February is the month when Canadians have most of their winter fun, as lots of events and festivals take place across the country. Indoor, and especially outdoor activities highlight Canada’s cultural, artistic, and culinary diversity, and most of them are free and take place everywhere.
Before the ice age month will come to an end, we decided to go for a drive in the country side, enjoying another sunny and beautiful day.




Winterlude is one of the biggest and most popular winter events in Canada, unfortunately the 2022 edition has been cancelled in Ottawa, due to Covid 19 concerns, and most probably because of another ongoing event: the Freedom Convoy. But who cares about Winterlude these days, when Ottawa has so many and more pressing issues on the Parliament Hill?
But the life goes on, and other events, like PolarFest took place, nevertheless. An exciting family festival for three days, Polar Festival is for the little ones, as well as everybody else. For the ones willing to go for a challenge, there was a snowman building challenge, and for the brave ones a virtual polar plunge.
Candlelight skate was made available to delight the skaters, and Ice people were invited to reveal their skills and talent while enjoying carving a piece of ice from Chemong Lake.
The township of Selwyn was full of life this past weekend, some sculptures being finished by the time we stopped by, others were in progress.
Gryffindor’s sword handle was in the middle of the grinding process in Lakefield,
while an eagle was getting ready to take off with its open wings in Bridgenorth.
But hey, more ice carvers are wanted, are you willing to give a try?
Hmm, not right now.. maybe next year😊
Have you ever tried it? I doubt I could make anything even vaguely recognisable, but I have seen some amazing ice sculptures. But not in Portugal!
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No, I have never used a chainsaw😁 My husband bought me some chisels couple of years ago, but I never really had time to use them.. maybe I will, one day🙂
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Enjoy Florida! 🤣💟
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Thank you, I will!! xoxo
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What a gorgeous winterscape and what great sculptures!
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Thank you! The winter is beautiful under a blue sky!
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👍
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It was great fun, Christie, to join you and the very hardy Canadians in this winter wonderland. The ice sculptures are super!
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Thank you Jet, glad you took a peek at what Canadians are up to during the winter time🙂
Have a lovely weekend!
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Me with a chainsaw in winter, Hmmmmmmmmmm. Maybe not. Great carving work Christie. Thanks for sharing. I just removed about a ton of winter ice from the curb on my street, so the water can flow. Does that count? 😊Allan
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Hahaha, thank you for the laugh!! I did that too, and my back still hurts me from the last snowfall, so yes, it does count😊
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crikey – the sculptures look amazing but doing it yourself? Do you get to keep the chainsaw?
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LOL Good question! It was actually an invitation for everyone, but you know what.. who knows, I’ll let you know soon😉
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Too bad about Winterlude. But the polarfest looks like a great substitute. Great carvings and love your pics.
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Thank you!!
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Love the goalie! I couldn’t do it myself though. Makes me wonder if Lake Lousie AB is hosting their annual ice sculpture competition this year. Maggie
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I see they scheduled the next year competition in Lake Louise for January, already. Wonder if it took place earlier..
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I thought it was usually around Family Day weekend, I guess we missed it.
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Indeed, they are normally in February. Who knows, these days..
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I’d love to volunteer but the cold would play havoc with my arthritis!….and I reckon I’d be useless at it anyway. They’re great to look at though.
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Indeed, the temperatures will have a say! I can’t guarantee my skills will get anywhere either, but I would love to have some fun.. one day🙂
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Hi, Christie, how are you doing today? I hope all is well. Please ignore my previous comment, you can even delete it if you wish, as I was replying to someone else’s comment, only to find out that – much to my surprise – it somehow got posted under your blog post. I’ve never seen it happen before! On the other note – I would be willing to brace sub-zero temperatures and would love to try out ice craving. Although I see myself struggling due to the characteristics of the raw material. I was reading that in a number of art schools in Sweden, Russia and Finland they now teach how to carve ice sculptures, how amazing is that! Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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Wow, that would be a nice class!! I’m not that skillful, not at all.. but for fun, I might be trying it one day! There were so many ice blocks in the park that nobody willing to carve, that I was thinking why not, it’s worth giving it a try! I played with some wood few years ago, not that it turned out well, but my husband got me some chisels I have never had time to use🙂
Have a nice weekend!! xoxo
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I love the snowy landscape. These winter festivals are such a great way to encourage people to brave the outdoors. That’s too bad that Ottawa canceled Winterlude, but I guess that’s not the biggest concern at the moment with the trucker convoy! I’ve never heard of Polarfest, but it sounds like it was a lot of fun.
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We were planning to go to Ottawa this month, but I guess we’ll push the visit for next year. Too much is going on these days. Stay safe, have a good weekend!
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No kidding. I don’t blame you for wanting to avoid Ottawa these days. I can’t imagine them going forward with Winterlude given the convoy situation. It’s rather unfortunate for all the locals who live and work there that have to deal with all of this.
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Wonderful work!!
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Glad you have enjoyed!
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Loved the (non icy) cattle!!! I am so utterly disgusted at the Freedom Convoy! What ARE these crazy people thinking? 🥴
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Glad you have enjoyed the winter photos, Gunta. I believe those are yaks, I didn’t know there are such farms in Ontario!
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I love the first few scenic photographs, just beautiful!! I’d probably leave the ice carving alone lol, leave it to those with a bit more of a talent for it😊
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Thanky you, Cherryl! That was my initial thought too, definetely there are some talented people out there!!
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“No experience necessary” and “chainsaw” … I’m not sure they should appear in the same sentence 😛
The landscape looks enchanting and pristine, doesn’t seem like there were any “accidents” 😀
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Hehe, so true!! But it’s never late to learn how to use it😀
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Real good exhibit and event. These people carved out their place in history!
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I know, right? There are so many talented people out there. Thank you for stopping by🙂
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These are great! I like the rabbit and the truck the best. In Breckenridge (Colorado, it’s a ski town), there’s an annual international ice carving festival that’s quite amazing.
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How fantastic is that! I’ll need to include some new destinations next years. I am amazed how talented the people are, some of the sculptures are so intricate!!
Thank you for stopping by! Have a lovely afternoon! xx
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