Valentine’s Day, Family Day, Olympics come together for Aurora’s Arctic Adventure

February 15, 2026 · 0 Comments

This weekend is shaping up to be a busy one as Valentine’s Day lands on the Family Day weekend, coinciding with the Winter Olympics, but whether you’re looking for something fun to do with your sweetheart, make new memories as a family, or break a sweat doing something sporty, Aurora’s two-day Arctic Adventure has you covered.

The Town’s annual Family Day tradition will be spread over two days and two locations this year, with the fun beginning on Saturday, February 14, at Aurora Town Square and continuing Monday, February 16, with a day of outdoor activities at Town Park.

Saturday at Town Square begins at 11 a.m. with live entertainment and workshops running through 3 p.m.

With a focus on crochet, string art, and diamond art, workshops will take place throughout the day, often with Valentine’s and Olympic themes, with registration being taken at aurora.ca/arcticadventure, with a nominal fee for materials.

Entertainment will unfold throughout the Aurora Town Square complex from a special interactive story time with your favourite characters from Disney’s Frozen, presented by Marquee Theatrical Productions, wildlife and science demonstrations, crafts, games, and a showcase by the Pine Tree Potters Guild.

“Having a program on Town Square on the Saturday and with a program at Town Park on Monday, it enables us to provide a completely different set of family experiences,” says Shelley Ware, Special Events Coordinator for the Town of Aurora. “With the use of the Performance Hall [at Town Square], we’re bringing in the Speaking of Wildlife show, we’re fortunate Marquee Theatrical Productions is bringing in the show Frozen, and then we have that gorgeous bridge – the way it arcs between the two buildings, there’s going to be ice carvings done below outside and the bridge is going to be full of activities such as balloon twisting, face painting, the Pine Tree Potters are going to be doing a pottery demonstration, which is really cool. There are some craft stations as well. Travelling back inside, we’re going to have Mad Science that is going to be set up with a science activation. Moving around the building, there are a lot of activities which would be appealing for all families.”

Family Day fun kicks off at Town Park on Monday at 10 a.m. with the Great Canadian Lumberjack Show at 10.15 a.m. and 1.45 p.m., two performances from juggler Kobbler Jay, a noontime Speaking of Wildlife Show, and a fire performance from Hoop You.

“It helps to have this over two different days, and it helps that the activities are so different,” says Ware. “There’s going to be some families who want to sit back in a theatre where they’re warm and take in one of those kinds of shows, and then there are going to be other families who want to take advantage of it still being winter.

“We’ve brought back some tried-and-true experiences with the Snow Valley Mini Snow Tubing run, as well as the Canadian Lumberjacks show – and those shows we can really only have in the wintertime, so we really have to celebrate them while the weather is on our side for those, but we’ll also have bonfire stations.”

Ware notes that there will be three ice carvings at both locations, with the theme for the Town Park sculptures being the 2026 Winter Olympics now unfolding in Italy.

“We’ll be celebrating the Olympics at Town Park and have Olympic and Paralympic facts aligning with our A-frames down the walkway,” says Ware. “There’s going to also be a specialized activity where we’ve frozen medals into water balloons, so kids can chip away at it to earn their medal.”

For those looking to still celebrate, but on your own time, the Town is also encouraging residents to take part in their Community Scavenger Hunt, which is powered through the GooseChase platform. It features more than 50 different missions families can accomplish together.

For a full roster of Family Day activities, and to take part in the Scavenger Hunt, visit aurora.ca/arcticadventure.

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter