The Quebec Winter Carnival or the Carnaval de Québec is a festival held in Quebec City.
After being held on and off since 1894, the Carnaval de Québec has been held uninterruptedly since 1955. That year Bonhomme, the mascot of the festival, made his first appearance. Up to one million people attended the Carnaval de Québec in 2006 making it one of the largest winter festivals in the world.I urge all that can to add this annual event to your bucket list.
I have traveled on three occasions to Old/New Quebec. First with a New England group on the games away tours with my oldest son Wayne to see the Boston Bruins and the Quebec Nordiques with the Statsney brothers and other NHL stars. While there I entered a contest for free tickets to the future Rendezous 87 NHL All-Stars vs the Russian All-Stars and a few months later received a call from my friend Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ( son is now the Prime Minister) that we had won the USA 4 tickets to attend the series. This was one of my first assignments as a reporter representing the old Burrillville News that Paul Christian, Patricia A. Mehrtens and myself as entertainment and sports reporter put together 30 years ago. No rooms were available because my friend Lee Iacocca was having the Chrysler Canada meeting in Quebec at the same time at the Chateau Frontenac Hotel. We borrowed my father in law Abel's 23 ft. motorhome to make the trip and I figured that it had a heater and beds and if we could find a parking lot that we would be okay. NOT !
We crossed the border with our birth certificates and the dishes started flying in the camper and I said to my co-pilot wife Susan the rumor of Canadians being fast drivers was really true. I said look at that road sign 100 over 65 speed limit on a two lane winding road and I really felt like Dale Earnhardt driving at the Daytona 500.In then dawned on me as I looked down at the speedometer that there were two sets of numbers for different countries. If my late father in law Abe ever knew I was doing a 100 mph in Canada he would certainly be rolling over in his grave. I snuck over to the Frontenac Hotel elevator entrance to intercept all the Celebrities for autographs.
It was also the best French Onion Soup and I do order it every chance I can when the soup spoon stood at attention.
We ended up staying in the American Embassy nice and warm but that's another great story at a later date. I met Harold Ballard who owned the Toronto Maple Leafs and he refused to let his hockey players in the Series and was the only NHL club to not have a decorated float in the 7 degree parade at night. He was stubborn and did not like those Russians. I will never forget the trumpet players with no gloves marching with big smiles and the frost fine mist coming out of their nostrils while marching the long route. My camera and batteries soon froze up.
The most famous attractions of this winter festival are the night-time and daytime parades led by mascot Bonhomme Carnaval. The parades wind through the upper city, decorated for the occasion with lights and ice sculptures. When we were there the Campbell Soup company commissioned a lighted snow castle to be built and everyone had to have a cup of a tradition what seemed like a cup of fresh snow slush that had a hot caramel on top.
This was also the first time for this country boy to absorb the artistry of Ice Sculpture and megalithic snow monuments from all over the world.
Numerous public and private parties, shows and balls are held across the city, some of them outside in the bitter cold, testimony to the Québécois' fabled joie de vivre.
Other major events include:
- A masquerade ball with up to 400 participants at the grand ballroom of the Château Frontenac.
- The opening and closing ceremonies taking place at the Ice Palace before thousands of participants, Bonhomme and the mayor of Quebec.
- Outdoor sport events (snowboarding, ice canoe, snowshoes, hockey, dog-sledding, etc., some of them part of World Championship tournaments) inside and outside the city.
- Free outdoor public banquets (brunch, breakfast, etc.).
- The Canadian, Québécois, International and Student artist snow sculpture contests on the Plains of Abraham, the main setting of the carnival. The Plains are a public city park and stay open for leisure activities, including snowshoeing and cross-country skiing trails, during carnival time. Part of the Plains around the Citadel is transformed into an outdoor winter amusement park with various family-themed activities, including the display of the three main snow-sculpting contests (Canada's provinces, Quebec's regions, International) and the traditional bikini snow bath event (bain de neige).
- Kiosks and other outlets in the city sell the Bonhomme effigy tag that grants admission into most of the events, although some are free outside the main site.
- Most commercial main streets are decorated and some bars and restaurants set up a winter patio in front of their establishments.
- Bonhomme – short for bonhomme de neige ("snowman") is the official ambassador of the festivities, the castle lord of the Ice Palace. Bonhomme is a large snowman sporting a red cap, black buttons and a ceinture fléchée.
- It is traditional to drink Caribou, a hot alcoholic beverage, to keep warm.
- The public auction is a fundraising event in aid of the carnival. This auction features many goods and services donated for silent auction and live auction.
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