15 Quebec festivals not to miss before summer ends
You’ve probably spent part of your summer on terraces sipping sangria, lounging in parks or even tanning at the beach. After all, the temperature was perfect for outdoor activities! Even though the summer is almost over, this doesn’t mean you have to stop enjoying outdoor activities, quite the opposite! You can do a ton of stuff, including attending some great Quebec festivals. Here are 15 festivals you should absolutely not miss. We bet that with this list, the rest of your summer will be completely booked!
Festi Jazz Mont-Tremblant
If you like jazz and you, unfortunately, missed the Montreal International Jazz Festival, don’t fret, you can enjoy all the jazz music you want by going to the Festi Jazz Mont-Tremblant for its 11th edition! You will be able to enjoy 5 days of free outdoor and indoor concerts. It is a great excuse to bask in the beauty of the Laurentians.
Festival Musique du Bout du Monde
The Festival Musique du Bout du Monde takes place in Gaspésie. This festival, which is already at its 15th edition, allows you to discover Gaspesian culture as well as international music with its rich and varied lineup. This event, with a lineup of 250 artists and artisans, attracts approximately 15 000 people each year! This year, some of the performers will be The Liquor Store, Alaclair Ensemble, Les Trois Accords, KNLO and The Brooks.
Festival Musique du Bout du Monde
Saint-Jérôme Folk
Saint-Jérôme Folk, an event dedicated to, like its name suggests, folk music but also folk-rock, Americana, blues and country invites you to enjoy the performances of more than 20 artists, for free! Matt Holubowski, Martha Wainwright, Lisa Leblanc, Jesse Mac Cormack, Zen Bamboo, Foreign Diplomats, Daniel Boucher and many more will take over Saint-Jérôme for 5 days.
ÎleSoniq
ÎleSoniq is THE festival for electronic music lovers. Not only does this festival allow you to listen to the big names in the electro music scene but also you can see some incredible and breathtaking works of art or enjoy one of the numerous activities available on the festival’s site.
International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
The International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is without a doubt an event not to be missed, especially if you have kids! They will be incredibly impressed and happy by the hundreds of hot-air balloons all around the site as well as the numerous activities and animations that happen during this festival. You can also attend numerous shows, like ones from Simple Plan, Isabelle Boulay (and guests), Yann Perreau, Émile Bilodeau, Patrice Michaud and Loud.
International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Festival international de la chanson de Granby
This festival, which is already celebrating its 50th anniversary, is an event that aims to promote the next generation of Francophone musicians through a contest and a variety of shows. You will be able to see many Quebec artists and the 24 semi-finalists of the contest will share the two scenes during this event.
Festival international de la chanson de Granby
Festibière de Québec
If beer is one of your essential alcoholic beverages, you must absolutely go to the Festibière de Québec! Now in its 9th edition, this event invites you to come and taste beer, savour delicious local dishes and indulge in several activities such as the Silent Disco, the Beer & Pleasures rally and the giant Jenga game. Come and discover 75 microbreweries during this decadent event!
Festival Mode et Design
If you collect fashion magazines and follow all the trends, you should absolutely attend the Festival Mode et Design. It is the biggest outdoor event of this sort in all of North America! You will get to see some fashion shows but also some multidisciplinary shows and you can shop for some clothes and jewellery on the festival’s site.
Festival MUTEK
This event, which is dedicated to emerging digital sound, visual and musical arts has existed since 2000. For its 19th edition, the MUTEK Festival invites you to see electronic musical performances and digital arts in the Quartier des spectacles. Please note that this year, the festival has decided to focus on the place of women in these two artistic fields, so you can discover several female artists through the programming of this event.
Trois-Rivières en Blues
This event, which celebrates its 10th year anniversary this year, suggests you fully enjoy some blues with some of the biggest names in the game. Indeed, George Thorogood And The Destroyers, Buddy Guy and Randy Bachman (The Guess Who) will be performing to the delight of their fans.
The World Film Festival
The World Film Festival in Montreal is the place to be for all cinephiles. This festival screens cinematographic works as part of a competition. You can watch auteur films as well as movies and documentaries from all over the world (the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania).
Festival de la Poutine de Drummondville
Most Quebecers like poutine. After all, it is an emblematic dish in our province! The Festival de la Poutine de Drummondville has been dedicating itself for 11 years already to making festivalgoers taste excellent poutines while allowing them to attend great musical performances. This year, the guest chef of the festival will be Antoine Sicotte, the Rebel Cook. You can see Robert Charlebois, Dead Obies, Geoffroy and Lisa Leblanc!
MEG Festival
Mtl Électronique Groove, also known as the Festival MEG, invites you to discover urban and emerging music from the electro scene. For its 20th edition, you’ll get to hear The Avener, Étienne de Crécy and Arnaud Rebotini as headliners. Also, Fonkynson, Marie-Gold, Syzzors and many other artists will also make you dance at this Montreal event.
Festival de la musique émergente en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
The Festival de la musique émergente in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, also called the FME, is a large-scale event bringing music lovers together. During this festival, you will be able to see artists of national fame as well as emerging artists. Thus, Karkwatson, a project bringing together members of the Karkwa and Patrick Watson formation, will take over one of the EMF scenes. Random Recipe, The Brooks, Nakhane, Hubert Lenoir and many others will also be present at this event.
Festival de la musique émergente en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Festival Bières et Saveurs de Chambly
Just like the Festibière de Québec, the Festival Bières et Saveurs de Chambly is a great place for epicureans and, more specifically, for beer lovers. Indeed, you can find more than 110 beer exhibitors as well as wine, cider and food kiosks during this event. You can also enjoy some great shows to accompany the alcoholic beverages you’re sipping.
Festival Bières et Saveurs de Chambly
It’s only 15 festivals in Quebec among many others! There are many events you can attend before the end of the summer season. What is your favourite festival?
Cover photo credit: Osheaga/Susan Moss
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