The 32nd annual Winterlude Festival kicked off with a bang Friday night with a variety performances, activities and a musical fireworks extravaganza.
The American Express Winterlude Opening will take place at the Canadian Museum of Civilization with performances by The National Parcs, DJ Misstress Barbara, and Saltarello.
The celebration will also feature Glacialis, a performance by Jesse Stewart who will play instruments built out of ice, Nite-Lite, a large scale installation by artist Alexandra (Alita) González-Vucina based on the popular toy Lite-Brite, and H2Orchestra, a demonstration and performance of the world's first and only water-based musical instrument, the hydraulophone.
Activities will also take place at Major's Hill Park, including extreme sports demonstrations by the Flying Canucks and various arts and crafts.
The musical fireworks show can be seen at 8:50 p.m. from Major's Hill Park, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques-Cartier Park.
There have been several changes to the lineup for this year's Winterlude celebration, including the cancellation of the Snowbowl concert series in order to work towards a more carbon-neutral festival by 2012.
Winterlude opening night festivities will take place tonight from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and Major's Hill Park.
The Winterlude Festival will run from February 5 to 21.