1880s Montreal, QC, Winter Carnival Souvenir Medallion

1880s Montreal, QC, Winter Carnival Souvenir Medallion

Featuring glittering masquerade balls, ice palaces, fireworks shows, and an array of winter activities over six days, the Winter Carnivals were a highlight of life in Victorian Montreal. Five of them were held: in 1883, 1884, 1885, 1887, and 1889, drawing over 50,000 people from all over Canada. At the celebration's height, a huge mock battle was held in Dominion Square, wherein armies of soldiers in snowshoes would lay siege to a massive ice castle, constructed from over 10,000 blocks of ice, while fireworks flared in the background. Despite its popularity, the Winter Carnival was dealt its fatal blow by an outbreak of smallpox in 1885, which, of course, kept crowds at home. Despite attempts to recover in 1887 and 1889, it never quite managed to reestablish itself, and it became a footnote in Canadian history.