Despite the mercury hovering around -25 degrees, hundreds of enthusiasts braved the cold in Lower Town tonight to take part in the first night parade of Quebec Carnival since 2020.
• Also read: Quebec Carnival: Extreme cold forces organizers to postpone opening to 2 p.m
At around 5:30 p.m., festival-goers gathered along 3rd Avenue in the Limoilou district to watch the parade of allegorical floats and salute Bonhomme, the king of the party.
DIDIER DEBUSSCISSORS/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
Hugues Martineau and his three little girls jumped in place to create some heat while waiting for the first performers to enter the parade.
Louis Deschenes
Hugues Martineau accompanied by his daughters Blanche (4 years old), Lou (6 years old) and Béatrice (8 years old).
“The girls are motivated, they like the carnival very much. I hope we manage to see the Bonhomme carnival. The children have to persevere,” says the resident of the sector, who has just seen a friend of his returning home with his children because of the cold.
Just off 12th Street, two other families got excited when they saw the lights flashing in the distance announcing the start of the parade.
DIDIER DEBUSSCISSORS/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
“We ignore the cold,” launches Bruno, father of two. What we want is to see the parade and the bonhomme, it’s a fascination for the youngest. We’ve dressed like onion skins with four layers and it’s going well. »
A first save
With the pandemic, which has been a spoilsport for two years, some children made their first experiences.
Dame Diop arrived from Senegal 14 years ago and decided this year to break the ice and take part in a first carnival parade with her four children and spouse.
Louis Deschenes
Dame Diop decided to break the ice this year and take part in the first carnival parade with her four children and spouse.
“We left Val-Bélair to see Bonhomme and the show. It’s cold, but we put on several layers,” he laughs.
A few tourists were also there to witness the carnival. Coming to Quebec from the Toronto suburbs for the occasion, Maureen Taylor savored the moment.
DIDIER DEBUSSCISSORS/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
“We had heard about it and now that we’re here, we didn’t want to miss the parade,” says the retiree in a tuque and scarf.
Cold
While the organizational logistics posed a major challenge to presenting the night parade with the attendance of 450 volunteers and participants, the freezing cold weather this year added to the task.
DIDIER DEBUSSCISSORS/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
“Everyone’s safety was paramount,” says Carnaval de Québec director Marie-Ève Jacob, who admits organizers have had the option to cancel the event since Friday.
In addition, school buses followed the artists on the course, which they could use at any time to warm up.
DIDIER DEBUSSCISSORS/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
Even if the rush was certainly smaller due to the extreme conditions, Ms. Jacob believes that the mission has been accomplished. “I am proud of the delivery because it was very complex with the cold. »
Though Mother Nature has spoiled the fun for some of the festival-goers who stayed warm at home, they can still find themselves on the Grande Allée next Saturday for the nightly Haute-Ville parade.
“It should be cozier,” laughs the director, imagining that it’s difficult in colder temperatures.
Do you have any information about this story that you would like to share with us?
Do you have a scoop that might be of interest to our readers?