Blue Mountain Village - Parents Canada
Blue Mountain Village

Winter is in full swing in Ontario. Areas north of Toronto, including Central Ontario and Northern Ontario, have the nostalgic events parents are looking for when trying to plan some really neat and fun winter outings for the entire family.

Winter for Canadians means sports! This weekend families can have a good time watching classic Canadian pond hockey with two tournaments taking place. Better yet, they can try their hand at hockey for free at the Port Carling arena on Sunday afternoon. It's free and equipment is available at request. No previous skill or experience is required, it's literally come try hockey, boys and girls!

Skating, skiing, snowshoeing and tubing are all other great ways to spend a cold winter's day. See the links below to Ontario's ski operators:

Blue Mountain | Hardwood Ski and Bike | Horseshoe Resort | Sir Sam's Ski and Bike | Scenic Caves Nordic Centre | Snow Valley Resort | Wye Marsh

Check out our handy new ski and snowboard page with direct links to individual ski operators' current snow conditions, web cams, ski school, prices and more!

Of course, the world wants to know what Wiarton Willie will do this Saturday morning and what his prediction will be on the arrival of spring. The town of Wiarton hosts the three-day festival that promises lots of family fun events and activities including: winter sports, a winter carnival, ice sculptures and other fun kids events.

Family and kids events north of Toronto – February 1-3

Barrie
Family Art Workshop:
(Sunday) Regional artist leads the whole family in creating hands-on collaborative art projects with a wide range of materials at the MacLaren Art Centre.

Winter Carnival Kids Fun - Parents Canada
Cool World of Ice – Barrie

Winterfest & The Festival of Ice: Kids will enjoy exploring the ice maze and snow sculpture with slides carved right into the snow of ice.

The February Blue Festival: Shake off cabin fever at the annual February Blues Festival featuring Blues and Jazz music performed by some of Canada's most brilliant artists. Some locations are adult only.

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Blue Mountain | Collingwood
Winter Weekends:
Make every weekend a long weekend at Blue Mountain Village! It starts Friday with the 10:30 a.m. guided Columbia Snowshoe Tour and runs to Sunday evening with live music on every night of the week.

Fis Worldcup Snowboard Cross: Snowboard Cross is always one of Blue Mountain's most exciting events of the season that is broadcast in over seventeen different countries. This year the event falls on a weekend, so make sure you mark it down as a must-attend!

Nordic Fest Logo
No experience or skill required! Scenic Caves, Collingwood

Nordicfest: Join hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts, weekend warriors, beginner and expert skiers and snowshoers, families and the entire Get Out There magazine team for a fun – and inexpensive – day on the trails.

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Haliburton
Canadian Pond Hockey Championships
The Haliburton Highlands welcomes The Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships, an event which celebrates the grass roots of hockey. Over 230 teams (1,300 players) from all over Canada will descend on the Haliburton Highlands for this two weekend event.

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Midland
Farmers' Market:
Midland's Indoor Farmers' & Artisans' Market is held every Saturday from November 3, 2012 to March 30, 2013 at the North Simcoe Sports & Recreation Centre.
Winterfest: Winter fun activities in Little Lake Park and the Huronia Museum.

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50th Anniversary Of Bon Soo - Parents Canada
Happy 50th Bon Soo!

Port Carling

Winterfest: The festival begins Friday evening with fireworks, hot dogs and chocolate and a MUCH MUSIC Video Dance.

Come Try Hockey: Boys and girls, ages 5-13, try hockey free on Sundays from 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Port Carling Arena.

Sault Sainte Marie

Bon Soo Festival: Mr. Bon Soo is the Host of the Ontario Winter Carnival that bears his name – Bon Soo! From February 1-10, it's the greatest show on earth!

Wiarton

Wiarton Willie Festival: Every February 2, the town of Wiarton, Ont., stands on the world's stage and Wiarton Willie makes his official weather prognostication.

Family Day 2013 is February 18 and it's approaching fast. The next long weekend in Ontario is all about family fun. See our website for day trips, event and getaways ideas.

Have a fun and safe weekend!

For a complete list of events north of Toronto, please visit our family event calendar.

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