Featured talks
A closer look at a few of this year's talks.
Keynote: Timeless Stories with Natalia Rybczynski
Natalia Rybczynski is a paleobiologist and Research Associate with the Canadian Museum of Nature, and an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University. Her work is part of PoLAR-FIT, piecing together what ancient Arctic ecosystems looked like from fossil remains preserved in permafrost. In 2013 she announced one of her best known finds: fossil fragments from Ellesmere Island belonging to a High Arctic camel, about 3.5 million years old, which pushed the known range of camels 1,200 kilometres further north than anyone expected. She's also part of the team behind Puijila darwini, a 20 to 24 million year old "walking seal," and last fall's discovery of a High Arctic rhino, Epiaceratherium itjilik. Rybczynski's fieldwork, and her life since a skiing accident in 2011, are the subject of "Frozen in Time," a CBC documentary. It isn't a story of full recovery. It's an ongoing one. These talks will fill to capacity. Ripples and Leaves Members are seated first.
Keynote: Timeless Stories with Jennifer Kingsley
Jennifer Kingsley is a journalist, storyteller, and National Geographic Explorer who has been traveling the Arctic for more than twenty years. In 2005 she spent fifty days paddling the Baillie and Back Rivers to the Arctic Ocean, a trip she wrote about in Paddlenorth: Adventure, Resilience, and Renewal in the Arctic Wild, winner of the National Outdoor Book Award. She currently works as a Cultural Specialist with National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions. Her latest project documents the resurgence of traditional Polynesian star navigation in the Cook Islands, for a forthcoming book from HarperCollins. These talks will fill to capacity. Ripples and Leaves Members are seated first.What's happening
29 activities so far. More get added as the event gets closer.
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
Pitch It, Heat It: Hot Tent Setup
A hot tent looks complicated until you've watched someone set one up. This workshop walks you through the whole thing, start to finish, standing right next to the canvas and the stove the whole time. We're pitching three tents side by side, each with its own stove, and splitting into small groups so everyone gets hands on guy lines, poles, and stovepipe instead of watching from the back. You'll see where the stove goes, how the pipe clears the canvas, and what keeps a tent warm through the night instead of just for an hour. No gear or experience needed. Dress like you're spending the next couple of hours outside, because you are.
🧶 Craft
🎯 Newcomer
Turkey Tail Hand Brooms
Broom corn and a live demo are all you need to walk away with a hand broom you'll actually use, in your car, your tent, or wherever else it's handy. Have corn left over? Bitty can show you how to turn it into a scrub brush or a set of cake testers too. $20 per person, paid directly to Bitty, covers your supplies.
🍽️ Meal
🎯 Newcomer
Fireside Stew and Newcomer Welcome
Arriving at Freezing Woman? Your warm welcome awaits! A Freezing Woman tradition - Andrea’s hearty fish stew, simmered over the open fire. It's the perfect way to warm your hands and fill your belly after your journey. While you eat, we'll hold an informal orientation for anyone new to the event. Get the lay of the land, ask questions, learn some tips for a great weekend, and meet some friendly faces. For many, this has become the essential first stop to kick off their Freezing Woman experience. Heads-Up: We'll start serving as folks arrive and go until the pot is empty (serves about 20). First come, first welcomed!
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
First Aid for Serious Bleeding
For a wound that a simple bandage will not fix: a saw or axe slip, a fall on the ice. Severe external bleeding is one of the few first aid problems where minutes decide the outcome, and help in Algonquin is a long way off. Two instructors from Boreal River Rescue and Wilderness Medical Associates International teach this. They train people in wilderness first aid and river rescue for a living. They have taken the bleeding control part out of their longer first aid courses to offer it to you in a workshop you won't want to miss. During the 90 minute workshop, you'll get hands-on practice and learn current best practices with the following skills: - Severe external bleed check - Wound packing - Pressure dressings - Tourniquet No medical background needed. The same session runs twice. Everything is provided. Wear layers you can kneel and move in.
🧶 Craft
🎯 Newcomer
Travel Sketching and Watercolour
A sketchbook is one of the lightest things you can carry, and it holds a trip in a way a photo doesn't. In this workshop, Tricia walks a group through a simple way to record the places you travel, using tools that fit in a small pouch: a pencil, a pen, paper, and a small set of watercolours. You don't need to draw well. The point is to get something down on the page, a rough shape, a few lines, a note about the light. A watercolour wash over top pulls it together, and even the plainest doodle starts to look like a memory worth keeping. Bring a notebook and any pens or paints you already own. If you're starting from nothing, come anyway, there will be materials to share.
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
Tie It, Trust It: Knots and Tarp Skills
Two hours, and you'll walk away able to pitch your own shelter with confidence. The first hour is knots, just the handful you actually need, tied enough times that your hands remember them. The second hour is tarps, where those knots go to work. We'll set up a few different configurations so you can see what changes with the weather and the site you've got. Bring some cordage if you have a favourite, otherwise we'll have what you need.
