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Schedule of Events in Laurentians Region

JUNE 30 and july 1
Festival brassicole des Laurentides
Parc de la gare
420, rue de la Gare, Saint-Faustin-Lac-Carré
819 688-2161, extn. 234
festivalbrassicoledeslaurentides.com
The Laurentian Beer Festival invites all fans of microbreweries
to discover and taste craft beers and
meet the artisans behind these products. Product
presentations, entertainment, shows, music and
booths serving local and regional food.

 

july 1 to 29
Nostalgia evenings in Sainte-Adèle – Concerts
Parc de la famille
Corner of Morin and Émile-Cochand, Sainte-Adèle
450 229-2921 | ville.sainte-adele.qc.ca
Series of free outdoor musical concerts, on Saturday
nights, at Parc de la famille. 8 p.m. First part at
7:30 p.m.
• July 1: A tribute to Peter Gabriel
• July 8: All Access Showband – Songs from the 50s
• July 15: Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs –
Moderne traditional music
• July 22: Lobster Country Band – Country
• July 29: Gregory Charles

july 1 to 9
Lac Masson en fête in
Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson
Ville de Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson
1 855 228-2545 | ste-marguerite.qc.ca
• July 1 and 2: great annual bazaar in favour of the
church, on the parish grounds. Rain or shine.
• July 8 and 9: local products fair and sailing festival,
in the heart of the village, SUP tryouts with Echo
Aloha, big BBQ, pontoon rides, animation, storytelling
and concert.

july 1 to december 3
Série Ça Me Dit Concerts Rona Dagenais
Parc Georges-Filion – Saint-Sauveur
1 877 528-2553 | valleesaintsauveur.com
The Rona Dagenais «Ça me dit» concerts (concert
series) has really changed since its beginnings. Now
it offers much more than concerts: exhibitions, circus
performances, thematic weekends, open-air cinema,
an urban dance competition, two sidewalk sales and
many free outdoor concerts.

july 2 to august 27
Les dimanches sur la promenade
Sunday Concerts
Promenade Paul-Sauvé – Saint-Eustache
450 974-2787 | saint-eustache.ca
Free concerts, Sunday afternoons, on Promenade
Paul-Sauvé, behind the Saint-Eustache church, on the
shores of Rivière des Mille Îles.

until august 6
It’s peak season at la maison lavande
La Maison Lavande – Culture et parfumerie
902, chemin Fresnière, Saint-Eustache
1 877 780-3009 | maisonlavande.ca
It’s finally peak season at La Maison Lavande. The
summer activities resume with a bunch of little extras:
bistro, entertainment, guided tours, picnic area,
new terrace, a family area and more. You can bring
your own picnic. Open daily, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(the fields are open until 4:30 p.m.). Applicable entry
fees.
july 4 to august 1
Place du Village en spectacle in Sainte-Thérèse
free outdoor concerts
Place du Village
6, rue de l’Église, Sainte-Thérèse
450 434-1440 | sainte-therese.ca
Various outdoor music concerts presented on Tuesdays
at Place du village. 7:30 p.m. Animation at 6:30
p.m.
• July 4: Fanny Bloom – Pop
• July 11: Riot and The Blues Devils – Blues rockabilly
• July 18: Jojo et les Sixtease – Retro
• July 25: A tribute to Bob Dylan, with Alain Lépine –
Folk-rock

• August 1: Frédéric Lapierre, Angèle Courville and
the Alternatim Vocal Ensemble – Francophone

 

july 6 to august 6
Festival International Hautes-Laurentides
1 855 776-4080 | concertshautes-laurentides.com
Music festival. Artistic director: Alexandre Da Costa.
This year, festival organizers have decided to modify
the event and innovate by having more of a presence
on the regional cultural scene, thus creating a more
significant impact than the last 18 years. This 19th edition
will mark the beginning of the new «international»
era, with its new name: Festival International HautesLaurentides.

july 7 to august 13
1001 pots
2435, rue de l’Église, Val-David
1 888 322-7030, extn. 4235 | 1001pots.com
The largest exhibition of ceramics in North America.
25,000 original pieces. Workshops and special
activities. Daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission $2.

july 7 to 16
Tremblant international blues festival
Tremblant Resort
1000, chemin des Voyageurs, Mont-Tremblant
819 681-3000, extn. 46643 | tremblantblues.com
More than 100 concerts, mostly free, on multiple
indoor and outdoor stages. Ten days of blues,
ranging from its purest roots to R&B, soul, funk,
country, folk and rock influences. More varied than
ever, this year’s program will be presented in a series
of intimate settings so you can get up close and
personal with all the performers.
july 8 to august 26
Outdoor musical concerts in
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
Place Lagny
2, rue Saint-Louis, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
1 888 326-0457 | ville.sainte-agathe-des-monts.qc.ca
Free outdoor concerts at Place Lagny on Saturday
nights. 8:30 p.m., first part 7:30 p.m.
• July 8: A tribute to Les Colocs
• July 15: Cherry Chérie
• July 22: Annie Blanchard
• July 29: Loco Locass
• August 5: Qw4rtz
• August 12: Marco Calliari
• August 19: Pierre Kwenders
• August 26: Raphaël Torr – A tribute to Joe Dassin
july 13 to 16
Lachute fair
Lachute Fairgrounds
399, chemin Gougeon, Lachute
450 562-3741 | expolachutefair.com
The oldest agricultural fair in Québec! Agricultural
exhibits, rides, demolition derby, various shows,
diverse contests, exhibition of farm equipment.

