Bridges

The first Sunday in Winterlude was overcast and snowing. I went down to the farmer's market in the Glebe, and decided to come back along the Canal when I reached it over at the Pretoria Bridge. This is a view from the north, taken from beneath the freeway bridge that neighbours it. 

Here we have a view from on the bridge itself, looking south onto the skateway. 

I then proceeded down towards the ice surface, first capturing a view of the bridge framed by trees. This bridge dates back to 1915, and is a vertical lift bridge- its central section can be raised to allow taller boats to pass beneath. It was extensively reconstructed in the 1970s to match its original look. The bridge takes its name from Pretoria Avenue, which passes over it- the origin of that name is in honour of veterans of the South African War of 1899-1902. A large sign can be found closer to the Canal explaining the story of the bridge.

There's a staircase here to descend down to ice level.

Here we have views again from the north side of the bridge. The second one, taken at a further distance, shows both the Pretoria Bridge and the 417 freeway bridge. From here I walked downtown on the ice surface. I'll show you more of this walk tomorrow.

Sculpted

Today I have snow sculptures from around the Glebe, taken on various days. These first two shots are different angles of the same sculpture, which I showed you as a work in progress with two carvers working on it in my first post of the series.

This one was down the street at Lansdowne Park, done for the Winter Olympics.

This is the one I mentioned in my first post, caught on another day as work was being done on it. A tribute to the late Canadian musician Gord Downie, the sculpture was being finished by the family of the late Brian Clemence, the longtime Ottawa sculptor who died of a heart attack one day while heading home from working on this.

Up the street was another snow sculpture. Snow was falling on this day, adding onto the finished work.

Here we have another look at the Gord Downie sculpture some days later. You can't see the sculptors, but two of them were here while I was photographing.

And here we have it fully finished. Flowers and other tributes had been placed by it for Mr. Clemence.

Translucent

These are the finished sculptures by solo carvers, sheltered on the north side of Confederation Park, across from the shelter containing the pairs sculptures.

Cold Beauty

A reminder to members of City Daily Photo: the theme day for March is Play. Here we have more of the pairs ice sculptures. Tomorrow I'll be showing you the works done by solo carvers.

Artistry In Ice

Today I am starting with the finished pairs ice sculptures, sheltered here in Confederation Park, bringing together teams of carvers from around the world. I have more of them tomorrow, and plan on finishing the Winterlude series with my views of them lit up at night.

Olympic Spirit

Traditionally in this particular part of Confederation Park, the largest of the ice sculptures is placed. Such is the case this year, and you've seen it in my first post. This being an Olympics year, the sculpture incorporates the two South Korean mascots, Soohorang and Bandabi, into the ice. 

Here is another one of the smaller sculptures, with the bear's lap providing a seat for anyone who wants to pose. These are particularly well lit at night, which I'll show you down the line.

This is an art installation- lost mittens, encased in ice. These blocks were just being placed as I went through.

This has been set up for photo ops here as well. With the Olympics on, people can pose on a medal platform. Nearby, the South Korean embassy has put up a display on the Olympics, with the mascots around regularly. The CBC has television screens in here as well with the Games being broadcast.

The European Union commissioned this set of sculptures marking our relationship and the fight against climate change.