Winter thrills at Fête des neiges 2016

Whether you welcome winter with freshly sharpened skates or prefer sipping hot chocolate by the fire, Fête des neiges de Montréal helps us all celebrate snow days in the best ways, turning Parc Jean-Drapeau into a playground for all ages, every Saturday and Sunday from January 16 to February 7.

Active entertainment

Hand-in-hand with the urban winter fun of Luminothérapie, Igloofest, MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE and more, Fête des neiges de Montréal is all about brightening up your winter days and nights. Not only can you go skating, snowshoeing, skiing and sledding around the sprawling, picturesque park, but access to the Fête des neiges site and the majority of activities is free. See live musical performances and ice sculpting; play boot hockey and soccer; become a player in a human-sized foosball game; climb into a plastic battle bubble; ride the 16-metre ice slide; try curling and snow-yoga, and more.

Winter adventure

Add to all that a few choice pay activities well worth their ticket price. If happiness means sledding down a snowy hill all afternoon or you can’t resist the admittedly irresistible view of the city from the top of the ferris wheel, get the most out of Fête des neiges with the ACCROPASSE. The pass gives individuals and families unlimited access to the 10-lane tube slide, nighttime disco tube, four downhill zip lines (the highest is 15 metres up a mobile tower!), and the illuminated ferris wheel – plus free admission to the Biosphere Environment Museum and the Stewart Museum, an extra 30 free minutes of recreational equipment rental and discounts on restaurant services. And if you’ve never been dog-sledding, give it a whirl at Fête des neiges.

Family fun

Kids can play for hours in activity zones created just for them, with snow forts modelled on the film La Guerre des tuques 3D, bouncy castles, a colourful labyrinth, art activities and games, and a play area just for kids 6 and under. On the main stage, cartoon character Caillou comes to life, music comedy groups like Atchoum et ses microbes keep kids laughing, and mascot Boule de Neige and his friends start an aerobics dance party. For the full program of shows and activities see the Fête des neiges site.

Food and fire

As if such a wintery event couldn’t get any more Canadian, this year Tim Hortons skates into the park with its beloved coffee to warm us and wake us. Add to that the Terrasse 67 restaurant and bar, gourmet food trucks, maple syrup taffy on snow, sugary beaver tails, an all-things-chocolate stand, an all-things-bacon truck, and plentiful warm-up areas with space to eat and rest with the kids. So zip up your parka, lace up your snow boots and do winter right – without even officially leaving the city – at Fête des neiges.

Fête des Neiges de Montréal (http://www.parcjeandrapeau.com/en/fete-des-neiges-de-montreal/), Saturdays and Sundays January 16 to February 7