july 14 to 16
AIM Electronic Music Festival
Parc Carillon
Rue du Plein-Air, Saint-André-d’Argenteuil
aimexperience.com
AIM is a new, outdoor electronic music festival presenting
over 50 artists on 3 stages (techno, house,
deep house, pop electronic and chill out) held at Parc
Carillon in Saint-André d’Argenteuil. With a focus on
live and DJ performances, interactive multimedia
art, sound and digital technology, AIM proposes an
ultimate and intimate set design in a festival environment.

july 14 to 16
Festival Manitou: Celebrating indigenous
cultures
Domaine Saint-Bernard
539, chemin Saint-Bernard, Mont-Tremblant
819 425-3588 | domainesaintbernard.org
First edition of the event Festival Manitou: Celebrating
indigenous cultures. The event is part of the
celebrations planned for the 150th anniversary of the
Canadian Confederation, and aims at the demystification
and reconciliation of past and present Aboriginal
and Canadian cultures. Musical and dance performances,
culinary discoveries, forest walks, stories
and legends will be among the highlights of the day.
july 15 to 23
Route des Arts
Southwestern Lower Laurentians
450 533-6360 | routedesarts.ca
An open doors event in the workshops and ateliers.
Come and admire the artists’ beautiful creations
and learn about their techniques in the intimate setting
of their studios and, perhaps, find a high quality
work of art to suit your taste. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
july 21 to 30
Festival Nuits Blues Laurentides
Parc Adolphe-Jodoin – Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard
450 745-3212 | nuitsblues.ca
Festival for blues aficionados presented in
the enchanting atmosphere of Saint-Adolphed’Howard
village, on sponsored stages and at
Parc Adolphe-Jodoin.

Canada, Events, Humour, Ideas for Traveling with Children, Montreal, Places to Travel, Quebec, Quebec City, Toronto, Travel Savings, Travel SMART, weekend ideas

Granby Zoo, Quebec

During the last couple of years the topic of visiting Quebec was coming up several times in our discussions. Kids were asking if there is a zoo there, so we found out that Granby Zoo is not too far… Finally in May 2017 we booked a hotel and planned out the itinerary that would include some of the places that we thought would be interesting for everyone in the family and the zoo was one of those.

The main destination was Quebec City and its beautiful downtown was so well preserved and such a distinct French heritage. We spent most of our time just strolling the streets, window shopping and watching the street performers who  really amazed us with their skills – fire jugglers, drama characters and musicians…

Granby Zoo is about 3 hours drive from the downtown Quebec, and about an hour from Montreal. We were welcomed in the nice reception hall, got our tickets and went to explore the animal world.

Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec

Right as we entered there was a gigantic size dinosaur’s head and a line up of kids willing to climb inside of it! No matter how big or small – they were very about the opportunity to see the real size dinosaurs! And there 21 of them right in front of you, so be very careful  – but don’t try to feed or pat these creatures! Even in the Zoo!

Dinosaurs encounter
Dinosaurs encounter

Enough of the dinosaurs  – the kids forgot about dinosaurs right at the sight of the farm animals. And there were lots of them  – pigs, sheep, and goats – so friendly and ready to make friends!

Farm animals
Farm animals
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec

After some hugs exchange with farm inhabitants we decided to go see some of the exotic creatures on display.

Granby Zoo, Quebec
Up close encounter with tropical fish via aquarium glass, Granby Zoo, Quebec
Stingray in Aquarium
Stingray in Aquarium

Oceania seemed to be a good place to start – first the stingrays and the variety of tropical fish and then all way around the Australian continent to see black swans, parrots, emus, and kangaroos.  Stingrays seem to be attracted to the hand emerged in the water –  some of them will come and allow us to gently touch their backs…
The Kangaroos were too busy to discuss any matters of their life, so the visit to the Oceania Garden was quite interesting as it is extremely rare you get to see kangaroos that close and with no fence!.

Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Australian Pavillion, Granby Zoo, Quebec

We entered the aviary and right away we were surrounded by many colorful parrots! For $1 you can buy a special nectar – just hold the cup tight and they will sit on your hand and drink it!

Granby Zoo Aviary, Quebec

We spend some good time  there – the parrots are so colorful and it is such a great experience to see them so close.

Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec

But there was a lot see and the time was  limited.
Our next destination was  Africa! Who doesn’t like to observe the grace of big cats, see elephants shower using trunks, slowly moving zebras and giraffes, and the hilarious monkeys?

