Register Domain Names - Web Hosting Registration Services

Hello From Ottawa - Confederation Park Celebrates Winterlude

Confederation Park is one of the main centres of Ottawa's Winterlude Festival, and what was excellent for us was that we were staying right across the street at the Lord Elgin Hotel. So all we had to do was literally cross the street and we were right in the heart of the action.

Winterlude is Ottawa's winter festival, organized by the National Capital Commission. It brings together exciting events and activities for the whole family and most of the activities are free of charge. Naturally, Winterlude is a big draw for tourists: last year the festival attractived approximately 650,000 visitors.

You would think that Ottawa is a city of bureaucrats, who maintain a stiff upper lip at all times. Far from it, as we had already seen during our Friday night outing to Fat Tuesdays in the ByWard Market, Ottawans know how to party and Winterlude is a 2 week long excuse for everyone to get out and celebrate winter.

Winterlude is hosted throughout the entire city, so here is a summary of some of the main Winterlude Locations:

Confederation Park is hosting the Casino du Lac-Leamy Crystal Garden, an outdoor entertainment venue that includes the Crystal Lounge, a variety of food vendors and outdoor sculptures.

When we headed out on Saturday morning, we walked right into the ice carving competition where 7 or 8 ice carvers were working on frozen blocks of ice, using a variety of electric and hand tools to give shape to the creatures of their imagination.

Chain saws were being used, electrical grinding tools and hand chisels slowly but surely created recognizeable objects. Teddy bears, choo-choo trains and cartoon characters were coming to life right in front of our very eyes.

Confederation Park also hosts the Fire and Ice Culinary Demonstrations, and renowned chefs and media personalities compete for the Winterlude Ice Chef titles.

Another Winterlude location just minutes away is the American Express Snowbowl, a stage located right in front of the Government Conference Centre. This year's lineup includes Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, Mes A?eux, Jully Black, Doba Caracol, Daniel Lanois and many more.

On our way back from Darcy McGee's on Saturday evening we walked down to Confederation Park and on to the American Express Snowbowl and caught a bit of a live concert. The stage was set against the National Conference Centre and was beautifully illuminated in orange, pink and purple shades and the crowd was enjoying the live music.

The Rideau Canal Skateway is another official Winterlude location. This past weekend I had a chance to experience the Canal myself, and on a beautiful crisp winter day, it was an exhiliariting experience to glide almost weightlessly across the frozen expanse of the 7.8 km long Rideau Canal, indeed the world's largest natural ice skating surface, according to the Guiness Book of World Records.

The Rideau Canal Skateway itself hosts a variety of activities: you can get a taste of Aboriginal culture, traditions and cuisine at the Pig Island Aboriginal Village. The Canadian Tire JumpStart Activity Centre at Fifth Avenue allows children to test their hockey skills and they can also try out the Jumpai trampoline system. Union Station at Rideau Street provides a 1920s ambience: the history of the railway yards on the banks of the Rideau River is recounted on displays and interpretive panels.

This past Saturday, the 26th Annual Bed Race on Dow's Lake combined athleticism, ingenous engineering and fundraising for a great day of charity and hilarity.

Another opportunity for fundraising is coming up on February 19, 2006, when Canadian Tire invities you to participate in the Great Skate from 11 am to 3 pm on the Rideau Canal Skateway on Fifth Avenue. Proceeds will go to Canadian Tire JumpStart, a charitable program created by the Canadian Tire Foundation for Families that helps kids in financial need participate in organized sports and recreation.

On the other side of the Ottawa River in Hull, Quebec, is Jacques-Cartier Park, official location of Snowflake Kingdom and another official Winterlude site. It offers the Ice Hogs Winter Sports Adventure, individual slides of different slopes which will provide fun to the whole family.

Northern Place is a snow shelter and presents the enchanting world of Aboriginal cultures with aboriginal shows and traditional demonstrations. The Ice Hog Amphitheatre is home to the Ice Hog's Walkabout, and in case you didn't know, the Ice Hogs are Winterlude's official mascots. Children can get a hug from one of their favourite mascots - Mama, Papa, Noumi and Nouma. The Snowflake Kingdom also presents "Exp?rience Maneige", an opportunity for 5 to 8 year old children to go downhill skiing.

