Réverbère street art festival returns for a second edition for Thanksgiving

Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

cassandra@qctonline.com

As days grow shorter and nights longer, street artists step into the glow of street lights for all to see. The City of Quebec is funding, for the second year, the Réverbère street art festival from Oct. 10 to 13. Over Thanksgiving weekend, locals and tourists can watch a variety of street performances in Old Quebec.

“Street performers have always been a part of Quebec City’s culture, even though in recent years, [that culture] has diminished,” said Mayor Bruno Marchand at the Sept. 15 press conference at City Hall. “The budget was $480,000 last year, and it’s $580,000 this year. We’ll continue to increase it next year because we believe in culture, we believe in artists and we believe in supporting our local community. It’s also the soul of a city. That is why we are investing in these cultural events and will continue to do so in the future.”

Despite criticism from some media outlets, last year’s event was deemed a success, enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of attendees, according to the mayor. These street performers are often popular with tourists, some of whom inquire about their whereabouts and schedules.

From 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 10, noon to 9 p.m. on Oct. 11 and 12, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 13, visitors and locals can meander along Rue Saint- Jean from Place D’Youville to Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville, the Jardins de l’Hôtel-de-Ville, Rue Sainte-Anne and Place d’Armes and from Parc Montmorency to Dufferin Terrace to watch artists from more than 24 companies dance, make music or perform circus acts. Cirque Kikasse, Flip Fabrique, Graffiti Numérique, Bazar Création, École de Cirque, Compagnie Artifice and the Ligue d’improvisation musicale de Québec, to name a few, are among the participating companies.

“On Saturday, Oct. 11, we are celebrating the the 51st- and-a-quarter anniversary of L’Aubergine, the founding company of street performances in Old Quebec,” said Marc Gourdeau, the artistic director of Réverbère. “At noon, we will have a parade from City Hall Place to Place D’Youville.”

“In 1974, my father, Paul Vachon, and Josette Déchène and Lina Vachon created the clown trio L’Aubergine de la Macédoine to do clown acts in Quebec City,” said Émile Vachon. “That same year, he created Informatique, becoming one of the first acts of the Festival d’été de Québec. In 1979, they attracted 21,000 spectators. Within a few years, they had an audience of over 300,000 people.

“Today, L’Aubergine is more than alive and is happy to partner with the City of Quebec. There have always been street artists in Quebec City, but we were missing an event dedicated to them,” said Vachon. “Magic is created when spectators become part of the act. We are here to mark and celebrate an anniversary and the art of street performances. Paul would be more than happy to see this party return to the streets of Quebec.”

For more information on the Réverbère, visit ville.quebec.qc.ca/reverbere (link in French only). For more information about L’Aubergine, visit laubergine.qc.ca/en.