Meerkat, Granby Zoo, Quebec
Zebras, Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec

One of our major observations was the  design of the areas, nice fences that imitate greenery and well maintained grounds. We later learned that Granby Zoo received an Award for the Energy Consumption Reduction Efforts project that was implemented during the renovation of 2005-2010.

The Zoo is well mapped and organized – it was no problem to find any continent or animal of interest. And yes, the zookeepers definitely speak many languages, no worries if you don’t speak French!
After Africa we had just a bit of time to make a short tour of South America. We stopped by llamas who stretched out their necks asking for treat… Sure!

Granby Zoo, Quebec

it was a lot of fun to feed them some green leaves that we found on the trees  around; we were impressed by the spread of the wings of the Andean Condor and spent some time waiting for the alligators to wake up from the afternoon nap; finally one of them yawned and slowly moved towards the water… at the end of the South American trail we saw a powerful jaguar,  at the moment it was quite relaxed and not interested in any aggression.

Granby Zoo, Quebec
Taking an afternoon nap....
Taking an afternoon nap….

On our way to South American continent we made a snack stop at “Le Marcher”. The restaurant offers a variety of foods and drinks and nice dining area;  there is also a large area outside with tables under umbrellas.
Next to the Restaurant there is an Amusement Park – where kids found some free rides while we were resting our feet; there is also an Amazoo Water park that offers quite the  variety of water rides, not now however… we may visit it some other time when the day will be hot enough for water fun…so long for now, the Zoo is closing and we are tired enough to get to our hotel and have some dinner.

For more information about the zoo and their hours: https://zoodegranby.com/en/

If you wish to spend a great overnight time in Granby here is the hotel that we really loved:  https://www.hotelstchristophe.com/

Canada, Events, Humour, Ideas for Traveling with Children, Montreal, Music, Places to Travel, Quebec, Restaurant News, Shopping, Sport Events, Travel Savings, Travel SMART

News from Montreal Tourism, Fall 2015 issue

Le 19 août 2015

Fall is an awesome time to be in Montréal. Things get cooking city-wide with three major food fests, a major photo exhibition and the best and brightest in new cinema. Plus, culture vultures can take in oodles of contemporary dance, a major indie music fest and a glittering line-up in symphony, ballet and the opera. Be here!

Visit the blog and see what’s happening in Montréal

Montréal indulges

Montréal’s got a crave-worthy calendar of events cooking for foodies. From August 20 to 24, Omnivore  features the freshest new talents in the SAT’s Foodlab kitchens. Celebrated Montréal chefs dazzle taste buds at the YUL EAT Festival in the Old Port, September 5 to 7. And MTL à TABLE  invites everyone to explore the city’s ebullient restaurant scene, October 29 to November 8. New food trends, up-and-coming chefs, cranked-up culinary classics, demos, dinners, parties: all this and more on the Montréal menu!

Montréal shows off

Montréal’s cultural calendar shines big and bright this autumn. Sensory Stories  at the Phi Centre invites visitors to rediscover narrative through virtual, interactive and immersive experiences until September 27. The World Press Photo  exhibition at Marché Bonsecours captures hearts and minds with prizewinning images until September 27, while the Festival du nouveau cinéma  provides a one-of-kind film fix by reeling in the planet’s newest and hottest works and talents from October 8 to 19.

Montréal is seriously festival

Fall’s bona fide festival time in Montréal too. Proving it is Festival Quartiers Danses  , which kicks it up with a fresh program of contemporary dance from September 9 to 20. On its heels is POP Montréal  , where seasoned and emerging musicians and plenty more happenings rock the city from September 16 to 20. The three-year-old Phénomena Festival  brings more boundary-pushing performances from October 16 to 23, while M for Montréal breaks out a huge new line-up of genre-spanning music, November 18 to 21.

Montréal keeps it classy

Montréal rolls out the red carpet to the classics this fall, with Maestro Kent Nagano conducting emBolero at the Maison symphonique de Montréal from October 20 and 21. The Opéra de Montréal thrills audiences with the emotion and intensity of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly  and Strauss’s Elektra  in September and November, respectively. And dance lovers can watch and wonder as the Grands Ballets steps it up with Kaguyahime  by choreographer Jiří Kylián, October 15 to 30.

New guided tour of the Olympic Park

As the Olympic Park’s 40th Anniversary fast approaches, we are offering guided tours that will teach you all about the highlights and proud moments of this mythic place  —located right in the city. The one-hour visit will take you on an informative tour of the Stadium and its brand new installations, showcasing the architectural masterpiece and its stunning history.

Race4Food

Three all-out food races around the Eaton Centre Food Court, with $1500 in prizes to be won! Place an order with a competitor, and they race around the food court at top speed to deliver the meal as fast as they can, without making any mistakes. Information at montrealeatoncentre.com

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel – The Exhibition
Until October 12
The chance to fully engage in the artwork in a way never before possible.

Gardens of Light
September 4 to November 1
This fall, the Chinese and Japanese Gardens will be offering two brilliant experiences you’re sure to enjoy.