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Quebec City turns 400
This summer marks the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, which has made preparations to make it the best celebration to date
The Plains of Abraham once held one of the most historic battles in French Canadian history. This summer, it will be graced by one of the most historic French Canadians, Celine Dion.
This year marks a milestone for Quebec City: they are celebrating their 400th anniversary, and in high style.
The first permanent European settlement, founded by Samuel De Champlain in 1608, Quebec City remains today as a proud city with a rich history. Although Quebec City is already known for its tourism, they are pulling out all the stops in light of this significant anniversary.
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Indeed, the events which started Dec. 31 and end in October 2008 will be even bigger this year. In light of the 400th anniversary, annual groups and events were asked to incorporate a theme for this special year. From Jun 3 to Oct. 19, there will be an exhibit called "passengers." Upon entering, visitors will get a suitcase to carry as they "follow the footsteps of immigrants, so they understand who created this city in terms of people," Roaxanne St. Pierre, manager of Quebec's National and International Media Relations says. Another highlight will be "The Image Mill," which will be the largest multi-media show in the world, a forty minute show projected on two silos 600 meters long and forty meters tall. There will also be eleven gardens designed by selected architects from all over the world, a free Celine Dion Concert on Aug. 22, and a three day free closing-ceremony performance by Cirque Du Soleil on Oct. 17-19.
"Whether they're putting up flags on their lawns, or planning activities for kids in schools, everybody is ready to welcome people."
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The 400th anniversary represents a strong showing of local, national and international effort. Nationally, the Canadian government gave $40 million, the Province of Quebec gave $40 million, and Quebec City gave $5 million. This money was used to form Societe Du 400e Anniversaire, an organization of 100 members to orchestrate the upcoming events. Starting in June and staying until July, for the first time ever, Quebec City will have on display 271 pieces from the Louvre museum in France. Also, from May 8-16, Halifax will be hosting the international hockey championship. Although there are 4,000 official volunteers helping to make this the best celebration yet, "all 600,000 people living in Quebec City are working or are involved in one way or another with the celebration," Elizabeth Sarinacci, member of the press relations/public relations team, says. "Whether they're putting up flags on their lawns, or planning activities for kids in schools, everybody is ready to welcome people."
Five-and-a-half million people, that is—an increase of 10 percent over the average tourism figures.
In early April, the Mayor of Quebec City and the President of Societe Du 400e Anniversaire went to France to promote the festivities. With so much to do, "you have to be there all the time from June to September," Sarinacci says.
"For $10-$20 anyone can be transported to Europe. It's like you stepped across the Atlantic and set foot into a small French city."
The event has attracted the attention of people from outside Quebec, as many look forward to attending the festivities. One such group is Club Canada, which is comprised of Plattsburgh State University students, who are either Canadian studies majors or simply have an interest in Canada. Nick Ostroy, president of Club Canada recalls major renovations for this summer that he saw underway a year ago in Quebec City: "They were ripping the streets out, re-doing the monuments—an old monument of Samuel De Champlain—they took it out to restore—as well as the rest of the area." His group is open to the whole community, and they are planning a trip to Quebec City on April 26. "It's only natural to look over the fence to see your neighbor" Ostroy added. "For $10-$20 anyone can be transported to Europe. It's like you stepped across the Atlantic and set foot into a small French city."
Are you thinking about planning a trip to Quebec City to experience any of the events? There are several events not mentioned in this article. For a complete calendar of events, click on the following Quebec City activities link. The website is in French. If you want to read it in English, click the "English version" link on the upper right hand corner of the page.