The Quebec Winter Carnival (French: Carnaval de Québec), commonly known in both English and French as Carnaval, is a pre-Lenten festival held in Quebec City. After being held intermittently since 1894, the Carnaval de Québec has been celebrated annually since 1954. That year Bonhomme Carnaval, the mascot of the festival, made his first appearance. Up to one million people attended the Carnaval de Québec in 2006 making it, at the time, the largest winter festival in the world (since overtaken by the Harbin Festival).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. 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.
The carnival celebrations which in many cultures traditionally precede Lent are seen as a last opportunity for excess before Lent begins. Some of the most famous are the Carnival of Barranquilla, the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Carnival of Venice, Cologne Carnival, the New Orleans Mardi Gras, the Rio de Janeiro carnival, and the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.
Feasts and restaurants
The Business Leaders' Luncheon, organized by the Québec City Chamber of Commerce.
The Calgary Stampede Flap Jack Breakfast. In 2008, carnival-goers were served by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The 'Restaurant Partners' Campaign is a 179-day promotion during which Québec City restaurants offer customers a special menu for a fixed price throughout the carnival (including appetizer, soup, or salad, a main course, and a dessert).
Races and tournaments
A sleigh race in which drivers and their horses take part in a single- and double-harness race on the Plains of Abraham.
An Ice canoe race on the St. Lawrence river.
The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament was founded in 1960 by Gérard Bolduc, Paul Dumont and others, was part of the program until 1977.[7][8]
The Snowboard World Cup in Quebec City (not part of the carnival official program).
Also not part of the official program but worth a visit or a stay, the Quebec City Ice Hotel is open every year from early January to late March with its bar, nightclub, exhibition galleries and ceremonial chapel.
