Quebec Festivals

As I make my way down a crowded narrow street away from the Place Royale in Old Quebec, a young girl, dressed as a scullery maid, her blouse smeared with dirt, looks up shyly at me from the street corner much as she might have done in 18th-Century Quebec. Not far from her, two couples, dressed in elegant brocades, chat, the husband of second couple gently kissing the hand of the first woman with a hardy 'Enchanté.' If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn I had been transported back in time to the beginnings of this beautiful city. But here I am standing amidst crowds of animated people, many of whom are dressed in 17th and 18th-century costumes. For this is Quebec's renowned Les Fetes de la Nouvelle France, or New France Festival.

The buildings in the old part of Québec City resembled a collection of treasured jewels surrounded by ancient walls and crowned by the beautiful Fairmont Le Château Frontenac Hotel. Looking down on the city from the top of the funicular, a reasonable alternative from the very long and straight-up stairway called 'Heart Attack', I was surprised by the variety of colors of the copper roofs.

I'm sitting in a small cafe just off the Place Royale in Old Quebec sipping delicious cafe au lait and munching on a flaky croissant as snowflakes settle gently on the gathered snow mounds outside the door. The sub-freezing air outside frosts the cafe window and the wind blows in crisp gusts. Giant icicles hang from the eaves of centuries-old buildings along the narrow street. It's February--Carnaval time in Quebec.

Missing were the 'ooos' and 'ahhhs' heard at typical fireworks displays. The people sitting huddled under panchos and sheltered under a rainbow of umbrellas came to Montmorency Falls, just outside Quebec City, to witness a special kind of magic - the final display of the three-week long Les Grands Feux Loto-Quebec fireworks competition. A steady rain didn't stop them and neither did a mist so thick they could taste it.

The dancing Bonhomie was my first introduction to the Quebec Winter Carnival, a blow out of fun, food and entertainment in the midst of the city's cold winter days. Held in the first part of February, it a fun way Quebecers outwit the harshness of winter, transforming the city into one massive outdoor party.