Micah Desforges thinks big. The founding president of Jackalope wants to make his festival “the next Cirque du Soleil”.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The event has been presenting action sports competitions in Montreal since 2012. Now, 10 years later, the company has taken off. In addition to the annual festival held on the Olympic Park Esplanade, the thrills will also be felt on the warm sands of Virginia Beach in 2023.
“What we are doing with Virginia Beach is that we are setting up a festival like Montreal in the United States,” explains Micah Desforges to The Press. He is sitting on one of the armchairs overlooking the large windows of the premises of his company Tribu expérientiel, in front of Portugal Park, on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
But Micah Desforges does not intend to stop there.
There is a form of world tour to be created where the world final would be in Montreal.
Micah Desforges, founding president of Jackalope
“The goal is to say that we can be the Cirque du Soleil of adrenaline,” he says. We create events like Jackalope in Montreal and export them. This makes Canadian and Quebec teams work. »
In this regard, he does not hide his pride.
“The city of Virginia Beach is a game changer for us, rejoices the businessman. We are a small Quebec company that exports to the United States. Who has international aspirations. »
IMAGE PROVIDED BY MICAH DESFORGES
Mockups of the Jackalope Festival slated for Virginia Beach in 2023 show installations right on the beach.
References to Cirque du Soleil are a recurring theme in his interview with The Press on this June afternoon.
“In Quebec, we create magnificent things, whether experiential or in events. We have successes like the Circus, which has always been an incredible business card. »
“What’s the next Circus?” he asks. […] We aspire to be part of the answer. »
“Run after summer”
The agreement with Virginia Beach is good until 2025. Eventually, “the goal will be to have four or five festivals like Montreal” in the world, explains the one who is also a snowboarder himself.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Micah Desforges, founding president of Jackalope
Prior to the pandemic, Micah Desforges was in discussions with São Paulo, Brazil, as well as some Mexican cities. The discussions fell apart around the fateful March 13, 2020. We understand that it is only a postponement. In Brazil, Mexico or elsewhere.
“Jackalope’s motto is that summer never ends. There is always summer somewhere on the planet. So we’re going to run after the summer. »
“It boosts your confidence”
The fact remains that at the center of the festivities, there are the athletes. The career of snowboarder Annie Guglia, who participated in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has in this case experienced a big boost thanks to Jackalope.
“It’s really a springboard for local athletes,” said the Olympian.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Annie Guglia won skateboarding competitions in 2016 and 2019 at Jackalope.
It’s crazy, the number of people who told me, even before the Olympics, that they had seen me at Jackalope. This is an event that really highlights the talents of Montreal and elsewhere.
Annie Guglia
The friendly athlete had won skateboarding competitions in 2016 and 2019.
“Winning Jackalope boosts your confidence too. It’s still a big competition. I’ve never won an X Games or anything like that. […] Winning Jackalope gives you a great springboard to go on the international scene with confidence. »
Micah Desforges is also pleased to have organized “the first Canadian event to have had gender-equitable scholarships”.
Previously, in skateboarding at least, “there were mega-scholarships for men, and breadcrumbs for women,” he explains.
From the start, Jackalope was offering $10,000 to the male and female winners. In 2022, it will be $15,000 each. The positive consequences go beyond the bank account, according to Guglia.
“It’s a virtuous circle, illustrates the snowboarder. If you offer a scholarship or a fair salary, it shows that you value skateboarding for everyone. It makes it more accessible. A young girl who goes to Jackalope, she doesn’t think, “Ah, the girl who won made $100, and the guy made $15,000. Why ?” »
A revival edition
The 2022 edition of Jackalope will finally return to its Olympic Park Esplanade after two years of pandemic. Which therefore officially makes it the 8e edition in 10 years of existence, even if the organization remained active during the pandemic.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
The 2022 edition of Jackalope will return to its Olympic Park Esplanade after two years of pandemic.
Casually, with skateboarding and climbing competitions and the addition of breakdance, that will make three disciplines present at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
We have improved scholarships for skateboarding. We have increased the level of penalties for climbing, which means that many athletes will be able to obtain Olympic points. It will also be the final of the breakdance competitions for the Canadian team.
“It will be quite trippy, believes Micah Desforges. This is a revival edition. »
theater on the beach
In Virginia Beach, Jackalope will be free. All the infrastructure will be installed on the beach near Neptune Park. There, says Micah Desforges, “it’s the event they’ve always wanted that finally happens.” He speaks of a “huge appetite”. “We are coming at the right time, at the right place. It’s shaping up to be a nasty success. »
Form an ocean to another
There are already “Jackalope block party” events, smaller scale competitions in skateparks across Canada. This qualifying tour leads to the national final in Montreal. With Virginia Beach, explains Micah Desforges, the concept can be exported to the United States. “Now that we have the American final, it allows us to block parties from coast to coast”, illustrates the businessman. The American tour will take shape in March 2023 in the Southern states, namely California, Arizona and Texas, in particular. To the Virginia coast in June. “When that’s over, we go to Western Canada and we redo our milk run. All leading up to the final stop in Montreal in August.
Why “Jackalope”?
In legend, a jackalope is a mixture of hare and antelope, usually depicted with antlers. The sports on display at the festival clearly identify with the “legendary, mythical side” of the animal. For example, in skateboarding: “Has an athlete really done such a maneuver in such a place? He speaks of the Pointe-à-Callière museum as a “legendary spot”. “The Montreal Stock Exchange, if you know, you know. There is climbing that is done on most buildings in Montreal. In basejump, there are people who jump from all the towers. It’s a bit like the secret, mythical side of the animal that we wanted to represent in the essence of the festival. »