“Joyeux Carnaval!” A 400lb Snowman, a Festival, and a Touch of Frostbite

Remember what it was like to be a kid?

Getting up early before your parents to snuggle on the couch with a bowl of junky cereal and Saturday morning cartoons. {Sigh} The good ol’ days. Life was simple: school, homework, play. A rough day was when you got paired with your arch nemesis to complete a school project, or your little sister swiped your favorite Barbie. Oh, sisters? We never forget. It’s also when we pick favorites and plant the seeds of nostalgia. Like the dream of one day meeting your most beloved character in real life — say, a certain over sized mouse at Disney World, or coming face-to-face with your ultimate Teen Beat crush (JTT anyone?!).


For our friends north of the border, they swoon for a certain M. Bonhomme Carnaval. Essentially Canadian Mickey, you can imagine the wonder and delight when a young sprout from Québec gets to meet this winter celebrity and icon is the ambassador of the Carnaval de Québec. He’s the face, voice, and spirit of winter’s joie de vivre. “What’s that?” you say. It means you best put yer winter wear on, slap on a happy face, and enjoy the coldest season!!! Fun fact: Bonhomme is friends with Santa (and more nifty tid bits here)!

He’s a convivial chap, fond of giving hugs, whipping high-kicks, and welcoming visitors to the land of syrup and “ehs.”

We humble Americans were only vaguely aware of whom this Bonhomme character was, and found ourselves wholly unprepared for the enthusiasm and vigor a 400lb snowman-come-to-life could possess. A tour of his castle revealed a hint of narcissism (aka life size replicas and photos of said snowman galore), but who can blame the guy? He’s a charmer with an entertaining way about him, and can’t seem to get enough of the leg kick.

Bonhomme was kind enough to say bonjour and – you guessed it – lock me in an embrace (pause at 0:10 for awkward hug and pledge of affection) on video.

Warmup breaks are essential to winter survival – mine, at least.

Mission complete! We’d been properly introduced to the man of the hour, exchanged hugs & kicks, and were free to enjoy the winter festival at our leisure. Which obviously meant taking a romantic, frozen sleigh ride with 12 people after defrosting our insides with hot chocolate & amarula indoors. Because… cold. Freeze your snot, kill movement to your fingers, brain-no-work-no-more cold. Defrosting = good.


The Carnaval de Québec is the ideal place to let your inner child off leash, or let your actual children run wild and free if you have one of those. 😉 It takes up some serious ground – as seen from the aerial lookout of the Observatoire de la Capitale – and you can easily spend a full day there testing your stamina against the freeze and waiting your turn for the next attraction. Suuure, the lines get a little long, but that’s part of the fun; strangers with body heat to steal making friends! PLUS, you get to test if all that fancy North Face/Columbia/Canada Goose gear really works.

You can join a giant sized foosball tournament, ride a zip line, race down a luge, eat maple taffy (always a winner), circle the ferris wheel, mush on a dog sled…

Pretending you’re eight years old at the Carnaval is TOTALLY AWESOME, until you remember you’re actually 30 years old. The urge to explore the small streets of the Petit Champain and imbibe local drinks won over the will to tumble down a hill in a hamster wheel after a few hours; though that has its own, strange appeal. All good things in moderation. *Cheers*


Thanks to some leisure time around Québec-Vieux, a light lunch, a stop at a confectionery or two, the world is winter-bright and merry again! Bread crumbs of Carnaval trailed throughout the city; a reminder that even for those not attending the festival itself, the spirit transcends.

When the sun hides and the lights come out, so begins the procession of artfully designed floats, acrobats, music, and happy souls in the grand parade.

Cirque du Soleil was born here, so rest assured you can count on French Canadians to deliver in the costume and entertainment department. There was the occasional marching band or two, which are always fun, but it’s the artists of movement that truly shone. Dynamic color, sound, and dance collided in sheer delight. Granted, I enjoyed most of this with my gloved hands in pockets, so forgive that I can’t share all the secrets with you in photos. Best to experience in person, anyway. 😉 Note: hand warmers are friends to nearly frostbitten fingers. Pack them. Use them.

I was romanced by Bonhomme, frozen, thawed, played like a kid, and happily watched the parade pass with thermal packets in my boots.

At -30°, I can assure you it was the kind of cold you don’t look forward to spend an evening in, let alone a full day. But it really was a good time. By the end of the Carnaval I felt exhausted, beaten, and thoroughly entertained. And did I mention we happened to shake hands with the Prime Minister, M. Justin Trudeau? Ha! Would you believe it? The cherry on top of the snow cone.

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What fun we had exploring Québec City for the Winter Carnaval, and we send many thanks to Québec Tourism and the Québec City & Area for sponsoring this post, hosting our stay, and allowing us to get up close with the big, snowy guy. 😉

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