Carnival of Quebec

The Carnaval of Quebec is largest Carnaval of Hiver of the world. It is held each year in the town of Quebec.

History

The origin of the Carnival of Quebec is found already among inhabitants of the News-France. Indeed, at this time, the practice to celebrate between friends and in family before the deprivations of the Lent had entered manners and already named Carnaval.

The first festival of winter structured organized in Quebec was it in 1894. Winter festivities presented under the name of Carnaval took place as from this year episodically, but were stopped during the First World War, the Grande depression of 1929 and the Second world war.

In 1954, a group of people of business decided to make revive this tradition. A mascot, the Catch Carnival, was created, and of the activities organized for the first modern carnival, from January 1st to February 22nd 1955. He repeated himself without fault every year thereafter, between mid-January and mid-February.

The style of the carnival was modernized since the beginning of the years 1990. " duchesses" representing each one a sector of the town of Quebec and among which a " is elected; queen of the carnaval" are disappeared, replaced by facetious imps, the " knuks" (to pronounce " Nouk"). Several activities not connected to the winter were abandoned, the alcoholic drink consumption on the spot reduced; one enriched the programming by cultural, sporting and family events.

Activities and attracted

A great number of the sites and activities are freely accessible with the port from the effigy of Catch (sold everywhere downtown) or for a moderate price.

Opening ceremonies and closing : And the closing opening ceremonies of the Carnival take place to the Palate of ice. At the time of evenings to which several thousands of festival assist, the Bonhomme carnival receives from the mayor of Quebec the " keys of the ville" so that it makes there reign a festive atmosphere; it will give them at the end of the Carnival before dispararaître. These evenings are the occasion of musical productions and pyrotechnics in sport.
the palate of ice : Since 1955, an imposing palate of ice is built in order to " loger" the catch Carnival, and it can be visited by the " carnavaleux". Located first of all at the place of Youville, it is built vis-a-vis the building of the Parlement since 1973. Manufactured first of all with carved blocks of ice, then of 1979 to 1992 with more than 9000 tons of snow compacted, to be again manufactured of ice as from 1993, its manufacture requires more than 30 months/man of work. It is at this place that several carnavalesques activities take place, of which closing and opening ceremonies.

the International one of sculpture on snow : The Carnival of Quebec was always the occasion for the inhabitants to decorate certain streets with scultptures of the ice, most known being the street Holy-Therese until 1990. Since 1973, the International one of sculpture on snow puts to the test the talents of a score of teams coming from different countries (of which some, more accustomed to sand, even never touched with the snow of their life), in order to create the monumental works judged by the public and a jury. A Canadian shutter (since 1974) allows representatives of each the Canadian provinces and territory to measure itself, and a Québécois shutter (since 1982) allows teams coming from different the areas from Quebec to make in the same way.
Competition of canine agility : Since 2000, an about sixty Masters of dog and their doggies compete of address in a snow-covered external course.
Race of jalopies : More than 80 children from 7 to 12 years meet in a sloping street of the city sécuritairement to dispute speed and of originality on board jalopies (small single-seat vehicles, artisanal and not-motorized). Gaining are exposed in a shopping mall of the area and are presented at the time of the processions.
Race in boat : The race in Boat with ice between Quebec and Lévis on the river frozen one of the traditional activities of the Carnival for 1894 and has been presented each year since 1955, and among that which attracts largest crowd (several tens of thousands of spectators on the spot). In team on large-sized boats, the participants must compete of agileté and endurance in order to make the return ticket (twice for the class competition man) of the distance of 3.2 km on the river. When the river is out of interstitial waters and the ideal conditions, the test perhaps supplemented in as little as 23 minutes. However, when the ices block good parts of the river and that the conditions are bad, the participants must as much draw their boat on the ices that pagayer and avoid being made carry by the current. In 1958, only four of the twenty teams in string supplemented the test. Moreover, the preliminaries with the competition take place on the Plaines of Abraham where the boats are only drawn with arm from man. Three categories exist: competition - men, competition - women, participation. In the years 1990 and 2000, the team of the captain Jean Anderson financed by the Château Frontenac regularly gained the test, including in 2005 among the 41 teams in competition (a record).
Large Transfered the is a race of attachments of huskies on a circuit of six kilometers in the streets of Old man-Quebec which are left snow-covered for the occasion, on departure and arrival of the Frontenac Castle. Forty attachments take part in the race to which several thousands of spectators assist.
the bath of snow is the occasion for the sensitive to the cold spectators to attend a strange tradition of the carnival: the daring ones in bathing suit will bathe in snow by three times by temperatures which can reach the -20°C, before turning over to be heated in a sauna. The 75 places available are always reserved more than one month in advance.
the Symposium of painting makes it possible to the public to admire work and to exchange with painters and sculptors who create works on the topic of the Carnival. The activity takes place in a zone which is reserved to him in a shopping mall of the area.
processions of night : These two headlight activities of the carnival present, on two evenings of weekend more than one score of enlightened allegorical tanks, mascots, entertainers and brass bands, is on the whole nearly 1200 observers. The processions, presented for one in the district of the City (high-city of Quebec) and for the other in the district Charlesbourg (low-city of Quebec) attract more than 200.000 spectators on the spot and more than 600.000 televiewers during on line televised diffusion.
Evenings spectacles : At the time of the evenings of weekend, spectacles in the open air are presented to make dance and move the spectators.
the Candle of the Carnival : At the time of this activity of financing, one sells of door in door or in the public places of the Candles of the Carnival (of colors varied according to the years) which, if they run red when lit, make it possible to gain prices. At the time of one evening special known as of the candle, several restorers of the area offer free the candle to their 50 counted first of the evening.
family Supper : Once again, at the time of the one of the evenings of the Carnival, a great number of restorers of the area offer to the children accompanied by an adult who carry the effigy free the meal.
Ball of Catch : This fashionable activity takes place in the big room of ball of the Château Frontenac and gathers nearly 400 guests.
Brunch de Bonhomme : It is about a Brunch opened with the public animated by Bonhomme.
To lunch of the Heads of undertaking : Nearly 600 guests, for the majority of the managers of undertakings of the area, attend at the time of a lunch a conference given by a distinguished guest.
To lunch western of Calgary : The town of Calgary, twinned with the town of Quebec, offers free a lunch in sport to savor western with the Palate of Ice of crepes, sausages juice and coffee. More than 4000 guests meet there each year.
Derby : It is about a race with obstacle in the snow of harnessed horses.
Popular Auction : This other popular financing campaign makes it possible the public to raise on various objects and fixed prices offered by companies of the area, in auctions with shouted or silently. 175.000 Canadian dollars were thus piled up in 2005.
Collecte of blood of the Carnival : The carnival joins Héma-Quebec in order to organize a collection of blood near the carnavaleux ones.

