Fun in the ROQ
Looking for summer fun outside of Montreal?
The Rest of Quebec offers a more human pace to summer celebration
The Gatineau Beerfest
A fairly new event to the Quebec festival scene, Gatineau’s Festibière is a three-day outdoor party in Jacques-Cartier Park that brought out about 35,000 partygoers last year to sample local artisanal beer products.
Now in its 3rd edition, this laidback event is all about bringing together artisans and local produce and showcasing beer and food pairings in an outdoor country atmosphere May 30-June 1.
Festival International DansEncore
Fans of dance and fellow dancers can rejoice June 5-8 when Trois-Rivières celebrates the 20th edition of Quebec’s largest and most diverse dance festival.
Featuring gala events, competitions, master classes, dance parties and free outdoor entertainment, this event makes Trois-Rivières an important festival destination.
For its 20th anniversary, the festival has invited guests from all over the world and will feature over 200 artists from Quebec, Canada, the US, Cuba, Mexico, Australia, Italy and Hong Kong.
International Miniature Art Biennial of Abitibi-Témiscamingue
For those who love tiny art pieces or just want to see something fascinating and out of the ordinary, the Miniature Art Biennial is back in the town of Ville-Marie. Running June 6-September 29, these magnificent miniatures are for big imaginations.
Fête de la pêche
While fishing may not need its own festival, this event is about getting those who live in Quebec out on the water to experience fishing wherever they would like to without a fishing license.
Running June 6-8, this event is an open season for fishing neophytes to drop their line anywhere in the province without the need to purchase a fishing license. You could discover a new spot to test the waters that you may never have dreamed about.
The Lilac Festival
While it may lack the bells and whistles of some of the bigger, corporate-run festivals in the province, Le Festival du Temps des Lilas (or the Lilac Festival) at Les Jardins du cap à l’Aigle in La Malbaie is all about enjoying the scents and sights of one of the best lilac collections in Canada.
Take in the serene beauty of these trees while experiencing the cultural and horticultural activities, as well as live paintings of the scenery and shows. Breathtaking and unique, this event runs June 7-8.
The Windsor Paper Festival
If you happen to be in the Eastern Townships or are researching a trip for its many vineyards, luscious lakes and spectacular scenery, this quaint event offers an event stepped in Quebec’s industrial history.
Running June 12-15, this country festival is all about paper and the unique things that can be done with it. You and your family can take in buskers, inflatable games, shows, fireworks, exhibitors as well as a paper fashion show and a variety of other products made to celebrate paper.
www.villedewindsor.qc.ca/festival-du-papier/
Victoriaville Cheese Festival
One of Quebec’s most renowned regions for the sheer quality of the milk products, the Victoriaville Cheese Festival – June 12-15 – showcases local dairy flavours.
With over 100 varieties of cheese and other local or “terroir” products to sample, wine and cheese pairing events, workshops on cheeses and cheese making, and circus entertainers for the kids, this tasty event seems anything but “cheesy.”
www.festivaldesfromages.qc.ca/
Saint-Honoré dans l’Vent Kite Festival
A bold, beautiful festival that is as boundless as the sky, the Saint-Honoré dans l’Vent Kite Festival brings with it a bounty of family fun June 13-15.
This international kite festival brings kite-flying professionals and enthusiasts from around the globe to compete and show off their skills and collections.
At the same time, this being a family-oriented fest, there are plenty of children’s activities to keep the little tykes happy as well as baby stations for feedings and changes, various locations to buy snacks and even a set up for trailers if you want to stay a few days.
The James Bay Walleye Fishing Tournament
A big hit among the Crees and the non-Natives who head to Chapais to participate in this festival, this walleye fishing event is back June 19-28 for the best fishermen in the region to show off their skills.
Now in its 15th edition, this event features multiple categories to participate in and prizes that include a Pinecraft Super Pro 176 2014 with an outboard motor valued at $41,000.
This year’s tournament features all sorts of activities for the participants and their families to keep them busy when they aren’t on the waters. There is loads of live entertainment, including the Cover Girls, Styx tribute band the Grand Illusion, a Texas Hold’em tournament, Bon Jovi cover band, Runaway, a dance party night with DJ BLAAS, and an entire weekend of Fête nationale activities.
