Each winter, the city of Quebec comes alive for the Quebec Winter Carnival. It is one of the largest winter festivals in the world and the biggest of its kind in Canada. For about two weeks, hundreds of thousands of visitors brave the cold to participate in night parades, snow sculpture competitions, canoe races across the icy St. Lawrence River, and outdoor concerts. The Carnival brings colour, excitement, and warmth to residents and tourists alike. It has become one of the proudest symbols of joie de vivre in French-speaking Canada.
The modern Carnival was first held in 1955, though informal winter gatherings in the city date back to the nineteenth century. The celebration has expanded considerably with each passing edition. Early programs attracted a few thousand curious visitors, while recent editions have welcomed hundreds of thousands of participants from across Canada and abroad. Today the festival features more than thirty official activities, several of which are found nowhere else, including the celebrated ice-canoe race and a giant outdoor dance held in sub-zero temperatures. It takes place every year in late January and February, in the heart of the coldest season.
