Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Snow sculptures, crazy people, sled dogs and an ice castle



No, I'm not the crazy people!


The snow sculptures at the Carnaval de Québec were amazing!


This one must have been so intricate to carve out.



And here is the New Brunswick team working on their entry.


Among other things, there's a stylized maple leaf on the right. It was beautiful.


And I love this one...


Boy with tongue stuck to streetlight post being tugged by his dog.



They had the clay model displayed near by!



I think this team was from Argentina!



And I liked the hats this team was wearing. Their sculpture is a roller coaster.


And for my American friends....


The US entry!


"The pen is mightier than the sword."


I loved the Mexican entry...


I wonder what they think of the cold weather? But obviously they are used to carving snow. This is beautiful!

Every year, they feature an ice palace. This year it had a Russian theme...



Gordon and his Bonhomme effigy.



And to think all that work will melt away!


Snow sculpture inside the ice palace.

And there is a LOT of booze at Carnaval...


The SAQ, the provincial liquor board, set up this ice bar!


With ice tables to stand and drink at.


And here are the crazy people...


...hot tub in February, anyone?


There were dog-sled rides too!


And the temperature dropped quickly as the sun set over the Plains of Abraham. To think the French and British fought a pivotal battle here in 1759!  Both generals (Wolfe and Montcalm) died.

Now people have fun and get drunk here! I remember my first time here in 1992. People were falling down drunk in the snow, but they had stretcher-bearers on duty to go around and pick them up. You don't want to fall asleep drunk outside in a Quebec winter. You could end up with hypothermia. Or dead! I'm not sure if they still have the stretcher-bearers because I'm an old fart now and was asleep by the time the real debauchery began.  "Caribou" is the drink of the festival, and here's the recipe... 

Caribou recipe for 10 people

3 oz. Vodka

3 oz. Brandy

12 ½ oz. Canadian Sherry

12 ½ oz. Canadian Port



Mix. Drink.

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You can see why everyone is falling down drunk!

More pics tomorrow  (but not of drunkards!)


20 comments:

  1. We have Caribou whenever we snowblow...whoop whoop!
    Jane x
    PS You need 6 Caribous to hot tub.

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  2. Great shots.Looks like you had a lot of sun that weekend. One of those drinks and I'd be flat-faced in the snow.

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    1. Me too, Deb. I am a total lightweight!

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  3. WOW!!! Amazing!

    I might as well be sitting on the stretcher if I tried a Caribou because I'd surely be over and out before I got to the bottom of the glass.

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    1. I'm glad they pick up the drunkards before they freeze to death!

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  4. What an awesome event to take in. The snow sculpture is amazing. I guess some of the people watching would be interesting too.

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    1. THe whole thing is a spectacle. I love it! And the cold, bracing air!

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  5. Phenomenal! Wouldn't it be great if, instead of fighting wars, we held ice or sand sculpture play-offs (and always awarded a draw, shook hands and walked away)?

    In Britain these days we wouldn't organise stretcher bearers, we'd just have a massive media row the next week about how there should have been some to prevent the deaths from hypothermia. ;-)

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    1. I couldn't agree more. International snow-sculpting competitions for everyone!!

      My English cousin visited Montreal and was amazed at all the things we allow to happen in public in Canada. :)

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  6. Brrrrrrrrrrrr!
    So freeze!
    But extremely beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. Lots of warm clothing, Marilia!

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  7. Love the sculpture of the boy and dog.......they are all amazing and the ice palace wow.......
    No chance of an ice bar lasting a whole day here, let alone a couple of hours.

    This is just one amazing, interesting carnival....... stretcher bearers, yikes, that's some serious drinking......
    Hot tub......just for the super brave or super something else, hehe....

    Claire :}

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    1. It's just so fun, and people come all over the world for Carnaval I can always tell who the real tourists are because they are incredibly bundled up!

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  8. Incredible! You really caught the spirit of the Carnaval with your photos. Thanks! I'm sharing on Facebook.

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  9. Winter carnival was a big deal at our little school in Quebec back in the late sixties. We would get time out of class to go and work on our snow sculptures. So much fun. We made all kinds of whacky things - one year, a sphinx . We were lucky back then that we were allowed to be kids and school wasn't so serious.

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  10. Is the snow brought in for each competitor, or do they start with a snowball and roll it around until it's big enough to work with?

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  11. What a great time. I have always been fascinated by ice sculpture.

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!