National Day | A field of lilies at Maisonneuve Park

Montreal was able to properly celebrate the 190th anniversary of Quebec’s national holiday, under a sky as blue as the Fleurdelysé flag, omnipresent in the dense crowd.

Neither the beaten earth nor the ground, still damp from early morning precipitation, prevented thousands of people from gathering at the end of the day at Maisonneuve Park.

“In unison, let us say I love you, I love you to our French language, I love you to our culture and I love you to all that is most beautiful about us”, launched at the opening ceremony the president of the Quebec National Day Committee in Montreal, Marie-Anne Alepin. “Whatever our origins, it is together that we create this beauty. »

It was under the theme of nostalgia that the artists took turns one after the other to make the field of lilies in front of them dance and sing. French-speaking disco has mixed with the choruses that make up Quebec music today.

From Claude Dubois to Patsy Gallant via FouKi, Queenie, or even Éléonore Lagacé and Judi Richards, all generations were on stage.

Bringing Quebecers together

Hosted for the third time by Pierre-Yves Lord, this year’s edition once again brought together Quebecers around the same culture that is unique to them.

“We want to come together and allow Quebecers to connect their hearts together,” explained Pierre-Yves Lord, shortly before going on stage. “It’s our history and it’s always interesting to remember where we come from. »

This year’s edition, entitled A chance we havewas intended above all to be a gathering place for Quebecers from Montreal and elsewhere.

“We saw with the eclipse that, sometimes, just an astronomical coincidence allows us to remember why we are on earth and that we are good when we are all together,” he added.

Unity and nostalgia

Even though he left us last April, the legendary Jean-Pierre Ferland was not far away. Artists have paid tribute to him on several occasions by singing the music that marked his long career. The first part of the evening ended with a final tribute to the little king. In unison, the artists covered his classic which gave its title to the big show.

Le Vent du Nord also paid tribute to Karl Tremblay, who passed away last November, by resuming Merchant Marine And As long as we have love Cowboys Fringants. It was he who was called upon to close the festivities by setting Maisonneuve Park alight to the rhythm of traditional music.

A moment of unity marked the evening when Claude Dubois shared the stage with Innu artist Kanen as they covered the famous song together Labradorin their respective languages.

Let’s also highlight the performance of Mr. PY who, accompanied by archive images, remixed around fifty songs that have shaped Quebec musical culture.

An opportunity to be together

Many had come to let their children experience the frenzy of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day that they experienced in their childhood. This is the case of Marie-Eve Bouchard, who came with her children and her husband to celebrate Quebec pride. Her cousin even made the trip to Chicoutimi especially for the occasion.

“For us, it’s important to take part in the festivities. This morning, we went to the Biodôme, then we went to see the parade and we finished here, she said. We were afraid [qu’il y ait de la pluie], but we planned everything, the umbrellas and the coats, because we couldn’t miss that. »

For Marie-Eve Bouchard, the national holiday is above all a way to come together and celebrate together what it is to be Quebecois, whether you were born here or have recently left your luggage in the French-speaking province.

This is an observation that Geneviève Dufort shares. The latter only had to cross the street to enjoy the atmosphere of the festivities.

“It’s Quebec’s national holiday, so much the better if you come and celebrate with me and if you feel like a Quebecer,” she said. There are a lot of immigrants in the area and they are happy to celebrate with us here. »