• Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • Evelyn Kanter In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC Travel Guru

Evelyn Kanter ecoXplorer

smarter traveling, driving and spending

  • Green Hotels
  • Green Cars
    • Best Cars under $20,000
    • Test Drives
    • Diesel Cars
    • Electric Cars
    • Hybrid Cars
    • Hydrogen Fuel Cell
    • Luxury Drives
  • Travel Deals
    • Free
    • Budget Travel
    • Discount Tickets
  • Xplore More
    • Safety and Health
    • How To
    • Five Best
    • Travel Pioneers
    • Motorcycles
    • Vintage Cars
  • Scam Alert
  • Where to Go Next
    • Historic Travel
    • Epic Adventures
    • National Parks
Home » Quebec Winter Carnival 2010

Quebec Winter Carnival 2010

Leave a Comment

Quebec Winter Carnival 2010 Mascot Bonhomme
Quebec Winter Carnival 2010 Mascot Bonhomme

The biggest winter carnival in the world is the annual Quebec Winter Carnival, in the heart of Old Quebec.   This year’s three weeks of fun in the snow is from  January 29 to February 14, 2010.

Three weeks of festivities at the Quebec Winter Carnival include  parades, fireworks, slide runs, a giant foot ball game, concerts, snow sculptures, horse-drawn sleigh rides, dogsled rides, an Ice Tower, ice skating and ice fishing.

All of it is watched over the carnival mascot, a large white friendly snowman who seems to appear everywhere at once, named Bonhomme.  He is always smiling, dressed in a red stocking cap and a colorful sash around his waist, his chest decorated with round black buttons.  Of course there’s a person inside the costume, welcoming you both in French and in English, the dual languages of Quebec.

One of the most popular carnival events is a canoe race on the St. Lawrence River.  Some years the river is frozen solid, and teams pull their wooden canoes over the ice instead of paddling them through the water.  Another is the snow bath, in which a 100 or so hardy partyers strip to their bathing suits and roll around in the snow.  Of course, snowball fights have been known to erupt.

Fairmont Chateau Frontenac, Quebec
Fairmont Chateau Frontenac, Quebec

The snow baths are one of several events and activities at the Plaines d’Abraham, a park-like area at the edge of the Old City.  This is where the Children’s Village is, with obstacle courses, snow tunnels, an adventure trail and ice slides.  And, there’s always an intricate and memorable Ice Tower, a building constructed completely of ice, with exhibits inside.

The Quebec Winter Carnival — Carnaval du Quebec in French — attracts about one million people to the only fortified city in North America.  It’s modern history dates to a 1535 settlement founded by Jacques Cartier.

It’s not part of the winter carnival, but the Ice Hotel Glace, just out of town, is an important annual winter in Quebec.  The ice hotel constructed of more 15,000 tons of snow and ice.  It contains several dozen rooms and suites for overnight stays, plus a night club and a lounge, where drinks are served in glasses carved out of blocks of ice.  Ice walls are decorated with ice sculptures.

I slept over a couple of years back.  Yes, it was a very cool experience, and yes, that pun was intended.  But I was warm and cozy in my fleece jammies, tucked inside a down sleeping bag on top of a bearskin that was on top of a bed-sized slab of ice, and the wall of my bedroom was decorated with an ice sculpture of deer and trees.  Of course, a new one is constructed each winter – since it melts each spring.

Here’s a video of the Ice Hotel that shows almost everything, although not my sleeping bag:

Thanks for visiting ecoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars, smart spending and frugal living by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.
Welcome back to exoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars and smart spending by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Related Posts:

  • Quebec Winter Carnival 2011 is World's Largest Snow Festival
  • Quebec Winter Carnival 2013 is world's largest annual snow…
  • Where to Watch Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks
  • 24 Best Historic Golf Courses in USA
  • 22 Things to Do in New York State This Spring
  • Times Square New Year's Eve Entertainment Schedule

Filed Under: Adventure Travel Tagged With: Canada, Family Travel, Festivals, Quebec, Winter Vacations

What do you think? We value your comments and love hearing from you. Cancel reply

ecoXplorer is your guide to smart spending and eco-friendly living

Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and guidebook and smartphone app author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

Evelyn currently serves as President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA), and is a past Board Member of a prestigious professional group for travel journalists.

Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.

Most Popular Recent Posts

  • Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
    Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
  • 2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
    2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
  • Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
    Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
  • Where to Eat in Times Square & Theater District at Local Restaurants Not National Chains
    Where to Eat in Times Square & Theater District at Local Restaurants Not National Chains
  • Free Hotel Rooms for Cancer Patients
    Free Hotel Rooms for Cancer Patients
  • Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
    Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
  • Fast Food Deals & New Menu Items in February & March
    Fast Food Deals & New Menu Items in February & March
  • Bertha Benz: Automotive Pioneer
    Bertha Benz: Automotive Pioneer
  • NYC Culture Calendar: February
    NYC Culture Calendar: February
  • Cyber security tips for holiday shopping
    Cyber security tips for holiday shopping

Search ecoXplorer by category

© 2010-2022 EcoXplorer by Evelyn Kanter. All the stories and photos on our site are protected by US (C) Copyright laws. Any unauthorized copying is strictly prohibited. Plus, it’s just not nice.

  • Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • Evelyn Kanter In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC Travel Guru

ecoXplorer.com is an independent information service which is compensated by advertisers and sponsors. This site includes some links to other websites which are compensated for by our sponsors when you click them.

 

Loading Comments...