Winterlude may be over, but the Rideau Canal, our national landmark, is still open for skating. Downtown Ottawa, I keep on seeing passers-by casually carrying a pair of skates in the hands or on their shoulders, heading to the longest skating rink in the world (okay, I know some may argue it’s not!). The crowd on weekends is pretty impressive!

This weekend marks the end of the Winterlude festival (but sadly, not the end of winter yet). I found myself hanging around in Confederation park, where it all started a couple of weeks ago, thinking I will miss the ice sculptures.

It’s mid-February now, and even though winter is far from being over, the days are slowly getting longer. Just a month ago, it was pitch dark by the time I left work, at 5 pm. Now, I can actually watch the sunset in the bus (provided I don’t miss it…).

And here are some of the sculptures that are at Confederation Park during Winterlude. The ice carvers did a pretty good job in my opinion… amazing what you can do with a few blocks of ice and a chainsaw!

Winterlude, Ottawa’s annual winter festival, started last week-end. It’s very cold and sunny right now in the nation capital and for once, no ones complains about it. Cold weather means that the Rideau Canal Skateway is open and that Winterlude’s ice and snow sculptures won’t melt.