If, by chance, you were in Lafayette, Louisiana, last Thursday evening, I hope you were able to go to the Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival. That night, attendees were treated to the world premiere of the Québec film Par hasard en courant… Written and directed by Québec City native, Jacques Loiselle, Par hasard en
Maple syrup is serious business in Québec. In fact, it can be worth killing for. At least it is in the recently released crime novel, Mort sucrée. In this fast-moving whodunit, inspector Melchior Perrot pursues the truth behind the death of a well-known maple mogul, Gaston Demers. Found dead in a remote region of the
I am, by nature, a skeptic. So when I heard that Québec City intended to install giant, multi-colored lampshades along Avenue Cartier, I thought that authorities were embarking on a project that would spoil one of the city’s most beautiful streets, one that would be out of fashion before it was even completed. I could
If you don’t know Aly Ndiaye, you should. Aly Ndiaye, alias Webster, is Québec City’s premier hip hop artist. His unique brand of thoughtful and thought-provoking rap thrills both die-hard fans and those who are new to the genre. With seven records to his credit, he has proven his worth in the industry. For the
The City of Québec recently unveiled a new slogan, one that will – they hope – efficiently sum up the special character of this capital city. The slogan they chose: l’accent d’Amérique – the Accent of America. Although critics of the new slogan have questioned its ability to communicate the desired message, there is absolutely
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A week ago Sunday, Québec City’s International Pee Wee Hockey Tournament wrapped up at the Pepsi Coliseum. This annual event brings thousands of 11 and 12 year old hockey players to the hockey arenas of the Old Capital. Their presence in town marks a tradition that has been warming up Québec winters for 55 years.
Each year on the frozen St. Anne River, a city is reborn. It is a city of parks and plowed roads, electricity and brightly colored storefronts. It is a city of shacks – hundreds of small ice fishing shacks. Wood smoke wafts out of each chalet, trailing off into the frigid Québec air. Inside each
Here in Québec, autumn is in full swing. Fall colors are at their peak, snow geese are staging on the tidal flats, and the grapes are ripe on Orleans Island. In fact, at Bacchus Vineyard, they have just brought in the last of the harvest for the 2014 vintage. The Vignoble Isle de Bacchus is
As the sugar season approaches, many Quebecers turn their attention to the forests of the province and partake in the traditions that surround the creation of maple syrup. Among those traditions is a sleigh ride in the snow. Last week, I had the pleasure of being part of a sleighing party that took us through
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In Québec, like many places on earth, religion has become less important over the years. One of the consequences of this trend is an overabundance of beautiful and majestic but disused and dilapidated churches that no longer have parishioners to fill and care for them. It is a thorny problem that eludes a simple solution.