Between rivers, canals, lakes and rivers, Quebec is revealed in all its majesty. On a board, in a catamaran or in a shuttle, three ideas for weaving through the languor of summer along the water.
Harp concerts on the water
Some instruments seem made to blend in with the sounds of nature. For professional musician Annabelle Renzo, the harp is the ideal passport to dreams and escape. After creating a massage choreographed to music in 2011 for the Bota Bota spa and playing at the bedside of patients in palliative care at the Hôtel-Dieu du CHUM, the harpist imagined her new business when her daughter was born in 2016. In addition to having inaugurated a “suspended loft” in 2019, an intimate concert hall where spectators sit in hammock-cocoons for one or two people, it is offering concerts this summer on the Lachine Canal, in collaboration with Taïga Board, Parks Canada and H2O Adventures (from $55). Anchored to the floating stage, paddle boards — personal or rented — gently rock the spectators. “As much as people are lying on their board, with the harp in the foreground, as much in the background, we hear the dogs yelping and the sirens in the distance, she slips. There is the wind in the trees and the morning birds. It’s very rich. It allows us to connect to a certain serenity without having to drive two hours from Montreal. »
As of this writing, the August 12 event was sold out, but tickets were still available for Friday, September 2 at 8 a.m.
The tenants of the Beside Habitat chalets will be able to live a similar experience this weekend, but in the heart of nature, in the Lanaudière region, at dawn and dusk.
serenitesonore.com
A 3rd St. Lawrence Spree
From August 5 to 15, the members of Qualité Motel will sail aboard the new catamaran Vanamo of La belle vie Sailing, the time of five festive events along the river and five shoreline clean-ups, to which residents and visitors are invited. After stopping at the St. Laurent Distillery in Pointe-au-Père on August 5, the crew will stop at the Sea Shack in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts on August 8, in Petite-Vallée on August 10, in Mont-Louis on August 12 and on Haldimand beach in Gaspé on August 15, in collaboration with the Musique du bout du monde festival.
On the program for each of the stops: show, barbecue, paddle board, swimming and regional products. A few days before departure, the excitement was palpable. “We’re all very excited to sail,” said artist Luis Clavis before boarding. Arrive by way of the river to make a show allows another look at the territory. »
For this third edition, rapper Franky Fade and DJ Funky Falz are also on the trip. Other artists will also make surprise appearances, such as Les Louanges, L’Isle and LaF. ” Those are shows free, underlines the singer. We have opening acts in some places. We embark on the set at sunset. »
If the environmental question is at the heart of the approach carried out with the Blue Organization and Telus, the group wishes above all to stimulate reflection and take the time to discuss.
Notice to those interested in maritime adventure: La belle vie Sailing offers sailing lessons in Quebec and “sailing vacations” in the Caribbean.
lavireedusaintlaurent.com,
labellivesailing.ca
Reclaim the river
“The river is a path, not an obstacle. This sentence gleaned from the site of Navark, which operates river shuttles in the greater Montreal area, resonates particularly at a time when we are talking more and more about active transportation. After having dreamed of it so much, will public transport users soon have access to a real network of river shuttles?
In June, the pilot project of the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) increased from one to six connections. For example, it takes about thirty minutes to reach the Quai Jacques-Cartier, in the Old Port of Montreal, from the municipal wharf in Boucherville with Navark, and about twenty minutes to reach the same destination from Longueuil with AML. Each segment costs $5.50, but holders of a monthly pass (with subscription to the correct fare zone) can use it at no additional cost. “The response was automatic from the first weekends, and it’s growing,” says Simon Charbonneau, senior advisor for public affairs and media relations at the ARTM. We are going to survey users, but the comments are very positive. There are many people with bicycles. Needs and realities have changed, he continues. The options exist. We test them. On the river, there are neither orange cones nor congestion. »
As a bonus, it’s an opportunity to rediscover Montreal from new angles… and to dream what’s next.
artm.quebec,
navark.ca,
cruisesaml.com