Québec's two-week winter celebration, Carnaval de Québec, is held amid the snow and ice of late January and early February.
The first Carnaval was held in 1894, and since 1955, it has been an annual tradition led by a giant snowman mascot named Bonhomme Carnaval.
His home base is a massive castle made of ice that is covered in original artwork each day by Québec's best graffiti artists.
Two snow sculpting competitions, the Canadian National and International Snow Sculpting Contest, are held at the Plains of Abraham, where you can watch the artists work and admire the results as they are judged.
Traditional events include dogsled races; parades; dancing; sledding; skating; and even snow swimming, where some of the city's braver residents wear only bathing suits while playing in a snow hill.
Many of the activities are free and open to the public, while others require the purchase of a pass that allows entry to the rest of the events.
