PlanetEye

People are already exited at the idea of some of major shows scheduled for this summer in Québec City.  It will all begin next June 23 with the celebration of John the Baptist, Patron Saint of the province of Quebec.  From 7:00PM (the festivities generally last all night), a bevy of stars will perform on the Plains of Abraham.  Among them: Ariane Moffat, Stephie Shock, Pierre Lapointe, Kevin Parent and Andrée Waters.  A special tribute will be paid to Felix Leclerc, a symbol among song writers of Quebec, who died in August of 1988.  Rain or shine, about 100.000 people are expected.   In deed, every year, many (young men and women particularly) come in from all over the province.  Streets are packed and buses so filled that most must walk to the site of the free concert.  But those who prefer to remain in the comfort of their home, the local TQS television stations usually broadcasts the concert live.

The next big event will take place a few days after, on July 3, commemorating the foundation of the city.  The show will then move to the place in front of the General Assembly.  15 musicians will accompany major stars like Robert Charlebois, Diane Dufresne, Ginette Reno...

In the meantime, as of June 20^th, the 40 minutes video production «Moulin à

 images» by Robert Lepage will be projected by some 27 cameras on the grain silos on the river banks.  Film clippings and images will narrate the city's history on an original soundtrack by René Luissier.

Last but not least, after the yearly Summer Festival, world renowned Celine Dion will perform on the plains of Abraham and the Cirque du Soleil will give two performances at the Coliseum.  Tens of thousands of free thickets will be distributed for these events.  Details will come later.

Celebrating the birth of a city is very much a celebration of its founders.    In Quebec's case, the celebration of its 400^th anniversary focuses a lot on its founder Samuel de Champlain a French cartographer and explorer who became governor of the New France.   His actions on and around the Saint Lawrence River are significant.

Yet no one knows really what Champlain looked like and so an emphasis is put on his deeds as a mean for people of the 21 century can get to know the man whose initiative went far beyond his professional occupations to the making of Quebec the center of a powerful colony.

Many activities are offered during the spring and summer to allow visitors and residents alike to travel back in time and discover traces of Champlain's accomplishments.   

•1-      Park Canada' teams who have been doing archaeological investigations under the Duffrin Terrace by the Chateau Frontenac have organised visits of this site were was built Saint-Louis fort and Chateau who served for 200 years as the official residence and the seat of power for French and British governors.   It burned in 1834 and was central to the political, social and cultural life of the city.

•2-      A fascinating encounter with Samuel de Champlain is proposed by the Musée de la Civilisation as you visit Québec of the 1635 through a scaled model and get to know Champlain and his time thanks to d film technology, travel narratives, maps and drawings.

•3-      Quebec's Citadel, the residence of the Governor General of Canada will be the exhibition place of an unusual object.   A 2.2 meters high and 1.5meters wide book: Le grand Livre de Champlain presented by the French cities of La Rochelle, Royan and Rochefort.   All the pages are written and drawn by hand based on Samuel de Champlain's notebooks

Of course, tribute is also paid to other figures that have left their imprint on the city's history. We will tell you about these soon.

 If you come to celebrate Québec City's 400^th anniversary, various organisations have worked hard to make thing very easy for you.  Moving around the city, for instance has always been convenient thanks to the buses of the Capital Transportation System.  Well as of May 31, it will be event easier, more adapted to your needs and best of all, cheap if not entirely free.

As of May 31, a special shuttle will go into service taking you from Beauport to the Aquarium of Québec along the Saint Lawrence River, going through the newly reorganized Champlain Park, with its works of art and various attractions.  Thanks to the financial contribution of Industrial Alliance the card that will give you access for a full day to this shuttle, allowing to get off at the sixteen points of interest on the itinerary and re-boarding it again as often as you want will cost only CA$2.00.  Further, the shuttle will have numerous point of transfer with regular bus lines.  From May 31, to August 31, it will operate every 30 minutes from 10:00AM to 11:00PM seven days a week.  From September 1 to October 13, it will only operate on week-ends and holydays.  This service will be much appreciated also for it will allow to come close to the many waterfront activities scheduled

Serving passengers for free, a series of Ecolobus (bus powered by electricity) will go around the Old city.  It will start form the pier of the shuttle to and from Levy and take you up to the walled city and around the parliament building.

