Winterlude’s Snowflake Kingdom in Gatineau: The adventure begins at North America’s biggest snow playground
This morning, the National Capital Commission (NCC) and Ville de Gatineau, accompanied by special guests and Winterlude mascots, the Ice Hog family, officially launched Winterlude’s Snowflake Kingdom. Located in Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau, this enchanting site will welcome the young and the young at heart during Winterlude, from February 3 to 20, 2012.
“Gatineau is pleased to step up its contribution to Winterlude by joining the National Capital Commission as a co-producer of the Snowflake Kingdom, the biggest snow playground on the continent. In addition, this year, Gatineau has developed a very special artistic and cultural program for this event, an absolute must-see part of our winter program,” indicated Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau.
“This year, the Snowflake Kingdom is a coproduction between the NCC and the Ville de Gatineau. Together, we combined our expertise, our talents and our creativity to provide visitors with a uniquely Canadian experience, inspired by our history and winter traditions,” said Marie Lemay, NCC Chief Executive Officer. “Snowflake Kingdom is bursting with activities, and the NCC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of all our partners, especially Parks Canada, the Government of Yukon and the Canadian Coast Guard.”
Ms. Lemay and Mayor Bureau were accompanied by Mr. Mike Nixon, Minister of Tourism and Culture of Yukon, Ms. Nicole Ménard, Quebec Minister of Tourism, Ms. Maryse Gaudreault, Member for Hull at the Quebec National Assembly; and Mr. Andrew Campbell, Vice-President, External Relations and Visitors Experience at Parks Canada, at the launch of Winterlude’s Snowflake Kingdom held this morning in Jacques-Cartier Park.
With its gigantic snow slides that can accommodate more than 10,000 sliders per hour, an all-new Adventure Zone, the A-maze-ing Fort Wellington, the Canadian Forces winter obstacle course and giant snow sculptures, Winterlude’s Snowflake Kingdom promises to be a great family adventure.
Through interpretation, demonstrations and games, Parks Canada will re-create the way of life of our ancestors in 1812. Maison Charron will be transformed into barracks from that era.
Celebrating their 50th anniversary, the Canadian Coast Guard will be at Snowflake Kingdom to demonstrate a day in the life of a Coast Guard employee through exciting activities and a unique display of water safety equipment.
In collaboration with the Government of Yukon, Snowflake Kingdom is pleased to welcome talented artists and snow sculptors and much more during the first weekend of Winterlude.
Winterlude’s Snowflake Kingdom is also the home away from home for the Ice Hog family — Winterlude’s furry mascots. Families can meet the Ice Hogs during the daily walkabout in Jacques-Cartier Park, where they are sure to get one of the mascots’ legendary Ice Hog hugs. Visitors are invited to enjoy a piece of cake in honor of Nouma’s and Noumi’s birthday, on Sunday, February 19 at 2:30 pm.
Winterlude’s Snowflake Kingdom is open Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays, 9 am to 6 pm; Fridays and Saturdays, 9 am to 9 pm (except February 3, until 9:30 pm). The park is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Held over — Winterlude celebrations continue for Ontario Family Day, Monday, February 20st.
General Information:
For more information about activities at Winterlude’s Snowflake Kingdom, please contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 613-239-5090 (TTY), 1-800-465-1867 (toll-free) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY), or the Ville de Gatineau at 3-1-1. To find out more about programming for Winterlude 2012, visit the following websites: Winterlude.gc.ca or www.gatineau.ca/winterlude.
Media Information:
The NCC is happy to provide the media with an online press kit with news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos: www.ncc-ccn.ca/mediaroom.
Winterlude is also on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
A Facebook page created by Ville de Gatineau also keeps visitors informed daily on news items about Snowflake Kingdom.
Charles Cardinal
NCC Media Relations
613-239-5227 (office)
613-851-6924 (cellular)
charles.cardinal@ncc-ccn.ca
Denise LeBlanc
NCC Media Relations
613-239-5750 (office)
613-851-9465 (cellular)
denise.leblanc@ncc-ccn.ca
Nathalie Brunet
Ville de Gatineau
819-643-0275 (office)
819-329-4489 (cellular)
nathalie@nbcommunication.ca