Beauce Carnival in Chibougamau
The Beauce Carnival will be in Chibougamau June 19-22 for those who want to help the kids celebrate the end of the school year. There are carnival rides, a midway and all sorts of fun and entertainment.
The Amnesia Rockfest
Held June 20-21, this two-day event brings the best of two incredible worlds together: a major outdoor music festival that features some of the hottest bands around and an excuse to stay in one of Quebec’s most fabulous resorts, the Fairmount Chateau Montebello.
Now in its 9th edition, this outstanding rock festival is set to rattle your eardrums with a high-decibel combination punch of hard rock, metal and punk. This event is a huge draw for heavy music fans.
The lineup features: Blink-182, Weezer, NOFX, Megadeth, Billy Talent, Primus, Alice in Chains, Five Finger Death Punch, Cypress Hill, A Day to Remember, Danzig with Doyle, Mastodon, the Used, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Joan Jett, Reverend Horton Heat, Lagwagon, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Streetlight Manifesto, Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, Face to Face, Strung Out, Anti-Flag, MXPX, the Vandals, Guttermouth, Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, the Casualties, Cock Sparrer, Black Flag, Fear, the Misfits, Dead Kennedys, Henry Rollins, Suicidal Tendencies, Bigwig, 88 Fingers Louie, Reset, Despised Icon, Venom, Meshuggah, Cradle of Filth, Cannibal Corpse and August Burns Red.
Festival forestier de Senneterre
The perfect festival for lumberjacks (professionals and amateurs) and those who just want to try their hand at it for kicks, this Senneterre event is all about being a lumberjack and celebrating the culture that surrounds it.
Now in its 20th edition, expect a bigger blowout than ever, with live entertainment nightly and loads of competitions and family activities to keep everyone there on their toes.
This year’s live entertainment includes: Tendence Alcoolique (Johnny Cash cover band), Bob Bisonette, Jérôme Couture (La Voix), Jean-Marc Couture, Andie Duquette and 21 Gun Salute (AC/DC tribute).
There is also loads of live entertainment for children, and a mega draw for over $42,000 in prizes.
Festival de la truite mouchetée
Ultimately the biggest fishing tournament in Quebec, competitive trout fishers can bust out their best rods and reels and hit Saint-Alexis-des-Monts in the Mauricie region for a weeklong event that’s all about brook trout.
Running June 21-29, this fishy fun event also features lots of live entertainment to keep the nights rockin’ and loads of family activities to keep everyone who isn’t in the boat pleased.
www.festivaldelatruitemouchetee.com/
Woodstock en Beauce
A youth-driven music festival done in the vein of the historic 1969 Woodstock music festival, this party is about getting down to the music while enjoying the spirit of summer.
Running June 25-29, this site accommodates thousands of campers who stay at the event for days to keep the party going.
Festival des camionneurs de La Doré
If your whole life ethic is to just keep on truckin’ or you just really like trucks, why not check out La Doré’s truck festival June 26-29?
Featuring all kinds of truck-related fun like thrilling truck pulls and a parade featuring more than 250 rigs, this event features lots of entertainment and activities for kids as well as nightly musical performances. Plus there is $127,000 in prizes to be won.
http://festivaldescamionneurs.qc.ca/
L’Estival Rotary Desjardins
The Beauce Carnival’s big stop in Amos, this great big party runs June 26-28 and is a smash hit in the region.
Featuring lots of classic carnival rides for the little ones and the bigger little ones…and adults who like that kind of thing, this event also features bingo, shows and all of the typical carnival fun that comes with it.
The Gatineau Crazy Races
Looking for something that’s about ingenuity and fun in the Gatineau region, then check out the Crazy Races, an event that features lots of soapbox races for the young and old June 27-28 and July 5.
Featuring a big-top opening show, an international championship, boat races and sand sculpture contests, this event encompasses old world wholesomeness while celebrating mad creativity.
International Garden Festival
If you are looking for a magical world that you can just step into and feel transported to somewhere other-worldly, this Grand-Métis festival is about taking in breathtaking gardens that have been created by visual artists, architects and landscape artists from around the world.