For more information go to http://www.rtcquebec.ca/

One of Quebec's greatest qualities is that it allows for both urban and countryside activities, all year round.   If you are an outdoor person and you want to get a break from sightseeing tours and fine dining, this time of the year, fishing is a great alternative.   Close by, around the city, are about 119 places that can accommodate the 813,000 people who fish on a regular basis.  79% of them are between the age of 35 and 65. These are official numbers given by the Ministry of Natural Resources.  It would then seem that fishing is a sport for adults. Yet there are more and more young people, children even, who go along to enjoy the adventure, and an adventure it is for, as a friend of mine said:  «fishing is as diverse are there are places to fish in and fishes to catch».

Being an adventure, you have to know the rules set by the provincial authorities.  First you need to get a permit (you can get one at any local sports equipment store and the price is reasonable)   Also, you have to find out if the place you want to go to is classified as a faunistic reserve, to which access by automobile and motor boat may be restricted.   Also the periods during which fishing is allowed and the quantity of fishes that you can catch depend on the area.  And so I strongly suggest that you check before with the authorities at http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/.   It may sound troublesome but it's not really and a fishing trip in the area is so much fun.  One last word of advise:  bring your own equipment, I have not yet found a place here where you can rent such material. 

I you feel the urge to get out of the tourist circuits, out of the historical district, I would lie to suggest an escape to the former city of Ste. Foy, now a borough of greater Quebec.  It's actually not more that a half hour from the center of town and reachable by the No. 7 bus line.   You may ask the driver to let you off at the corner of rue Myrand, a block before one of the main entrances to the Laval University campus.   You cross Chemin Ste.-Foy , walk about a mile to a crossroad by a shaded park   There you will find a nice café-restaurant with the suggestive name : Au temps perdu, a place where precisely you can take time and enjoy either their wide selection of beers during their happy hour (4-7 PM).  You can also go there for lunch and have delicious and inexpensive meal ( more or less $12.00).  The lunch menu includes various international dishes.  I had the orange duck that was absolutely delicious.   Their terrace is now open and you can enjoy the atmosphere of a nice residential neighbourhood while having some nachos, a sandwich, a hot dogs on French bread, or some thin crust pizza.

Although it's often full (their clientele is mostly business people and university students) it's not necessary to make reservations.  But if you feel the need to do so, give them a call.

Au temps perdu

867, avenue Myrand

Quebec, Qc G1V 2V8

(418) 681-5601

From May 14 to May 31, Québec will host the 2008 edition if the Carrefour International de theatre, an extraordinary gathering of actors, directors and critics celebrating the universal art of the theatre.   It is unique occasion to discover contemporary artistic productions from other countries.   In deed, foreign productions make up for more than half the program.   It is also the opportunity to appreciate original productions from Quebec that are either revivals or works by emerging artists.   According to the organizers, this year's program will be festive, in line with the celebrations of the city's 400^th

anniversary.   It will offer incursions in other fields like dance, circus, music and multimedia.   This year, one of the ten major productions will take place on Avenue Cartier, where many young adults hang out and enjoy the many sidewalk cafés.  Another promising performance will be that of Secret, a performance that literally walks the taut tightrope of circus art.  It's a solo performance by Johann le Guillerm, from France.  Also scheduled is Dave St.-Pierre most provocative production in which twenty dancers, fully naked, create living tableaux while a Mistress of Ceremony talks about love customs of our times.

Also as part of this Festival, forty young French Canadian artists will  present readings of their works in progress and creative workshops open to all.   

A detailed program and ticket information are available at http: http://www.carrefourtheatre.qc.ca/