Community News
OBITUARY: Rev. James Wilfred JOHANSON
March 15, 1933, Windsor, Ont. – July 18, 2018, Quebec City, Que.
Published: August 8, 2018
“Jim” passed into the presence of his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, at the CHUL hospital in Quebec City after a long illness.
Dig in! August is Archeology Month!
Published: August 8, 2018
Tempêtes & Passions serves up Viennese delights
Published: August 8, 2018
Photo: Photo courtesy of Jocelyn Gagné, Media des 2 Rives
On Aug. 5, in the chapel of the Musée de l’Amérique française, members of Tempêtes & Passions presented the second edition of their popular concert series, Viennoiseries musicales, as part of the Festival d’Opéra de Québec.
When Lindbergh came to town . . .
Published: August 10, 2018
Photo: Library and Archives Canada via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
Ninety years ago, on April 24, 1928, American aviator Charles Lindbergh made his only visit to Quebec City. This sensational happening occurred as part of a sequence of events which produced some memorable photographs.
The not-so-common traits of the common grackle
Published: August 8, 2018
Photo: Lise Lafond
Looking at these black birds, we can easily confuse them with their cousins from the icteridae family, which contains around 100 species, including blackbirds and cowbirds. When a ray of sun hits their plumage, however, a miracle happens. Shades of blue and violet appear on their head and neck, and copper coats the rest of their body.
Artisans show off their passions at Plein Art
Published: August 8, 2018
Photo: Ruby Pratka
Annie Dufresne was a motorcycle instructor, Georges-Alexandre Aubé-Brière was a literature student and Denis Belleau was an architecture technician. Former professional clowns, salespeople, restaurateurs, aspiring priests and construction workers were also among those manning the tables at Plein Art – le Salon des métiers d’art de Québec, which runs until Aug.
The Passage Olympia rolls out the red carpet
Published: August 1, 2018
Keeping cool in the spray at Quai Paquet
Published on: July 31, 2018 - 11:34
The fountains at Quai Paquet in Lévis (next to the Quebec City-Lévis ferry terminal) welcomed young splashers looking to cool off during the recent hot weather. This photo was taken during the Surface concerts, but there are lots of other activities happening there during the summer. Visit quaipaquetlevis.com/programmation for details.Photo by Danielle Burns
Festival des Journées d’Afrique features dances and rhythms from countries around the world
Published on: July 31, 2018 - 11:16
This singer from Artiz was definitely having a good time with the audience.
Photo by Danielle Burns
Festival des Journées d’Afrique features dances and rhythms from countries around the world
Published on: July 31, 2018 - 11:14
The Festival des Journées d’Afrique didn’t only include African countries. This Mexican dance troupe warmed up the crowd on Sunday evening with their colourful twirling dresses.
In Quebec, it’s (almost) everyone in the swimming pool
Published: August 1, 2018
Photo: Screenshot from Google Maps
If you’re a fan of American movie star Burt Lancaster, some scenes will instantly come to mind. The torrid beach make-out scene in From Here to Eternity, his mesmerizing turn as the incarcerated ornithologist in Birdman of Alcatraz, or, near the end of his career and life, as the mythical doctor in Field of Dreams.
Local Sports Briefs: mountain biking, football and baseball
Published: August 1, 2018
Vélirium looking for volunteers
The 2018 UCI Vélirium World Cup downhill mountain bike races will be held at Mont Sainte-Anne from Aug. 10 to 12. This is the only stop on the Vélirium World Cup series in North America, and it will also be a prelude to the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championship at Mont Sainte-Anne.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies: important things you may not know
Published: August 1, 2018
Bitcoin is back in the news because its price is going up again. The sheer complexity of the subject of cryptocurrencies makes it difficult for anyone to accurately determine if it is a sound investment or something to avoid completely.
The story behind Rue Antonio-Barrette
Published: August 1, 2018
Memorials and Things of Fame
Published: August 1, 2018
Festival d’Opéra de Québec starts off on a high note
Published: August 1, 2018
Photo: Shirley Nadeau
The Festival d’Opéra de Québec opened on July 25 with a concert featuring the magnificent voices of four Canadian sopranos. Billed as a concert “under the stars” in the courtyard of the Vieux-Séminaire de Québec, it was moved inside the Basilique Notre-Dame de Québec due to possible thundershowers.
