.
A few of the best winter festivals in Canada this year include:
1. Mummers Festival
The Mummers Festival is a winter festival in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
It was first held in 1894, called the New Year’s Day Celebration. In 1904, it became known as the New Year’s Day Carnival, then the New Year’s Carnival in 1909, and finally the Mummers Festival in 1937.
The festival celebrates Newfoundlanders’ culture and heritage with music, dance, food, and drink. Today, the tradition is kept alive during this two-week festival, which features daily workshops for the construction of costumes, jam sessions, and parties, all of which lead directly to the final parade.
Place: Multiple spots across the metropolis, St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Labrador.
Date: Nov 25 – Dec 9, 2023
2. Chinook Blast
The Chinook Blast is one of the most popular winter festivals in Calgary. It attracts a lot of visitors from all over Canada. The event has been going on for more than 40 years now.
The Chinook Blast takes place every year in February, and it lasts for four weeks. The festival is an opportunity to enjoy winter fun and activities with friends and family, as well as to try out some of the local food.
Some of the activities that happened during the Chinook Blast include:-
- The Chinook Blast Carnival is one of the main attractions, it is a winter carnival with many different games and rides.
- A snowman competition, where people are invited to build a snowman that best represents their personality and decorate it. The winner will be chosen by donating their prize money to a charity or a local food bank.
- There are also ice skating events, where participants can skate on the ice at Rockefeller Center. T
- here are also snow sculpting events, where participants can watch artists create sculptures in the snow outside. A winter carnival and ice skating will also be held.
- Over the four weeks, there will be events and activities for people of all ages and interests, including hockey games, art workshops, drum groupings, special movie premieres, spoken word events, and interactive programming.
Place: Downtown Calgary, Canada
Date: Jan 27 2023 To Feb 20, 2023
3. Carnaval de Quebec
Quebec City is located in the easternmost part of Canada, right along the border with Maine and New Brunswick. The city is home to the Carnaval de Quebec, which has been voted the largest winter festival in the world.
Carnival is an outdoor celebration of winter that takes place between the end of January and the middle of February. For 10 days, the city is turned into a snow festival with lots of lights, decorations, and ice sculptures.
The most popular activities are the wintertime parades, which feature illuminated floats and dozens of snow-clad marchers. Competitions include dog sledding, canoe, and sleigh racing, and the night parade, led by the loud Bonhomme and his sneaky knights, brings many people together.
Place: Quebec City
Date: From Feb 23 To Mar 12, 2023
4. Winterlude
Winterlude is Canada’s largest winter festival and a yearly celebration of winter in Ottawa. The festival lasts two weeks and features many outdoor winter activities such as ice-skating, snow sculpture competitions, dog-sledding, curling, or skating lessons.
The city of Ottawa also celebrates with a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, the biggest outdoor skating rink in North America, and the best holiday market in the country. During Winterlude, 55 different restaurants throughout town will be offering special prix-fixe supper menus.
In Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau, just across the Ottawa River, you can witness a fantastic snow sculpture competition. Each entry must be at least five meters in height, three meters in length, and 40 tonnes in weight.
Place: Ottawa, Gatineau
Date: Feb 3 2023 to Feb 20, 2023
5. Yukon Rendezvous Festival
The Yukon Rendezvous Festival is a 14 days winter festival in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The festival is a celebration of the culture and heritage of the First Nations people living in the area.
The festival features traditional storytelling, dancing, and singing performances as well as traditional food such as bannock and pemmican. The event also features a parade through downtown Whitehorse with floats from various organizations and companies, a midway, cultural demonstrations, and other activities.
At night, the city’s pubs become the scene of rowdy celebrations, with events including the crowning of the festival queen, a performance by the Rendezvous Can-Can dancers, and the Sourdough Sam competition, in which people raise money for charity by striving to be the best Yukon man.
Place: Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
Date: Feb 2023
6. Winter Festival of Lights
The Winter Festival of Lights is a five-week festival that runs from November 25 until January 1. It attracts over two million people and features the world’s largest outdoor animated light show that includes 3.5 miles of lights and displays. The festival includes a parade, fireworks, live entertainment, and more.
The Winter Festival of Lights is a 3-day festival where people are invited to come and enjoy the Wonderland of Lights. It is a free event that includes more than 2 million twinkling lights, animated displays, and holiday entertainment.
Place: Niagara Falls
Date: Nov 12 To Feb 2023
7. Igloofest
It is a Canadian winter festival that takes place in Montreal. It is a four-weekend-long event that features electronic music fans and kitschy winter wear competitions. With over 300 artists playing on stage and more than 100 DJs, it’s no wonder why this event is the largest winter festival in Canada. The event gets started in early November and runs until the beginning of December with multiple venues hosting the festivities. The festival is all about unique experiences, from snow-fort building to bar hopping, so come prepared to have a blast!
Place:Quai Jacques-Cartier,Quebec
Date: Jan 19 2023 to Feb 11 2023
8. Silver Skate Festival
The Silver Skate Festival is a winter festival. It is celebrated on the first Sunday of February every year and started in 1988 and it has been happening ever since. It was created as a way to celebrate winter and to encourage people to enjoy the day outdoors.
This event attracts many people from all over the world and has become one of the most popular winter festivals in Canada. The festival takes place in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, which is where there are a lot of different activities for people to do like ice skating, ice hockey, snowshoeing, and more.
Place: Hawrelak Park, Alberta
Date: Feb 10 to 20 2023
9. Snowking Castle Festival
The Snowking Castle Festival is a winter festival in Canada. It takes place annually in the town of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The festival features a parade, live music, and food. It takes place annually in December around the same time as Christmas. The main event of this winter festival is live music happening at various restaurants throughout downtown Yellowknife. Great Slave Lake hosts Yellowknife’s annual Snowking Festival, a winter festival of all things frosty. The two-month construction of a massive ice castle is the centerpiece of this festival.
Place: Yellowknife
Date: March 1 to 26, 2023
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