CARNAVAL DE QUÉBEC | Quebec City Winter Carnival

This past weekend we had the privilege of taking part in the Quebec City Winter Carnival (Carnaval de Québec). As the premier winter festival in Canada (and one of the largest in the world) it is an annual event that brings in hundreds of thousands of participants willing to brave the cold. Bonhomme, the jolly face of Carnaval, represents the appeal of the festival for both younger and older generations by giving warm bear hugs to children while cracking witty jokes with adults. During our full day of embracing everything Winter Carnival has to offer we had the opportunity to go dog sledding, ice fishing, horse-drawn sleighing and tobogganing. To warm up we devoured peanut butter and chocolate laden BeaverTails and grilled fish while sipping on hot chocolate and Caribou (a sweet Québécois alcoholic beverage composed of red wine, hard liquor and maple syrup). We noticed families and couples enjoying cross country skiing, hockey, sledding, tubing and human Foosball. If that wasn't enough the impressive ice sculptures, dotted all over the grounds, are magnificent pieces of art that can be admired up close or from a distance; some pieces were being designed/carved right before our very eyes. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed Quebec City Winter Carnival and left wondering why more destinations around the world don't embrace winter the way Quebec City does!
CARNAVAL DE QUÉBEC | Quebec City Winter Carnival Travel Video Transcript:
Welcome to Quebec City! We are here in the winter capital of the world. And it is carnival which means everyone is out embracing the cold and embracing the winter fun.
Alright, so what are we doing next? We're going to be doing something I've wanted to do for years. We're going to dog sledding! Woo!
Go, puppies go!
Steer it.
Go, puppies!
Good puppies.
Come on, puppies.
We're going ice fishing. We're going to be catching our lunch today.
Ready to fish? I'm ready. I've got my bait. I've got my fishing rod. Let's do this.
They ate your bait.
They ate it and didn't come up.
Let's go get some more.
That is not very good fishing.
I know. That's really bad fishing.
Okay, round two. Let's get ourselves a fish.
Oh, we have a fish and I feel kind of bad.
We got one.
I know I eat fish but I feel a little guilty right now.
Now it is time to cook it.
Lunch, right here.
Just warming up.
Here is our catch of the day. This is the big reveal. You can see the steam coming off.
That smells really nice. I know, I think they've put seasonings on it. Oh, yeah. That looks good.
Have it. Oh, I can't see. The smoke is going in my eyes. Alright, first bite.
Mmmm.
How is it? That's amazing.
Can you look at the camera?
They put some onions and spices inside and a little bit of butter. It's really good.
I think it is time for a romantic sleigh ride for two.
So right now we're getting ready to go inside Bonhomme's ice palace. Let's go visit him.
I even once went to Mexico. It's a little bit warm. When I got there I was about eight feet as I am usually and when I came back I was five foot four.
I melted a little bit.
Is that a video? Let's do something memorable.
Audrey. And you're from? Kingston, right?
Okay.
Hello, my friends from Kingston. We're with Audrey right now. We invite you to come to the biggest winter carnival in the world in Quebec City. I love you all and wish you a Joyeux Carnaval.
I love you all and wish you a Joyeux Carnaval.
Merci.
Bye, bye.
Bye, Bohomme.
Merci.
I don't know about you but I'm getting hungry. It's time for a Beavertail.
It looks like a few other people have the same idea.
They have a Reese's pieces beavertail. I think that is the one I'm getting.
Oh my, what do we have here? Reese's pieces Beavertail with chocolate and peanut butter and a hot chocolate because I really need to warm up.
Show me that Reese's Pieces Beavertail. Oh, my gosh that looks amazing. I wish I could capture the smell on video.
Alright, let's take a big bite of that. And?
That's hitting the spot right now. That's really good.
No. Yeah.
Go Max. Way to go Max. Go Max.
Sam wanted a horn to toot.
Alright, unfortunately all things come to an end. We've had an absolutely marvelous day out here at the carnaval. It's been so memorable. Now it's time to go home and warm up.
This is part of our Travel in Canada series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Canadian culture, Canadian arts, Canadian foods, Canadian religion, Canadian cuisine and Canadian people.
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All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker).
Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network