This is really cool. Ottawa balloon artist Brad Wood created these amazing Star Wars balloon sculptures at today’s Funatorium Explorium at the Ernst & Young Centre. We’ve featured Wood’s work before, when he “popped” the question to his girlfriend . ...

[  ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/derekmellon/8465901689/) ** Beaver Cup pond hockey at Dow's Lake. ** Photo by [ Derek Mellon ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/derekmellon/8465901689/in/pool-ottawastart) , from the [ OttawaStart Flickr Group ](http://www.flickr.com/groups/ottawastart/pool/with/8465901689/) . ...

Earlier this month Samsung sent OttawaStart a Samsung Galaxy Camera . Ours to keep, as long as we snap some photos at Winterlude and share them with our readers. Here are some of my pics from a quick one-hour visit to Winterlude downtown today. ...

[ ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/icehog.jpg) _ Ottawa _ A near-frozen skater on the Rideau Canal survived the icy temperatures by slicing open a nearby IceHog mascot with a skate blade and crawling inside it’s warm innards this morning. With temperatures in Ottawa around the -31degree range with windchill, some ill-prepared skaters on the newly opened Rideau Canal ice surface suffered frostbite and in this case, near death. ...

Here are some beautiful photos of Winterlude from Luciana Nechita via the OttawaStart Flickr Group . If you have a great photo of Winterlude, add it to the Flickr group or email feedback@ottawastart.com [ ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/luciana_nechita/8441412078/) [ ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/luciana_nechita/8441409494/) ...

[  ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssstevieb/8442248551/) Winter Wakefield. Photo by [ ssstevieb ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssstevieb/8442248551/in/pool-ottawastart) from the [ OttawaStart Flickr Group ](http://www.flickr.com/groups/ottawastart/pool/) . _ Here are our contributors' picks for the best local events in Ottawa this week. ...

[  ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/luciana_nechita/8417272547/) Now you see me, now you don't. Photo by [ Luciana Nechita ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/luciana_nechita/8417272547/in/pool-ottawastart) from the [ OttawaStart Flickr Group ](http://www.flickr.com/groups/ottawastart/pool/with/8417272547/) . Here are our contributors' picks for the best local events in Ottawa this week. ...

As of this morning, the entire length of the Rideau Canal is open for skating . All 7.8 kilometers. OttawaStart reader Tim Bouma sent us this video from last year. He skated from Dow’s Lake to downtown and recorded the trip using a GoPro camera. ...

[  ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanadian_8/8409003891/) Ottawa Deep Freeze. Photo by [ Mark R. Ducharme ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanadian_8/8409003891/in/pool-ottawastart#) , from the [ OttawaStart Flickr Group ](http://www.flickr.com/groups/ottawastart/pool/with/8409003891/) . Here are our contributors' picks for the best local events in Ottawa this week. ...

[  ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/alain_in_kanata/6758256427/) Warming Up? Photo by [ Alain Villeneuve ](http://www.flickr.com/photos/alain_in_kanata/6758256427/in/pool-ottawastart/) from the [ OttawaStart Flickr Group ](http://www.flickr.com/groups/ottawastart/pool/with/6758256427/) . _ Here are our contributors' picks for the best local events in Ottawa this week. ...