the Place of the Family (also called Desjardins Place) is located on the Plaines of Abraham. Several activities for small and large are located there and it is the one of the gathering points of the Carnival. One finds there…:

Slips on snow
Initiation with the Alpine skiing
giant Play of soccer (or the participants forms a " babyfoot" human)
Jumpaï Trampolines
Bandstand
House of ice
Purveyance of Catch where one can initiate with the Scandinavian Pêche under the ice.
Walks in carrioles or sledge with dog.
Rafting on snow
Meetings of ice-skating with Catch
Bar of the Carnival

Old activities

the international Tournoi of hockey pee-wee of Quebec was formerly an linked activity with the carnival. Although the tournament always proceeds at the time of the carnavalesque period, these events are now organized separately.

the crowning of the queen of the Carnival, among the duchesses, was held before during the evening of opening of the Carnival, by a drawing lot whose chances was proportional to the financing of the carnival obtained at the time of the sale of the candle in different the " duchés" (districts) of the city. The duchesses and the queen disappeared with the profit from Knuks since the edition 1997.

Topics

At each year, the carnival innovates with new topics.

In 2006, the topic was fire and the ice.

In 2007, the topic is " the carnival puts to you with the défi".

Habits

the girdles fléchée belonged to the traditions of the carnival. It is about a braided and coloured belt, carried by several participants (and by Bonhomme), who recalls the belt carried to the last centuries in winter by the inhabitants of Quebec, who continued a tradition of origin Amerindian.

the trumpets of the carnival are plastic horns coloured which one often hears the not very mélodieux echo at the time of the activities of the Carnival, particularly at the time of the processions.

the caribou , not to confuse with the Québécois name given to the Reindeer (one cervidé Arctic), is an alcoholic drink which was originally popularized with the tavern " at Ti-Père" who was one of the emblematic figures of the carnival at the time of the years 1970 and 1980. It is about a mixture of Oporto, sherry, of vodka and brandy.

Statistics

In 1964,260 000 people visits Quebec at the time of the Carnival.

In 1994, Quebec accommodates more than one million visitors, of which more than 20% come from the outside of Quebec, mainly of the United States and Europe.

In 2008, one estimates at approximately 2.5 million the number of visitors.

Repercussions

The Carnival of winter of Quebec is the greatest Carnival of winter in the world, and is at the third rank as for the popular participation among large the Carnaval S of the world, behind those of Rio de Janeiro and La Nouvelle-Orléans.

In 2004, on the whole for all the activities, one counted nearly a million participants. The budget of the event was of 7,7 million Canadian dollars and annually causes direct economic consequences of 34 million Canadian dollars. More than 1500 voluntary are added to the fifty employees of the Carnival during his presentation. More than one hundred of foreign journalists of the written presses and electronic cover the event each year. The carnival remprésente thus for the area of the Capital-Main road a tourist source of notoriety and an important economic engine.

Association

In 2005, the Carnival of Quebec joined, within l'" Association of the urban festivals of hiver" with the festivals of winter of Toronto (WinterCity Festival), of Ottawa (Ball of Snow/Winterlude) and of Montreal (Montreal Festival in light). The objective of this regrouping of festivals which have relationships of topic and geographical is to be able to share the expertises and certain efforts like the setting in gone at the international one.

See too

List of the Québécois festivals
Québécois Culture

External bond

Official site
Files of Radio-Canada

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