I can't believe I haven't been to the famous Carnaval de Quebec until last weekend, after spending 18 winters in Canada. If you don't know already, I'm a big fan of winter. I love the cold, the snow, the wind, and of course the layers and layers of clothes that I can pile on until I feel like the Michelin man. The prospect of spending hours in an outdoor festival celebrating all things winter is exactly what I needed to cheer up from my miserable flu.
The admission to the festival is $10 and in lieu of tickets, each visitor receives an Effigy Pass. This English translation makes absolutely no sense to me because I first learned of the word "effigy" from displays of wooden dummies sitting in the basement gallery of ancient churches in London. Fortunately, the image that the effigy pass evokes is much less morbid. It is in fact a little plastic figurine of the Carnaval mascot Bonhomme that everybody hangs on their jacket. On the back, it was etched with the dates of this year's Carnaval. What a thoughtful little souvenir!
My friends and I spent much of the afternoon in Place Desjardins, a huge playground of all things made of snow. There were many gorgeous snow sculptures that we ah-and-ooh'ed over but of course the main attraction for me was enjoying a freshly fried cinnamon and sugar BeaverTail. As soon as we reached the food section, I immediately made a beeline for the BeaverTail shack. 
This greasy warm sugary treat is one of the reasons why I love going on ski trips. BeaverTails vendors are most likely found in places associated with "outdoor" and "snow" and "ski". If I remember correctly, they have outposts in Blue Mountain (2 in fact!), Mont Tremblant, Ottawa by the Rideau Canal, and of course at the Carnaval. Here's a picture of me about to enjoy a BeaverTail and a steaming cup of hot chocolate. In addition to BeaverTails, maple taffy (la tire sur la neige) is also a very Canadian delicacy to enjoy during winter. Basically, you have maple syrup that is cooked to a high temperature to evaporate some moisture content. You then pour a stripe of syrup on a fresh bed of snow. The chill of the snow would conveniently cool down the syrup to a chewy consistency. Once it's ready, you put a wooden stick on one end of the taffy and roll until all the taffy end up in a neat little ball on the stick. Inevitably, the taffy would have crystals of snowflakes mixed in...just the way I like it.
By this time, it had been hours since we arrived at the Carnval and of course staying outdoor for how long would get chilly. What's a better way to warm up than a warm cup of mulled wine? By my logic, there was absolutely no reason why there would be no mulled wine/vin chaud/glogg on sale somewhere here and proposed a search for this beverage. As soon as JV, EZ, and I made our way into the SAQ Bistro, JV happily claimed that he smelled vin chaud. The three of us stood in front of the menu for a long time, yet none of the item resemble vin chaud to our eyes (it's not because of any language barrier...all of us can read French just fine). There was only one item on the menu which looked unfamiliar, a spirit by the name of Caribou (Caribou liqueur aperitive by Mondia Alliance). A little Q&A with the guy next to us in line revealed that indeed Caribou was what we were looking for! This Quebec specialty is a 24% aperitive typically served warm in winter fairs. At $4.75 per 2oz serving, we thought it was a little overpriced until we took a sniff from the steaming cup. Boy, this stuff was strong! It was just the thing to warm up the body.
One of the main attractions at Place Desjardins was snow rafting. It was exciting and fun and dizzying and I got to scream at the top of my voice for no reason at all. What more could I ask for? You can see for yourself:
I was a little sad to see the sunlight faded away but honestly, the beauty of Carnaval at night quickly swept my disappointment away. All the snow and ice took on a whole different characteristic when illuminated by colourful lights. A little more glamourous, if you will. We enjoyed a dinner of traditional Quebec fare including Canadian pea soup, tourtiere, and tarte au sucre. Outside of the quaint bistro, there was an ice sculpture of a horse completed with saddle, hay stack, and cowboy hat. How could I resist the temptation for a photo-op?
We continued our night with a highlight of the festival: Bonhomme's Parade. Well, the parade itself is not much different from Toronto's annual Santa Claus Parade. However, the spirit of the crowd was what made it special. I felt a little silly for getting so excited when Bonhomme's float drove by...but it was silly fun like I hadn't enjoy in a very long time.
I would highly recommend anyone to brave the cold and experience this marvelous festival celebrating all things good about Canadian winter. I think you'll enjoy the festivity as much as I did!
