This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
“Tonight, nothing is going well, our time machine has completely broken down!” This is the basic premise of the new immersive experience Village parallèle created by Moment Factory. This time, it is the Quebec Village of yesteryear that is transformed once night falls. A fantastic visit during which heritage and high technology are harmoniously juxtaposed.
Daytime and evening activities are very different, as Geneviève Legault, the site’s general manager, explains. “During the day, when you take the time machine [le tunnel sous la rue Montplaisir qui relie la billetterie aux installations historiques]we find ourselves in 1893 in a village with 77 period buildings and a hundred actors. But in the evening, the time machine is disrupted and takes us instead to a parallel village. This is where all the beauty of Moment Factory comes into play,” she describes.
The fruit of this five-year collaboration to complete this project aims in part to compensate for the decline in daytime customers by developing this new market. “How do we pass on our heritage, interest people in a new way in our historic village?” asks Geneviève Legault. “That’s where the thinking began.”
The result is fantastic: an impeccable scenography that integrates sound, light and video projections on a good part of the Village buildings. It is by responding to this invitation to live an immersive evening that visitors are called upon to interact with the different tableaux.
“Moment Factory has extensive expertise in creating immersive nighttime experiences and in showcasing natural or heritage sites. Village parallèle is part of this lineage,” said producer François Morel of Moment Factory in a press release. His team also had to take on a major challenge: integrating hundreds of meters of cables, projectors, sound and lighting equipment. And this, as discreetly as possible and under the watchful eye of the authenticity director of this historic village that lives, above all, during the day.
A fantastic ride
Among the highlights of the visit, the shop of Claire Laflamme, the village lamplighter, offers one of the most offbeat experiences of the tour. The hundred or so oil lamps light up to the rhythm of modern, danceable music. Behind the closed door leading to the back shop on rue Saint-David, the shadow of Claire, who pours herself a gin while shouting “That’s my tune!” Anachronistic? Not at all. Who said that in 1893, people didn’t have a blast, one drink too many in hand, once night fell…
Then, it’s impossible to end this passage in the parallel universe of Moment Factory without a visit to the clairvoyant Irma Lachance. Those who sit in front of the digital avatar of this colorful woman have their future read, narrated by none other than Rita Baga. She confides that she didn’t hesitate for a second when she was asked to lend her voice to Irma Lachance, the village fortune teller. “I was very excited. I have a childhood affection for the Village québécois of yesteryear; my family had a small house in Saint-Charles-de-Drummond. But collaborating with Moment Factory is the cherry on the cake,” she says.
After the long creative process, Rita Baga does not hide her wonder upon discovering the final product. “I saw models, the tests that were done, the thoughts to imagine the effects, I know the magic of Moment Factory. But to live it tonight, it’s really different, even more fantastic than I thought,” describes the drag queen.
And Rita Baga, in the 19th centurye century, where would she have been found, in this parallel village? “Probably burned alive, like a witch. That’s the most honest answer I can give you… Otherwise I would have made a good baker,” she concludes, a smile in her voice.
Take your time
Village parallèle is discovered gently, without ever rushing. “Take your time, stop, wander freely,” can be read on the large illuminated signs at the ticket office.
To encourage visitors to slow down, an enhanced food offering has also been planned in the evening. An ice cream parlor, donut shop, speakeasy and general store open their doors to serve coffee, lemonade, cocktails, homemade chips or decadent old-fashioned donuts coated with toppings and candies then topped with a caramel and chocolate coulis… Comfortably nestled in front of one of the outdoor fireplaces, you find yourself suspended in a space-time where the present, the past and the future intersect without clashing.
The Village québécois d’antan is open during the day from Wednesday to Sunday and in the evening from Wednesday to Saturday. For a visit to the Village parallèle, signed Moment Factory, it costs $85 for a family of two adults and two children.
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.