Cities
Québec City
St. Lawrence RiverQuébec City: 400 years old already!
A capital in full celebration
Québec City marks its 400th birthday this year: an exceptional year for an exceptional city that can justly claim to be the cradle of French civilization in North America, the jumping-off point for far reaching continental exploration and a major gateway for European immigration. Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the city will celebrate four centuries as a vital and influential presence on American soil!
Happy birthday!
On July 3, the show Rencontres/Encounters musically commemorates the city’s founding by Samuel de Champlain in 1608. This memorable day will close with a phenomenal fireworks display on the St. Lawrence. Rencontres/Encounters will play again on July 4 and 5 at Place de l’Assemblée Nationale as acrobats, jugglers and stilt-walkers take over the city. That same month, the Québec City Summer Festival will feature an outdoor screening of Jean-Claude Labrecque’s film Infiniment Québec and a sing-along with comedian Yvon Deschamps and friends, entitled Viens chanter ton histoire (“come and sing your story”).In August, experience a magical evening of fire, water, acrobatics and music at the Baie de Beauport. On August 22, Céline Dion will delight her innumerable fans with a performance on the Plains of Abraham. Last but not least, Cirque du Soleil takes the stage in October with a show created specially in the city’s honour.
Cavorting in the Old Port
From June through September, Espace 400e-the official celebration headquarters located in the Old Port-will offer up a breathtaking array of programming. From the themed pavilion (site of the Passengers exhibition) to the wharves, and from the cabaret to the Ephemeral Gardens, the Old Port is awash with unparalleled imagination and festive fervour!From June 20 to August 24, The Image Mill, a multimedia show by Robert Lepage, will be projected onto the 600-m (2,000-ft.) surface of the grain silos flanking the Bassin Louise.
Still more festivities!
The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec will present Le Louvre à Québec: les arts et la vie, an exhibition showcasing over 270 works from the collections of the prestigious French museum. Other original productions have also been scheduled. The Musée de la civilisation presents the exhibition Gold in the Americas and the installation The Visionaries’ Garden, while the Opéra de Québec presents Starmania Opéra and the singing competition Operalia. In this action-packed period, the city's event-and-activity calendars are chock-a-block. Musical comedy, an air show, a marathon, First Nations theatre, and a festival on the Pont de Québec: there’s an embarrassment of riches to choose from!
Exceptionally, a number of significant events are also slated to take place in Québec City in 2008:
- the 49th International Eucharistic Congress (June)
- the 4th World Youth Congress (August)
- the 12th Sommet de la Francophonie (October)
The splendid De Tourny fountain, a gift to the city from La Maison Simons (a retailer whose history is deeply rooted in the city), has given added allure to the elegant façade of the Parliament Building.The redevelopment of the Baie de Beauport, Pointe-à-Carcy, Bassin Brown, and the Promenade Samuel De Champlain—a long green space between the St. Lawrence and Boulevard Champlain—will ease public access to the banks of the St. Lawrence. In the same spirit, the City of Québec plans to rehabilitate the banks of Rivière Saint-Charles, which feeds into the St. Lawrence near the Old Port.
Québec City awaits you!
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