L’Outaouais en fête : another successful year

L’Outaouais en fête, the annual St-Jean festival at the parc des Cèdres, is a staple of Aylmer summers. Kicking off on June 22 and lasting until June 25, it offered a wide variety of activities for families, patriots, and music lovers. This edition showcased an array of francophone musical talent over four nights of shows, on top of the parades and public entertainers that provided fun for the whole family during the day.

Starting on Thursday, parc des Cèdres was transformed into an amusement park with airs of old-time fairs. Thrill-seeking children rode the gigantic rides while tamer ones feasted on cotton candy and hot dogs in the beautiful scenery of the Aylmer marina. At nightfall on Thursday, the crowd huddled around the stage to listen to Jean-Paul Perrault from Impératif Français deliver a patriotic speech and present New Brunswick band the Hay Babies, who were followed by Alex Nevsky, singer-songwriter from Quebec.

On Friday, Radio Radio took the stage, preceded by Safia Nolin and Vishten. People from all over the city and further afield massed to the riverside stage to dance and celebrate. On Saturday, the festivities ramped up, starting with Mass celebrated at Parc de l’Imaginaire, a small arts park near the marina. Then, the family-friendly annual parade, starting at the Galeries Aylmer and going down Principale Street to the marina, united families in a celebration of Quebec’s national holiday. Kevin Parent headlined the stage that night.

On Sunday, the final day of the festival, Quebec icons Les Colocs took to the marina stage, an event many francophone music lovers looked forward to. All in all, this year’s edition was another success for l’Outaouais en fête.