Pelléas et Mélisande commemorates composer Claude Debussy
Published: August 1, 2018
Photo: Danielle Burns
The Festival d’Opéra de Québec presented the concert version of Claude Debussy’s operatic masterpiece Pelléas et Mélisande to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death. Under the direction of Jean-Philippe Tremblay, the youthful Orchestre de la Francophonie performed at the Palais Montcalm along with many of the brightest operatic voices in France and Quebec.
Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène is a hit with FOQ audience
Published: August 1, 2018
Photo: Shirley Nadeau
The Festival d’Opéra de Québec (FOQ) teamed up again this year with Jeunesses Musicales Canada to present Jacques Offenbach’s comic operetta La Belle Hélène at the Théâtre La Bordée. French and English surtitles helped the audience keep track of the complicated plot.
The Brigade Lyrique livens up city parks during the FOQ
Published: August 1, 2018
Photo: Shirley Nadeau
Almost every day (weather permitting) during the Festival d’Opéra de Québec (FOQ), a quartet of singers and a pianist have been driving around Quebec City giving free 30-40 minute performances to appreciative audiences.
David Jacques handles antique baroque guitars with loving care
Published: August 1, 2018
Photo: Shirley Nadeau
Guitarist David Jacques was the solo performer at Chalmers-Wesley United Church on July 25 as part of the Musical Wednesdays concert series. He brought two unique baroque guitars with him, one of which was made in France in 1665 by the famous Voboam family of luthiers.
OBITUARY: Elsie Alexis PREVOST (née Thomson) 1920-2018
Published: August 1, 2018
Mrs. Elsie Alexis Prevost (née Thomson), wife of the late John Reginald Prevost, died peacefully, surrounded by her loving family, at the Jeffery Hale Hospital on July 11, 2018, at the age of 98.
Emily Brontë remembered on her 200th birthday
Published: August 1, 2018
Photo: Portrait by Patrick Branwell Brontë from Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
It’s difficult to imagine the rugged beauty of the Yorkshire moors without thinking of Heathcliff and his beloved Cathy in Emily Brontë’s only novel, Wuthering Heights.
Community Calendar
Published: August 1, 2018
July 24 to Aug. 6 – Festival d’Opéra de Québec: For information and tickets, visit festivaloperaquebec.com.
July 31 to Aug. 12 – Plein Art, le Salon des métiers d’art de Québec at Espace 400e in the Vieux-Port area of Quebec City. Over 100 professional artisans display their wares.
Hidden English History in Portneuf, Part 3: A tale of two churches
Published: August 1, 2018
Photo: courtesy of Glen Marcotte, via Lay Readers' Association of Montreal
The Portneuf region is rich in stories, and Glen Marcotte has heard many of them.
“Edward Rutherfurd could write a wonderful novel about Portneuf,” says Marcotte, referring to the author of several bestselling historical fiction sagas.
U.S. Consulate Independence Day party makes a game of shared history
Published: July 25, 2018
Photo: courtesy of Faten Abdallah
The annual Independence Day reception hosted by the United States Consul General in Quebec City was almost two weeks late this year. It’s not unusual for the consulate to host the July 4 event on another date, but this year the diplomatic mission had a solid excuse.
Lost in translation in Helsinki
Published: July 25, 2018
Photo: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
The summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16 generated a tremendous amount of turmoil and anger towards the president of the United States.
Hard for women to crack the concrete ceiling in construction
Published: July 25, 2018
Some 150,000 construction workers downed tools last week and dispersed to various destinations, the beaches of Maine being a popular choice. It’s a phenomenon unique to Quebec since 1970, this two-week statutory construction holiday. Another phenomenon, or perhaps simply stark reality, is that very few of the holidaying construction workers enjoying a much-deserved break will be women.
Memorials and Things of Fame
Published: July 25, 2018
Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain
July 25, 1868 - The Morning Chronicle
The story behind Rue Audubon
Published: July 25, 2018
Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain
This street in Beauport is named in honour of John James Audubon, an American ornithologist, naturalist and painter. He was noted for his extensive studies documenting all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats. He was born in 1785 in Haiti to French parents and died Jan. 27, 1851 in New York.
