Waterskiing on the Rideau Canal during 'Waterlude' in 1990
The Rideau Canal is closed to skaters, ice sculptures are melting and disappointed festival-goers have renamed the annual Winterlude festival "Waterlude."
Fast forward 26 years, and Winterlude is suffering from warm weather again
The Rideau Canal is closed to skaters, ice sculptures are melting and disappointed festival-goers have renamed the annual Winterlude festival "Waterlude."
Sound like 2016? The same scenario played out in 1990 — inspiring CBC reporter Mark Van Dusen to try out waterskiing on the Rideau Canal.
Other nicknames for Winterlude 26 years ago include "splashlude," "bottom of the lake lude" and "rubber boot lude."
In 2016, part of the Rideau Canal was open to skaters for the first weekend of Winterlude but shut down on Sunday night due to warm weather. The fine for going on the canal while it's closed is a minimum of $100.