🥾 Hike
🎯 Newcomer
Bat Lake Trail Through a Naturalist's Eye
A moderate-paced 5.8 km hike around Bat Lake with a naturalist's running commentary on what's actually out there, including an answer to the question everyone asks: why don't you see lots of moose in the woods? Plan for 2.5–3 hours. Bring snacks or a lunch and something to drink. Hiking poles and/or crampons are a good idea.
🙋 Volunteer shift
🎯 Newcomer
Volunteer Shift - Help set up the Market
When we set up the market, we need to set up folding tables, with table cloths, and arrange a small number of chairs. And bring in a few bins of things needed for the market. Many hands make light work. Volunteering for this shift earns you a free year of Ripples and Leaves Tree level membership.
🔥 Gathering
🎯 Newcomer
Gear & Maker Market
Your one-stop shop for outdoor adventure! Kick off the weekend by exploring this curated market featuring innovative regional gear vendors and talented local makers. It's the perfect place to find unique treasures and gear up for the season.
🔥 Gathering
🎯 Newcomer
Meet the Authors
Kevin Callan and Hap Wilson are back again this year, signing books at the market table. New this year: Brenda Missen, author of Tumblehome. Bring a book from home or pick one up at the market, either way, come by and say hello.
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
No Mobile Service. No Wifi. No Power. Still Connected.
After a big storm knocks out the power and the cell towers, ham radio is often what still works, the way people reach their families when nothing else can get through. Sandra Fraser, a licensed ham with the Ottawa Amateur Radio Club, is setting up a radio station in the Warming Tent. Mew Lake counts as an official Parks on the Air site, so she'll be making contact with other operators, sometimes hundreds of miles away, using portable gear. Come listen in on an actual conversation happening over the airwaves, learn what a call sign is, and try keying the mic yourself if you want. No license or radio experience needed.
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
Cook It Weird: Clever Low-Tech Camp Cooking
Skip the usual hot dogs and marshmallows. This workshop covers creative, low-tech ways to cook at camp: Dutch oven baking, buddy burners, tinfoil dinners, and a few genuinely weird campfire tricks. We'll also cover kid-friendly ideas like milk-carton hot dogs and popcorn in a can. Come ready to try something new. You might walk away with a better way to cook at camp than the one you've been using for years.
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
MeshCore: Message without Internet or Phone Services
MeshCore is a small handheld radio that sends text messages from one device to the next, no cell towers, wifi, or internet needed. Each device passes the message a bit further along, so a signal can travel well past what one radio alone could reach. No license required, no radio experience needed. It's built for exactly the kind of trip we're all here for. Hikers spread out on a trail can check in at set times. A canoe group can text between boats. Campers can stay in touch around a site with no bars anywhere in sight. Because it doesn't rely on cell towers or the internet at all, it works the same way if that infrastructure ever goes down back home, during a storm, a blackout, or anything else that knocks out the usual networks.
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
Making Fire without a Lighter
A lighter is easy. This is what you do when the lighter is gone, wet, or was never in the pack to begin with. We start with the rocks. Certain stones throw a fat orange spark when you strike them against steel, and once your eye is trained, you'll spot them on half the trails you walk. Then tinder: what to gather, how to tease it into something that will take a spark, and how to tell dry from almost-dry, which is the difference between a fire and a morning of frustration. Last comes the ferro rod, the one piece of kit worth its weight. We'll practise the strike until a flame comes up under your own hands, not the instructor's. Everything you need is provided. Bring your own ferro rod, flint kit, or carbon or stainless steel knife if you have one, and spend the session getting comfortable with the tools you'd actually carry.
🍽️ Meal
🎯 Newcomer
The Epic Freezing Woman Potluck Feast!
It's the culinary heart of the weekend! Join us for our most beloved tradition: the Friday night potluck. Witness the magic as we all come together to create a sprawling banquet with dozens of delicious, homemade dishes. From hearty mains and warming stews to creative salads and decadent desserts, it's a true testament to the talent and generosity of this community. Bringing a food item, come by at 4pm Only eating, come by at 5pm Please bring your own re-usable bowl, and cutlery to help minimize garbage. Thank you! If you contribute a dish to share, please be sure to label it with all ingredients so our friends with dietary needs can feast safely and happily. With everyone's contribution, we'll create an incredible spread with something for every palate!
🙋 Volunteer shift
🎯 Newcomer
Volunteer Shift - Pack up the Market
When we pack up the market, we need to break down folding tables, fold and store table cloths, and stack the chairs. And carry out the bins of things used for the market. Many hands make light work. Volunteering for this shift earns you a free year of Ripples and Leaves Tree level membership.
🔥 Gathering
🎯 Newcomer
Fireside Stories and Poems
An evening of reading out loud, around the community fire pit. Bring something you love: a poem, a page from a book, a paragraph that stuck with you, by a woman author or written by you. Keep each piece under three minutes. If the night runs long and everyone has had a turn, come back for a second or a third. Sign up ahead of time so we can put together a running order. Come to listen even if you are not reading. There is usually room by the fire, and it is a good way to spend a cold evening. We could use a hand keeping the fire fed through the readings. If that is you, say so when you sign up.
