Warm weather plagues Winterlude's opening day

It's a soggy start to Winterlude in Ottawa-Gatineau, with the opening of a main attraction pushed back a day because of mild conditions.

The annual festival opened Friday morning andrunsuntil Feb.19.Organizers announced Thursday that the opening of theSnowflake Kingdom, thepopular site for ice slides and other activities in Gatineau's Jacques-Cartier Park, waspostponed from Friday to Saturday.

Organizers said they had made enough snow to cover the area, but now they need more.

"Since last week it's very warm, we lost a certain width of thickness of snow," said Benoit Brire, the City of Gatineau's co-ordinator of the Snowflake Kingdom.

Brire said work will be done Friday and everything will be readySaturday, including the large snow sculptures that live at the venue.

"Ninety per cent of the carving is done. The snow is more soft so it's more difficult for the carvers to make some details, but since our carvings are facing north, we are capable (of keeping) them," he said.

Ice sculptors face difficulties

The warmer weather is top of mind for the ice carvers on Sparks Street as well. The forecast from Environment Canada predicts sunny skies, hightemperatures hovering just below zero and lows around10 Cfor the first weekof the festival.

Ice sculptor Ross Baisas said that means it could take longer for a piece to fuse and the melting time will be increased. Fragile attachments are also at risk of coming off sooner than an artist would like.

The sun can also be a big enemy, he said.

"The UV (light) can penetratethe ice, that makes it fragile. That's the reason sometimes the sculpture crashes for no reason," Baisas said.

UV light can also make the ice look more white, which is why sculptures will be covered in protective wraps at times.

Ottawa Morning5:17Winterlude gets underway with ice sculptors on Sparks Street

Giacomo Panico meets up with Iraqi-Canadian artist Mo Nema as he prepares to carve his latest creation out of a block of ice.

Canal hasn't reopened

This isn't the first time the festival has had to bow to Mother Nature: last yearorganizers had to postponeoutdoor events due to extreme cold.

Even with those frigid temperatures, the Rideau Canal Skateway didn't open last year andit isn't open againeither for the start of this year's festival

Despite partly opening for four daysin January, the canalclosed again whenwarm weather rolled in.

That means vendors will losethe large number of patrons lacing up.

"We're still in limbo, we're not too sure what's going to happen because of the inclement weather.It's always a bit disappointing," said Adam Malmberg, a partner and business development director with Dunrobin Distilleries.

That company signed a three-year contractand missed out completely last year. In the brief window the canalopened last monththere wasn't enough time to get their hut on the ice.

"It definitely would have cemented a lot of revenue growth for us and justget our drinks in people's hands.(It) would have been a stellar opportunity," Malmberg said.

According to the National Capital Commission, ideal ice-making conditions are between10and 20 C, which are forecast the next several nights.

There are still many events that shouldn't be affected by the weather, such asart installations on Sparks Streetand in the ByWard Market along with the large slate of performances.