Kingston makes winter hot again

By CHRIS BROCK

TIMES STAFF WRITER

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2010

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KINGSTON, Ontario — A famous figure skating Canadian and the Flying Canucks are among the acts scheduled for the sixth annual Feb Fest.

The seven-day event, which begins Monday, draws more than 30,000 people to downtown and to the event's primary location, the newly renovated Springer Market Square behind Kingston's City Hall, 216 Ontario St.

An indoor concert, a first for the festival, will be held Thursday when Canadian icon Tom Cochrane and his band Red Rider perform.

International figure skating champion Elvis Stojko will help kick off the festival at 7 p.m. Monday. He will join local skaters as part of the annual Imagination on Ice Show following opening ceremonies at 6:30 p.m.

"We never thought we'd be able to beat last year's skater, Kurt Browning," Feb Fest organizer Laura Meggs said in a release. "Kurt really raised the bar on this event."

Mr. Browning was the first Canadian to win three world championships in figure skating. Mr. Stokjo is also three-time world champion. He also won silver medals at the 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics and won the Canadian national championships seven times.

In 1991, Mr. Stojko became the first man to ever perform a quadruple toe loop, double toe loop combination jump, in competition. In 1997, he became the first and only man to perform a quadruple toe loop, triple toe loop combination jump, in competition.

The Flying Canucks will put on four performances Wednesday on King Street near Market Square. The Ottawa-based group features past, present and future Olympians who perform aerial acrobatic skiing, snowboarding and "big air" maneuvers either off a mobile ramp, on snow or on trampolines. The latter will be used at Feb Fest.

The Tom Cochrane with Red Rider concert is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the K-Rock Centre, 1 Barrack St. Mr. Cochrane was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2003.

His hit song "Life is a Highway" was inspired by his fact-finding mission to West Africa for the famine relief organization World Vision. The song "Rough and Tumble," from his latest CD, "No Stranger," was partly drawn from Cochrane's experience visiting Canadian troops in Afghanistan in 2004.

Other festival events include free public skating daily; the Limestone Classic four-on-four shinny (informal) hockey tournament featuring NHL alumni and the annual 24-hour Snow Sculpture Competition.

Sixth annual Kingston Feb Fest schedule

Monday
6:30 p.m.: Opening ceremonies at Springer Market Square, off Ontario Street
7 p.m.: Imagination on Ice with Elvis Stojko at Springer Market Square
8:30 p.m.: Public skating at Springer Market Square
Tuesday
9 a.m. to 10 p.m.: Public skating
5 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Skate with the Frontenacs hockey team at Springer Market Square;
Stanley Cup on Display at City Hall, 216 Ontario St.
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: Queen’s University women’s hockey team scrimmage at Springer Market Square
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Ontario Hockey league skills competition at the K-Rock Centre, 1 Barrack St.
9 p.m.: OHL alumni mini game at the K-Rock Centre
Wednesday
9 a.m. to 10 p.m.: public skating; Stanley Cup on display at City Hall
1, 5, 7 and 8 p.m.: The Flying Canucks at Springer Market Square
7 p.m.: OHL All Star Game at the K-Rock Centre
Thursday
9 a.m. to 10 p.m.: Public skating
Noon: Ice sculpture demonstration at Springer Market Square;
24 hour Snow sculpture competition begins in Confederation Park, across from City Hall
7:30 p.m.: “Sledge” hockey game at Springer Market Square. Sledge hockey is designed for those with physical disabilities
7: 30 p.m.: Carr-Harris Cup game at the Memorial Centre. The hockey game is an annual challenge match between Queen’s University and Royal Military College, both in Kingston.
7:30 p.m.: Tom Cochrane with Red Rider in concert at the K-Rock Centre
Friday
Snow Sculpture Competition continues in Confederation Park
9 a.m. to 10 p.m.: Public skating
Noon: Snow sculpture judging in Confederation Park
7:30 p.m.: Kingston Frontenacs hockey game at the K-Rock Centre
8 p.m.: Matt Dusk at the Grand Theatre, 218 Princess St.
Saturday
8:30 a.m.: Limestone Classic opening ceremonies at Springer Market Square
8:40 a.m.: Exhibition game between NHL Celebrities and military members at Springer Market Square
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Limestone Classic at Springer Market Square featuring NHL alumni
5 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Public skating
8 p.m.: April Wine at the Grand Theatre
Sunday
8 a.m. to noon: Public skating
1 p.m.: Annual historic hockey series at Springer Market Square
3 to 10 p.m.: Public Skating
Throughout the day, guests can also enjoy tours of City Hall and horse-drawn wagon rides.
Event details and updates can be found at www.downtownkingston.ca

THE DETAILS

WHAT: Sixth annual Feb Fest in downtown Kingston, Ontario
WHEN: Monday through Sunday
COST: Most events are free. Tickets to Thursday's Tom Cochrane With Red Rider concert are $45. For ticket information, visit www.k-rockcentre.com or call Feb Fest at 1 (613) 650-5000.
ON THE NET: Go to the festival's Web site at www.febfest.kingston.com for more info.
HOW TO GET THERE: From Watertown, cross the Thousand Islands Bridge at Collins Landing, take King's Highway 137 to King's Highway 401 and travel west. Merge onto MacDonald-Cartier freeway and take exit 617 toward Kingston.
From international bridges at Ogdensburg and Massena, get onto King's Highway after the bridges and follow the above route.

PHOTOS

Teams from the engineering schools of each of Kingston's post-secondary institutions, the Royal Military College of Canada, Queen's University and St. Lawrence College, will compete in a snow sculpture competition in Confederation Park, near City Hall.

The Flying Canucks will put on four performances Wednesday.

A sign from a past Kingston Feb Fest features the festival logo.

The capstone event of Feb Fest in Kingston is the Limestone Classic, a four-on-four informal hockey tournament featuring National Hockey League alumni. Shown is action from a previous game.