A spectacular feast for the eyes, this event runs all summer long from June 28 to September 28 and is an ultimate must for art lovers who happen to be in the Gaspésie region
www.refordgardens.com/english/#4
Le FestiVoix de Trois-Rivières
Looking for a large music fest that features a genre for everyone, then check out the FestiVoix de Trois-Rivières with over 100 shows on 13 stages, and a multitude of voices.
Running July 1-13, this big and bountiful event serves up a solid dose of jazz, pop, opera, rock, musical and even choral performances. It is an opportunity to hear music from around the globe, in the heart of the Mauricie region.
Festival d’humour de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Those who appreciate a good joke en français should look no further than Val d’Or’s major comedy gathering, the Festival d’humour de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Running July 2-6, this event draws hundreds of entertainers to Sin City North for a series on indoor and outdoor shows, as thousands of festival-goers gather to for laughs and good times.
Mondial des Cultures de Drummondville
Running July 3-13, Drummondville’s folk dancing festival brings hundreds of performers from around the world to share their traditional dances in a spectacular array of colour and sound.
Since July 1982, this unique event has attracted thousands to the region to experience the cultures of many nations. For their 27th edition, expect the unexpected with a larger show than before as folk dancers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America take the stage.
Tremblant International Blues Festival
Mont Tremblant is already synonymous with a non-stop party atmosphere but when you impose their International Blues Festival onto the town, things really begin to heat up.
With more than 130 free shows to enjoy July 4-13, expect this party town to be rocking, rolling and ultimately bluesing it up with some big names and even bigger surprises.
August Festival
August Festival, the biggest music event that Chibougamau has to offer, runs July 31-August 3 and features nightly entertainment on an outdoor stage.
This year will feature about 75 artists from the region and a bevy of other activities that include a family day, fireworks set to music, and a beach volleyball tournament.
Truck Rodeo
Set right in the heart of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Notre-Dame-du-Nord’s Truck Rodeo is one of the most popular events in the north and features all sorts of truck-related competitions such as a show-and-shine, truck pulls and races in a heavyweight category.
Running July 31-August 3, this festival also features a flea market, all sorts of family activities and nightly entertainment. The lineup this year includes: Les 8 sourcils, Les Murdochs, Drivin, Tumbleweed, Lipstick Rodeo, Roadrunner, Moonshiner and Cherry Chérie.
Festival Western de Guigues
Running August 5-10, this country-and-western festival in Abitibi-Témiscamingue’s Saint-Bruno-de-Guigues not only features a rodeo but also all sorts of other elements of country culture.
With a gymkhana, heavy horses, western performance, activities for children, exhibitors, line-dancing courses and all sorts of nightly entertainment to put those dance lessons to use, this festival is about immersing its visitors in as much country-and-western culture as they can handle.
So, don your Stetson and get down in a country town for old-time fun.
www.festivalwesterndeguigues.com
SAQ New France Festival
If you ever wanted to go back in time to find out about what 1608 was really like in Quebec City, the SAQ New France Festival is about celebrating the history of Quebec.
Running August 6-10, this event features over 1000 artists in everything from historical animation and street entertainment to dance, parades, and shows.
Patrons of this event are encouraged to dress up in period clothes and become part of the event as they tour Old Quebec and learn about what life was like in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Pyromusical Festival in Abitibi-Témiscamingue – Osisko en lumière
This major northern festival is all about synching up an outdoor live music stage show to major fireworks in a brilliant display of light and sound.
Running August 8-10, the event has become one of Rouyn-Noranda’s biggest parties of the year and welcomes thousands to the event. Featuring all sorts of family activities during the day, this festival has something to appeal to people of all ages.
This year’s special guests will include: Bodh’aktan, Studio 48, Marco Callari, A Lady Gaga tribute, and Foreigner’s Lou Gramm.
International de montgolfières de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu’s world famous hot-air balloon festival is one of the most breathtaking events of the entire festival season as it is the only one that fills the sky with such a surreal and brilliant array of shapes and colours that you can actually get into for a tour.
Featuring hundreds of balloons from all around the world August 9-17, visitors can take tours in them or take part in the loads of other fun and entertainment provided at the festival site.
When nighttime rolls around, the site heats up with live shows. The lineup to date includes Quebec singing sensations Marie-Mai and Louis-Jean Cormier (La Voix fame).