Igloofest, a popular winter event in Montreal and Quebec City, is expanding to include Gatineau as one of its musical destinations. Local and international artists will be performing at the 47th Winterlude from February 14 to 16, 2025 at the Zibi Festival Plaza. This music festival has been heating up the Old Port of Montreal every winter since 2007, featuring DJs and electronic music stars.
Thanks to a collaboration between Gatineau event agency Orkestra and Multicolore, the Quebec-based company responsible for organizing the Montreal and Quebec City editions, Igloofest is now making its way to Gatineau. This expansion comes after adding Quebec City to the list of locations in 2023. Multicolore has been organizing the electronic music winter extravaganza for 16 years.
Gatineau, being the fourth largest city in Quebec, is quickly developing culturally, according to Alex Van Dieren, co-president and partner of Orkestra. He believes that Gatineau was a prime candidate to host an event like Igloofest. Nicolas Cournoyer, co-founder of Multicolore, sees this as an opportunity to attract attendees from Ottawa and introduce the event to a wider audience in Ontario.
The event will take place at the junction of downtown Gatineau and Ottawa, chosen for its convenient access, stable electricity source, and strategic positioning between the two sides of the Ottawa River. The location at the Zibi Festival Plaza is ideal for organizers, offering a flat terrain that allows for a setup similar to the Quebec City edition. Warm stops will be set up to protect festival-goers from the cold and allow them to enjoy the winter air.
Igloofest is part of a larger government strategy to boost winter tourism, according to Nicolas Cournoyer. The goal is to help people embrace winter, stop complaining about the cold and grayness, and resist the urge to stay indoors. This is why Igloofest is held in multiple regions, giving everyone the opportunity to get outside and play.
More details about the lineup and programming for Igloofest Gatineau will be announced in the fall. Stay tuned for updates from Valérie Lessard.