Quebec - February 9, 2011
Welcome to Quebec City; a melting pot of culture...
"Everyone's speaking French. It's feels foreign," said Megan Britton of Belfast, Maine.
And a mecca for outdoor winter thrills.
"It's not a short season," said Jean-Francois Côté, the president of the Quebec Winter Carnival. "You have to get through it having fun."
And that's why it should come as no surprise that Quebec City is home to the oldest winter carnival in the world.
"It's an historic city and having a carnival in it is unique," Côté said. "People that come here are going to get a lot of joie de vivre."
You'll see things here that you won't find anywhere else; from rafting trips on ice to sugar on snow. You definitely won't grow bored in this picture-perfect city.
"You feel like you're in Europe to walk out in old Quebec City," said Denise Tougas of Milton, Vt.
But the highlight may be the carnival's elaborate snow sculptures. This international competition is one of the biggest in the world. Twelve countries compete for a thousand bucks and bragging rights.
"A lot of artists are used to sculpturing in sand," Côté said.
"I normally sculpture in stone," said Ralf Rosa, a sculptor from Germany. "There are some people from Morocco and I don't know if they've ever seen snow."
Each three-person team is given a 20' by 15' block of the white stuff.
"When you never work in snow, it's really hard," said Clifford Gilbert of Watertown, N.Y. "It's cold I think."
And after one short week that snow must magically be transformed into a masterpiece of art.
"This is a challenge," Gilbert said. "We like to do special things up here because the blocks are so big."
But the carnival really comes alive after dark. The snow sculptures are seen in a whole new light.
"The dragons are cool," Tougas said.
And the winter thrills, well, they never ever seem to end. For Roger and Denise Tougas of Milton, Vt., the 150-foot long ice slide was definitely one of the highlights.
"There's nothing in Vermont that compares to that," Denise Tougas said. "Once you come, you'll want to come back."
Far from a tropical getaway but the perfect place to embrace the beauty of the season. A secret escape and some foreign fun just hours from Vermont.
"It's just three and a half hours to a whole new world," Tougas said.
The winter carnival continues through this Sunday. Click here for more information.
Keagan Harsha - WCAX News
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