Mosaïvernales won't meet attendance target, organizers say
Only 5,000 tickets sold over first 2 weeks of sculpture festival
The organizers of an outdoor winter sculpture festival in Gatineau say they won't be meeting their attendance target.
Mosaïvernales organizers were hoping to have 200,000 people pay a visit to Jacques Cartier Park by the time the exhibition wraps up in early March.
However, bouts of poor weather and the ticket price of $10 dollars per visit have kept people away from the illuminated snow sculpture showcase.
The summer version of the festival was completely free.
"With the first edition, innovation always has its challenges. Especially in the middle of winter," said Geneviève Ménard, public relations officer for Mosaïvernales.
"In certain ways, I think that they should be applauded for having the courage to do such an event — to bridge the two seasons."
5,000 tickets sold
More than 1.3 million visitors turned out for the free MosaïCanada horticultural exhibition held in the park between June and October 2017.
However, Mosaïvernales organizers told Radio-Canada on Sunday that only 5,000 tickets were sold over the first two weeks of the winter festival.
A warm spell in late January didn't help things, forcing the festival to temporarily close as workers patched up the melting sculptures.
Ménard said there are discussions underway to bring the popular MosaïCanada exhibition back to Jacques Cartier Park in 2018 — but even if that does happen, visitors would have to pay to get in.