Several return events in 2023

After two winters marked by the pandemic, great events will be back in their original form: it will finally be possible to gather in large numbers to attend movie nights, take part in ice climbing festivals and join long trips on cross-country skis or snowshoes.

“It will be good to meet again,” enthuses Stéphane Corbeil, producer and head of programming for the World Tour in Quebec of the Banff Mountain Film Festival. ” I’m really looking forward. »

The festival will visit 22 cities in Quebec, from January 18 to the beginning of March, for nearly forty performances. This corresponds to what the event was before the pandemic. In 2021 and 2022, the festival offered online-only programming.

Stéphane Corbeil surveyed festival-goers to find out if they had appreciated the virtual editions (the answer was yes), but also to find out if they wanted to return to cinemas in 2023 or continue to watch the festival at home.

“There are 89 or 90% of people who told us that they preferred to go indoors,” says Mr. Corbeil. But those who love the virtual, they love it deeply: they have young children, or they are more sensitive from a health point of view, or they are far from a city where it is presented. »

Stéphane Corbeil has prepared a program for cinemas which includes around ten films. “I saw a hundred films from July-August,” he says. When I go to Banff, I look at the scale. Sometimes I watch films a second or third time to see the reaction of the public. These are good indicators because despite my experience, I don’t know everything. »

“There were 453 films that were submitted to the competition. About 85 were presented, and I’m spending 10 at the festival. It’s a puzzle: what must be sacrificed? “, he says. Fortunately, Stéphane Corbeil is preparing a virtual program which will start after the theatrical tour and which will include films set aside. “I will be able to recover. »

Other upcoming events

Major winter events will also return after an enforced two-year break, such as two major ice climbing festivals: Grimpe en ville in Rivière-du-Loup, from February 10 to 12, and Festiglace in Pont-Rouge, from February 17 to 19.

The famous Traversée de la Gaspésie (TDLG) will also make a big comeback this year, from March 5 to 11, under a very fitting theme: “Being together”.

The formula will be a little different, with a hundred participants rather than the 200 to 225 of recent years. We also invite participants to get there, at the end of the Gaspé Peninsula, by their own means.

“As it’s a cover, we wanted to play it as realistically as possible,” explains M.^me Roy. With COVID-19, we lost all the employees linked to the Grande Traversée: they migrated to other jobs. »

But some things do not change, such as the use of local products, regional food.

Five days after registration opened, the event was already 60% sold out. “We are very happy to start our event again, and the response is good. »

The Marathon is back

For its part, the Canadian Ski Marathon is back in its original format, on February 11 and 12, for cross-country skiing courses ranging from 12 to 160 km.

In 2020 and 2021, the marathon had organized a virtual event: participants could cut down the mileage in a cross-country ski center near their home. In fact, the formula has been so popular that it’s back this year alongside the full marathon.