60 Before 60 Project: #15 - Go to a Winter Festival

For my last 60 Before 60 Project experience – I decided that rather than continually complaining about the winter I needed to embrace it. So I went cross country skiing. I am continuing in this vein for this next activity as well. 

Go to a winter festival. 

My brother and his family were heading to a winter festival called Winterlude that is held every year in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. He reached out to me and asked if my husband and I would like to join them as Ottawa was a sort of midway point for us both to travel to meet. 

The weather the weekend they were going was expecting record temperature lows. A polar vortex was to ascend on the city and they were expecting lows of –32 degrees Celsius (which is –25.6 degrees Fahrenheit). These temperatures are way below just being cold. You’re entering into frostbite in 5 minutes territory. 

I initially said no. Given the weather there was no way that I was going to go out in that. But my brother dangled my 60 Before 60 Project list in front of me and reminded me I could get one checked off.

As the weekend approached I watched the weather forecast. I noticed on the Sunday of the weekend that it was going to start to warm up. Definitely not balmy, but something I could at least cope with. 

So at the last minute we decided to go. It turns out it was a great decision.

It was wonderful to spend time with my brother, his wife and my nieces, nephew and their partners. It was also amazing to see the ice sculptures and the talented artists that carve them. It was a delicious treat to have a traditional Beaver Tail (a warm pastry covered in cinnamon and sugar) and enjoy hot cider and hot chocolate. It was also great to see so many people out in the cold and enjoying the festival. 

Unfortunately, skating on the Rideau Canal (which is often the highlight of Winterlude) was off the agenda this weekend as the canal just wasn’t ready but that gives me another good reason to go back to the city. 

Below are a few pictures of our Winterlude experience. 

My 60 Before 60 Lesson: Saying yes rather than saying no can provide some unexpected fun

Interested in seeing all my 60 Before 60 experiences? Click here.