Experience Québec
The Magic of Lanterns and other exhibitions
A stroll around the garden
Be part of an illuminated, carnivalesque celebration, on the water! The 2008 edition of the Magic of Lanterns, A Thousand and One Stars, features almost 1000 traditional and dozens of enormous figures of jugglers, acrobats, opera singers, musicians and more. Called the Hundred Acts, these figures represent the multitalented Chinese troupes that travel the world, in the 2000-year-old tradition of the Han Dynasty! 
This fall, the Montreal botanical garden with the second-largest variety of plants in the world presents a series of temporary exhibitions. There’s something for everyone, from Chinese musical instruments and soy in the Chinese Garden, to lacquer in the Japanese Garden, Aboriginal legends and nighttime photos of the garden, not to mention hundreds of decorated pumpkins! The pièce de résistance is the highly popular exhibition that dazzles visitors every fall: The Magic of Lanterns! And the best is: it’s open every night until 9 p.m. !The lanterns
This dazzling exhibition is prepared long in advance: imagine, once this edition has wrapped up, a new theme is already under development. The spring before the show, artisans from Shanghai make each lantern by hand (following the sketches of Montreal-based My Quynh Duong ) which are then shipped by boat in June. The show that lights up Montréal’s nights takes an entire summer to prepare! This year, LED contactless technology will use 10 times less energy, but the show will be as electrifying as ever! The Great Pumpkin Ball
October means Halloween, and… pumpkins! For the 23rd year, children, adults,families and groups have pulled out all the stops on their imagination to dress the traditional jack o’-lantern in full regalia! Join them at the ball, where you might just meet Esmeralda the Friendly Witch, and see Pépo-citrouille for a bit of entertaining theatre! Bring the whole family, days or evenings until 9 p.m., and stop by the Little Monsters Courtyard play area or visit Cucurbitaceae in the spotlight.
The garden under a new light
If you arrive before dusk, take the opportunity to see pictures of the Botanical Garden… by night! Every day until 6 p.m., the Tree House presents this exhibition of nocturnal photos by Linda Rutenberg. After midnight, Through the Seasons – Tree House shows you the garden when all is calm, people are long gone and nature assumes its rightful place. Who says autumn nights have to be cold and grey? Come warm the cockles of your heart, give your eyes a treat and bring the little ones, because this year evenings sparkle with witches, jack-o’-lanterns and magic lanterns!
Until November 2 th, every day until pm (except the exhibit After midnight, Through the Seasons, which closed at 6 p.m.)
| Madagascar comes to the Biodôme |
 A unique exhibition is being held at the Biodôme until November 1: VIP Visitors from Madagascar! Bring the family to observe the lemur catta, one of 90 species of lemurs, and the only one with the distinguishing tail in the form of a question mark. Like the cow in India, lemurs were considered sacred animals in Madagascar because they were believed to be the reincarnation of humans. Their friendly face is sure to please children, because the curious mug of the lemur catta is very communicative! You’ll find other Malagasy animals along the Biodôme’s central pathway, like the tomato frog and the panther chameleon! Running until november 16th, will come back in 2009. |
| Lacquer: a fascinating material! |
 The Japanese Garden presents a fascinating exhibition on lacquer, a resin extracted from a tree that belongs to the same family as… poison ivy! Urushiol, as it’s called, has many uses (fabric, bowls, chopsticks, artworks, gold wire, etc.), after it goes through 20 to 40 processing steps! One of these is drying, which, curiously, requires plenty of… humidity! Come see the many uses and long preparation of this magical resin for yourself! |
Sylvain Lacoursière
Photos: The Montreal botanical garden , except After midninight by Linda Rutenberg and Madagascar by Michel Tremblay (Biodôme)
2009-05-28
