Winterlude is now entering its second weekend, and unusually warm conditions do not seem favorable for some of the key attractions of the annual festival.

Melissa Aguilar, who was visiting Montreal and strolling along Sparks Street with her family on Friday morning, said: “It's a bit frustrating, and we were surprised that it wasn't full of events, but we're happy that there are at least some things here, like the ice sculptures.”

The 46th edition of Winterlude opened on February 2nd, and as of Friday evening, the Rideau Canal Skateway remained closed, some ice sculptures on Sparks Street were covered with protective cloths, and festival organizers were prepared to close the Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau if the situation became unsafe.

This comes after a warm winter last year also weakened the celebrations, when high temperatures melted the ice sculptures and prevented the skating path from opening for the first time in its five-decade history.

Melanie Prollet, spokesperson for Canadian Heritage, whose department organizes Winterlude, said her team has been preparing for these types of unexpected conditions for several years.

Prollet added that they tried this year to include programs that do not depend on the weather and to be more strategic by launching attractions that rely on winter conditions.

For example, the ice sculptures will be built over three weekends, according to Prollet, to ensure that bad weather on the weekend does not ruin the entire festival.

Prollet added that the seven or so ice sculptures built last weekend were covered during the week to slow their melting, and that the covers will be removed on Saturday in anticipation of larger crowds.

While Snowflake Kingdom still welcomes visitors after a slightly delayed opening and all nine ice slides are in operation, Prollet said festival organizers might need to close the park if warmer temperatures make the snow block too slippery to walk on, and according to Ottawa Tourism, the warmer temperatures have not affected attendance so far.

Jerome Myos, Director of Public Affairs, said in a statement to CBC News: “Preliminary results show that the first weekend of Winterlude this year saw more visitors from outside the city compared to the first weekend of Winterlude last year,” however, some businesses that rely on skater crowds hope for the reopening of the Rideau Canal Skateway.

While the Winterlude rush is important for restaurant business—to the extent that a kitchen staff member has gotten used to fixing customers' skates with a screwdriver—the restaurant is lucky to have a loyal base of local diners regardless of whether the canal opens or not, said Burke.

He still hopes for the possibility of reopening the skating path, noting he recently served tourists from Germany who traveled to Ottawa in 2023 and 2024 hoping to skate on it.