Carnival de Quebec

Celebrate the Quebec Winter Carnival

One of the largest winter celebrations in the world, this event has been happening in Quebec City for almost 125 years! In previous years, up to 1 million people have attended the week-long festival of winter activities, food and fun. In 2019 it runs from February 8-17th. Teach children about our 2nd national language of French and the rich history and culture of Francophones in Canada.

How to bring Carnival to BC:

•    Bonhomme Carnival—this mascot is central to Carnival. A giant snowman (“bonhomme de neige”) with a red cap and a striped sash. Look at photos and create an art project drawing or painting Bonhomme. 
•    Boules de Neige—bring the fun of snowballs inside by scrunching up white paper from the recycling bin to toss around or to build into a snow fort! Throwing and catching paper balls is a great way to learn these key fundamental movement skills without getting hurt by a harder ball (or breaking a window!).
•    Make Carnival delicacies! These include “Beaver Tails” and poutine. We’ve created a Healthy Poutine recipe to try (see recipe section).
•    Learn about Maple Syrup. Called “Sirop D’Erable” in French, most of the maple syrup in the world is produced in Quebec. Teach children how we harvest and produce maple syrup from trees and let them have a tiny taste of the real stuff (not table syrup) over plain yogurt, fruit or whole grain pancakes.
•    Play in the snow—if you do have snow on the ground in your area, get children out in it. Even walking in deeper snow can get your heart rate up quickly! Try making a snow fort or ice palace.
•    Sing and dance—a classic children’s song “Bonhomme, Bonhomme, sais-tu jouer?” which means Snowman, Snowman, do you know how to play? You can find the music, words and translation here.

Click here for more ideas and information.