Witches Do Winter

... and strangely enough we had a fabulous time! This past weekend we were invited to be part of some super cool programming that was taking place at the new Lansdowne in celebration (and kick-off) of this year’s Ottawa Winterlude Festival. Now when we say it was "super cool," we don’t just mean the temperatures (which, incidentally, were hovering way below what a little witch would like), we mean the opportunities provided by the City of Ottawa to entertain are super cool.

We, Sandi Witch and me, Pansy, were invited to be a part of the workshop series. So, we gave a reading and shared some activities with our young audience and it was FUN! What a novelty to read our story Witches Don’t Do Winter in the dead of actual, honest-to-goodness, winter. The youngsters milling around Lansdowne on Sunday were certainly making the most of the weather. Some had skated to the site, some were going tobogganing and some had been building snow people in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record (for the record, it was the record! Congrats!) Having just participated in such winter delights was great reinforcement for the story, though guessing from their happy, smiling faces, the children didn’t quite understand why Pansy found everything to be so ‘awful’.

After our reading, Sandi and I joined the crowds in the Aberdeen Pavillion and as they were happily shopping the Farmer’s Market, we were happily chatting with unsuspecting youngsters (I think the blue and green faces create a bit of a surprise factor!). We met lots of wonderful people, had lots of giggles and Sandi Witch wowed the masses with her beautiful calligraphy.

Despite the freezing temperatures, we were toasty warm courtesy of the fabulous heated floors in the Horticulture Building – you really should go and check them out! I mean it, you really should! This coming Sunday (the 8th of February), the wonderful Ms. Julia of Luv2Groove fame will be leading a free hip-hop workshop between 1-3 pm and who know--you may even catch a glimpse as the Little Witches strut their stuff!

Of course, every great time has a great facilitator behind it so thank you to Ms. Jeanine Anderson for inviting us, coordinating and supporting!

Here we are, bundled up and ready for home! Thanks one and all for making our Sunday memorable.