The Montreal Winter Carnivals were week-long social and recreational festivals held during the 1880s in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Organized largely by the city's sporting clubs, the Winter Carnivals were centered on winter sports and other activities such as tobogganing and snowshoeing. More than this however, the carnivals helped to establish Montreal as a winter destination during the late nineteenth century. Purpose The Montreal Winter Carnivals were held in 1883, 1884, 1885, 1887, and 1889. Originally conceived of by Robert D. McGibbon, a lawyer and member of the Montreal Snow Shoe Club, these carnivals were meant to showcase Canadian sports and outdoor activities unique to Montreal. The goals behind such an endeavor was specifically said to be recreational, touristic, and economic, as well as having an additional influence on the establishment of Canadian national identity. On average, roughly 50,00 spectators would arrive for the week in late January or early February, a large percentage of whom were from the United States and Europe, all wishing to view and take part in the activities. Planning and advertisement Carnivals would last generally six days, and followed a detailed plan that changed little from year to year. Planning for such an event would begin in September of the previous year, and required heavy investment from local clubs. Once this was established they commenced building the monuments and locations that would be central to the event, including the ice rinks, tobogganing slides, and the impressive ice castles were the highlights of each year. Advertisements also helped to create awareness about the event, and some were targeted directly at American tourists unfamiliar with Canadian sports. These would primarily glorified winter sports and activities, establishing them as emblematic of a Canadian culture that emphasized outdoor life and rugged beauty. Program Winter sports were the most prominent aspect of the carnival, most notably curling, skating, hockey, snowshoeing, tobogganing and even lacrosse in one year (despite being a summer sport.) Tobogganing in particular was heavily emphasized during the Carnival because it was a sport that was not only uniquely Canadian, but also could be the majority of social classes. Women were encouraged to freely participate in tobogganing provided a man was steering (or commanding) the toboggan, and velvet seats in fact could be added in order to increase comfort and make the activity more "feminine". While all social classes could technically find a hill and toboggan,