Editing Winterlude (section)

{{Short description|Annual winter festival held in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox recurring event
| name         = Winterlude
| logo         = 
| logo_alt     =
| logo_caption = 
| logo_size    =
| image        = Winterlude-Bal de neige (387479407).jpg
| image_size   = 295px
| alt          =
| caption      = An ice sculpture bearing the Winterlude logo.
| status       = 
| genre        = [[Winter festival]]
| date         = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|mm|dd}} "dates=" also works, but do not use both -->
|begins        = {{start date|2025|01|31}}
|ends          = {{end date|2025|02|17}}
| frequency    = Annually
| venue        = [[Confederation Park]]<br />[[Jacques Cartier Park]]<br />[[Rideau Canal#Skateway|Rideau Canal Skateway]]<br />
| location     = [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]] <br>[[Gatineau]], [[Quebec]]
| coordinates  = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|type:event|display=inline,title}} -->
| country      = [[Canada]]
| years_active = 
| first        = {{start date|1979}}
| founder_name = 
| prev         = February 2 - 19, 2024
| next         = January 31 - February 17, 2025
| participants = 
| attendance   = 
| capacity     =
| area         = 
| budget       = 
| activity     = 
| leader_name  =
| patron       = 
| organised    = [[Department of Canadian Heritage|Canadian Heritage]]
| filing       = 
| people       = 
| member       = 
| sponsor      = <!-- | or sponsors = -->
| website      = {{URL|https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/winterlude.html|Winterlude}}
| footnotes    = 
}}
[[File:Rideau Canal in winter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=|People ice skating on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, January 2005.]]

'''Winterlude''' is an annual [[winter festival]] held in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]] and [[Gatineau]], [[Quebec]] (collectively known as the [[National Capital Region (Canada)|National Capital Region]]).

Winterlude is run by the [[Department of Canadian Heritage]] and was started in 1979. The event is one of Ottawa's most important tourist draws, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. In 2007, it set a new attendance record of  estimated 1.6 million visits to one of the four Winterlude sites, and that record still stands as of 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=2007: 1.6 million visitors attend Winterlude |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/winterlude/about/over-years.html |website=Canadian Heritage |date=22 November 2018 |access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref> BizBash has recognized Winterlude as one of the top 100 annual attractions in [[Canada]] and the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web |title=StackPath |url=https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/event-production-fabrication/media-gallery/21809248/us-and-canada-parades-festivals-holiday-events-2021 |date=6 November 2021 |access-date=30 January 2022}}</ref>