Locals endure the harsh cold Quebec frost at Quebec City’s Winter Carnival.  Filled with tons of activities including tube tobogganing (five people at a time!), dancing with traditional Quebec music, ice castles and sculptures (include an interactive ice castles where kids can go down a big ice slide - as shown in the picture above), life-sized fuzbal (you gotta see it to believe it) and hot chocolate.

The maple sugar cabin is particularly a treat if you’ve never tried it.  They pour hot maple syrup on a bank of fresh snow and roll it all onto a popsicle stick - snow and syrup.  There’s nothing sweeter!

This proud fellow on the right is showing us what is making him smile… his plastic Carnaval Cane… which is completely filled with Caribou, the traditional Quebecois alcoholic beverage of choice for the festival (a mixture of wine, brandy, whiskey, and a bunch of other stuff. It actually tastes pretty good, especially when you’re freezing – they serve it hot!)

Plan your trip there with the help of the event’s website : http://www.carnaval.qc.ca/english/index_corpo.asp

And you might as well also drop by the Ice Hotel  just east of Quebec City if you’re going to be in the area.