And a restaurant festival preceeds Winterlude. This year Taste of Winterlude was held from January 20 to February 2, 2006, where many popular restaurants in Ottawa-Gatineau served up their specialties in affordable prix-fix menu format. We missed the restaurant festival, but good food was not lacking during our past 2 days in Ottawa. Our enjoyable dinners at Fat Tuesdays and Darcy McGee's gave us a sample of some of the culinary treats on offer in Ottawa.

Winterlude offers a wide variety of activities, and fortunately this past weekend we had a chance to participate in just a few. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and hope to come back to Ottawa for another festival, maybe even the famous Tulip Festival this coming May.......

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of http://www.travelandtransitions.com, a web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new FREE ebooks about travel.

MORE ARTICLES:

G1G, Zain Jeewanjee Insurance Services Selected as One of The Most Dependable? Insurance Professionals of The Western United States
Zain Jeewanjee Insurance Services has been selected by Goldline Research as one of The Most Dependable? Insurance Professionals of The Western United States as published in the June 30th issue of Forbes Magazine.

Stories and Wisdom of Artists over Age 90 Featured on Internet Radio
Twelve women artists ages 82 to 107 who are still practicing their art were interviewed by Amy Gorman. The interviews were made into a documentary (Greg Young) called Still Kicking, and into a book, Aging Artfully. Amy Gorman and Greg Young appear live to discuss their findings on Full Power Living, Internet radio program hosted by Ilene Dillon (worldtalkradio dot com/) Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time.

The Two Biggest Web Site Mistakes and How to Correct
Mistake One: No reason to buy. Think about what your visitors want.

Washington State Tax Services Enters Fifth Year of Operation
Washington State Tax Services, a consulting firm staffed by former Department of Revenue Audit Division Managers, is now entering into its fifth year of providing tax planning and audit assistance services.

Internet Marketing: Set Your Clock For Success
Getting into Internet marketing can be very confusing in the beginning. Because you're being bombarded by so much information. It can become overwhelming, and like a deer in the headlights, some people just freeze up and never get anything done.

Starting a Small Home Base Internet Marketing Business Opportunity
Try to advertise a single job vacancy and see what will happen.

Jennifer Ivaliotis Joins TitleVest as Director of Coop and UCC Services
TitleVest, a Manhattan-based provider of title insurance and related real estate services, announced today the hire of Jennifer Ivaliotis as the Director of Coop and UCC Services.

Dot.com Bust Creates IT Jobs Boom for Professional Services Firm: Start-up Crescent Solutions Makes Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies List after J
If someone wanted to start up an Information Technology (IT) professional services firm in 2002 - right after a recession, 9/11 and the tech bubble implosion resulted in the loss of 1 million jobs - you might have smirked and wished them luck.

Network Solutions® Releases White Paper Explaining the Importance of Hiring a Professional Web Site Designer
Network Solutions® provides guidance to small businesses when it comes to the important task of establishing an online presence. In a new white paper, "Why Hire a Professional Web Designer?" Network Solutions discusses the importance of a Website with a professional Web site design, as well as helps small businesses determine why and how to hire a professional Web designer.

The Customized Promotions Company plans to offer high-end promotional materials to the financial services industry
The Customized Promotions Company, located in the New York Area, is offering their brilliant customer service and attention to detail towards their promotional marketing efforts with a focus on financial service clientele.

Feline Couple Introduces Website catsguidetolove.com -- Relationship Advice Even Humans Can Understand
A cat couple goes public with love advice for humans using photos and their own conversational style. All they ask in exchange is that humans help homeless pets.

Aprimo Announces Alliance Partnership with Quaero for Enhanced Multi-Channel Campaign Management Marketing Services
Aprimo's Marketing Services Bolstered by new Association

NameJet? Domain Name Auction Service Presented With Prestigious 2008 Name Intelligence Award
NameJet is the recipient of the 2008 Name Intelligence Awards User's Choice Award for Outstanding Drop Catcher. Name Intelligence users selected NameJet because of their track record of success and ease of use.

iREIT Premium Domain Names to Provide Foundation for New Internet Advertising Network
With a Growing Portfolio of High-Quality Domain Names, iREIT is Poised to Capitalize on Online Advertising Momentum in 2007; Large Domain Owners Such as iREIT, Demand Media and NameMedia are Transforming Underutilized Domains into Media Properties