Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Winterlude Begins

Today I start off my series on Winterlude, the annual celebration of the best season of them all in Ottawa and Gatineau. This event started at the beginning of the month and runs through to Monday. This year many of the ice sculptures have been located up at Sparks Street. The one drawback, which I don't understand why, is that they haven't used shelters for these, as they have in previous years. Those shelters do wonders in preserving ice sculptures.

I'm starting with this one that was in progress when I photographed it a few days before the festival started. This is a sculpture of the Metis leader Louis Riel, deemed the founder of Manitoba. 


Other sculptures I photographed on the first weekend of the festival, as works in progress. The carvers come from around the world. I have noticed this year that there have been fewer of them.

42 comments:

  1. ...these ice sculptures are a wonderful part of Winterlude, they are just fabulous.

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  2. You must love the cold weather! They are beautiful, but I long for a cuppa of hot tea right now!

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  3. O I love to see it.

    Sorry I haven't responded to your blog lately. A time of flu and trouble here. But I do my best again. Ice sculptures are so beautiful. I would take the planes to come and see. Oh no, I don't I am afraid to do that. I am een "angsthaas".

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  4. I have never visited my daughter during Winterlude. And we are meeting shortly to spend time in Algonquin Provincial Park so it's probably not going to happen this year.

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  5. Great to see the ice carvers at the job again.

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  6. Hello, the Winterlude sounds like a fun event. The ice sculptures are all beautiful. Wishing you a happy day and week ahead!

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  7. Always enjoy your winterlude pictures!

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  8. Always look forward to seeing the ice sculptures William, Sparks Street is the place to be ✨

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  9. Those sculptures in the second and eight, nine photos are quite something.

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  10. I always look forward to your Winterlude series. They are more intricate this year.

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  11. @Tom: that they are.

    @Lady Fi: very much so.

    @Francisco: thank you.

    @Iris: I do love the cold.

    @Aritha: it's quite all right. I'm still trying to catch up with blog reading, and not getting ahead. I'm well over a week behind where I should be, and it's frustrating me that I've fallen that far behind.

    @Marianne: there have been fewer this year, though I saw some fresh ones last evening and photographed them.

    @David: you should try to come up next year. Ideally the second weekend is the best.

    @Jan: they do such incredible work.

    @Eileen: thank you!

    @Tanya: I enjoy photographing them.

    @Grace: this year that seems to be the case.

    @Marie: that they are.

    @RedPat: very much so.

    @Red: they're well done.

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  12. These are fantastic. Such time and talent to make these.

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  13. Super to see these lovely works of art, in ice! I like being able to look behind them, and seeing the city life right there.

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  14. Some pretty amazing carving going on here. I wonder what that red glove is doing on that one sculpture.

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  15. We look forward to these posts all year, William!

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  16. @Michelle: thank you.

    @Barbara: I do too.

    @Sharon: I wonder too!

    @Cloudia: I look forward to showing them.

    @Maywyn: that it certainly is.

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  17. The ice sculptures never fail to fascinate me. Tweeted.

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  18. Not so many Chinese carvers this year?

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  19. Always amazed by those ice sculptures!!

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  20. @Revrunner: cold is good!

    @Mari: thank you.

    @Karen: not this year!

    @Happyone: so am I.

    @Jennifer: and I've photographed a lot already.

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  21. Was there a monetary award currently lacking?

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  22. Let the frozen wonderful begin!

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  23. Time really flies. Winterlude begins and oh, the sculptures are so beautiful.

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  24. What a fascinating post. I love seeing the "behind the scenes." I'll definitely enjoy this series.

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  25. These are wonderful! Thanks for sharing.

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  26. Awesome photos!

    Happy Moments to You,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  27. @Joanne: not that I'm aware of. I know the carvers come from all over, and they're probably compensated for it via money set aside for the festival from the government and sponsors.

    @Kay: it is a wonder.

    @Nancy: thank you!

    @Jeanie: thanks!

    @DJan: you're welcome.

    @Carol: thank you!

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  28. What an absolutely amazing festival. So glad you are sharing this with us all.

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  29. I always enjoy your Winterfest photos:)

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  30. We can see a lot of talent here!

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  31. Fabulous ice sculptures.

    All the best Jan

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