🔥 Gathering
🎯 Newcomer
Games Night in the Warming Tent
Bring your favourite board game and come play in the Warming Tent, woodstove going, wherever the night takes it. No tournament, no one keeping score. A few extra games will be on hand if you didn't bring your own, so don't let an empty shelf stop you from showing up. Come for one round or stay the whole night. Good company either way.
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
First Aid for Serious Bleeding
For a wound that a simple bandage will not fix: a saw or axe slip, a fall on the ice. Severe external bleeding is one of the few first aid problems where minutes decide the outcome, and help in Algonquin is a long way off. Two instructors from Boreal River Rescue and Wilderness Medical Associates International teach this. They train people in wilderness first aid and river rescue for a living. They have taken the bleeding control part out of their longer first aid courses to offer it to you in a workshop you won't want to miss. During the 90 minute workshop, you'll get hands-on practice and learn current best practices with the following skills: - Severe external bleed check - Wound packing - Pressure dressings - Tourniquet No medical background needed. The same session runs twice. Everything is provided. Wear layers you can kneel and move in.
🥾 Hike
🎯 Newcomer
An Old Rail Bed Ramble
A moderate-paced wander along the old rail bed west of the campground, for people who like to poke around without a fixed destination in mind. No set turnaround point, just see where curiosity takes the group. Bring snacks and something to drink. We'll be back in time for the keynote speakers.
🔥 Gathering
🎯 Newcomer
The Freezing Woman 8 Group Picture!
Be a piece of our history! Each year, our group photo serves as a stunning visual testament to a wonderful community that keeps growing. This is the one moment we all come together to create a snapshot that captures the incredible energy and scale of Freezing Woman. Be a part of this fun tradition. Your face belongs in this moment!
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
Spot It, Split It: Firewood and Tool Basics
A lot of people feel unsure picking up an axe or saw, even after years of camping. This workshop is built to fix that. We start with a 30-minute walk, talking through what makes good firewood: what to look for, what to leave standing, how to size up a piece before you cut it. Back at the campsite, Kielyn Marrone (Lure of the North) covers axe and saw basics: stance, grip, and how to make a clean cut without fighting the wood. Then it's your turn to practice.
🎓 Workshop
🎯 Newcomer
Mapping Our Place in the Natural World
Presented by Headwaters Wilderness Program, in this workshop we will discover a new way of getting-to-know nature that goes beyond our regular perception. Working together, we will create unique collaborative maps of a place. No ordinary maps, ours will focus on time and relationships rather than space and abstraction. Join this workshop, and you will never look at the natural world the same way again. Meet at the Warming Tent, and we'll walk to the Airfield together
🥾 Hike
🎯 Newcomer
How Algonquin's Animals Get Through Winter
The Algonquin Wildlife Research Station has been studying the park's animals for 80 years. Drayke Evans, the Station Manager, starts with a short talk on that history and some of the discoveries along the way. There's a table and display to look over too. Then it's a guided wildlife walk through the Old Airfield, right next to the campground. Drayke will show you how the animals that live here are built to handle winter. The talk is about 30 minutes and the walk is about 2 hours. Binoculars help, but you don't need them. Dress for standing outside in November.
🙋 Volunteer shift
🎯 Newcomer
Volunteer Shift - Help run the Chili Night Kitchen
We need 6 to 8 people to run the kitchen for Chili Night. Come to Site 7 in the afternoon to chop, stir, and mind the pots.
🧶 Craft
🎯 Newcomer
Stitch and Chat in the Warming Tent
Bring whatever you're making and work on it in company. The woodstove will be going in the Warming Tent, and there's room to sit for an hour or the whole evening. Knitting, crochet, mending, hand sewing, whatever is in your bag. It isn't a workshop and no one is teaching. It's a few hours to sit with your hands busy and talk, or not talk, while the tent stays warm. Come even if you didn't bring a project. There's spare yarn and a few needles to lend, and someone who can get you started. You're welcome to come just for the company and the heat.
🍽️ Meal
🎯 Newcomer
Chili Night in Canada
This is the meal where we thank everyone whose work went into Freezing Woman 8: volunteers, workshop and activity hosts, speakers, and the people who kept things running in the background. Saturday night, back at camp after the keynotes. We set up a community kitchen on Site 7 and cook several large pots of chili, at least one of them meat-free. Cornbread, a toppings table, and something sweet after. Ripples & Leaves pays for the ingredients. Everyone is welcome to eat. If you hosted or volunteered this year, you are the guest of honour. Short thanks at 6pm, then we serve until the pots are empty. First come, first fed. Bring your own bowl and spoon. Sign up so we know how many we are feeding. Cooks needed. We need 6 to 8 people to run the kitchen. Come to Site 7 in the afternoon to chop, stir, and mind the pots. Sign up separately for a cooking spot.
🔥 Gathering
🎯 Newcomer
The Freezing Woman Story: A documentary film
Kath Fudurich, a Toronto cinematographer, has been quietly capturing our story. Saturday night, as Chili Night starts to wrap up, we're screening the documentary she made. Kath will be there to chat. It's outdoors, at night, in November. Bring a chair, and bundle up in layers to keep warm. A blanket and something hot in a thermos wouldn't hurt either.
🙋 Volunteer shift
🎯 Newcomer