Festival d’été de Québec street performers, sponsored by Leclerc, are back again for 11 days of creative and original shows! This year finds them not only on Rue Saint-Jean and at Théâtre de La Bordée, but also in an exciting program of circus performances at Parc de l’Esplanade.
The 46th edition of the Festival d’été de Québec will be held from July 4 to 14, 2013.
“Street performers always give the Festival d’été de Québec a special flair. They grab our attention and make us laugh, they can inspire or astound us, but they never leave us indifferent,” says Michel Barette, who is in charge of the street arts program. “Circus is a type of performance that fascinates us the most, so we decided to give it a special place at Parc de l’Esplanade,” he added.
Parc de l’Esplanade
David Dimitri puts on a totally unique show inspired by his tours with Cirque du Soleil and the Big Apple Circus. Dubbed ‘Lord of the Wire’ by the New York Times, he is truly a one-man circus. Five Foot Fingers features five burlesque characters in a variety of stunning and daring circus cabaret acts. Vague de cirque perform their latest show, Carrousel et cordes à linge, whose highly acrobatic numbers are rooted in the tradition of travelling fun fairs. Also at Parc de l’Esplanade, audiences will love the quirky Fanfare Le S.N.O.B brass band, the antics of Rosie Volt the clown, the street music of Semèl Rebel, circus acts by Théâtre Attrape, the original mini-show by Toxique Trottoir, Kabir Percussions, and the theatre of objects performed by Elvis alAtac, the Sages Fous and the CréatureS Compagnie.
Shows at Parc de l’Esplanade: Free.
Every evening starting at 6 pm.
Smashed, at Théâtre de la Bordée
Smashed! treats festival fans to an exceptional circus performance. In a combination of high- precision juggling and theatrics, London’s Gandini Juggling pays tribute to the great German dancer, Pina Bausch. On stage, nine master jugglers transform their art into a form of dance, using everyday objects like apples and dishes. Composed of a series of live tableaux reminiscent of old photos depicting war scenes, strained relations, love and innocence lost, Smashed! promises to be a uniquely dramatic experience. The Festival d’été de Québec is putting on this show jointly with Montréal Complètement Cirque.
Smashed by Gandini Juggling: $13 phone reservation, $10 at the door or Festival pass.
Thursday July 11 to Sunday July 14 at 8:30 pm.
Rue Saint-Jean
The ever-popular street performers, sponsored by Leclerc, will be taking Rue Saint-Jean by storm from Place d’Youville to Côte du Palais. With street performers from France, the Netherlands, Spain and Québec, spectators can expect original artistic performances every evening. Festivalgoers are advised to keep their eyes and ears open if they don’t want to miss any of these wild and wacky shows! Watch for:
Street theatre in all its forms with Le Filament, Le Gestuaire, Poupées [K]rinkées, Mobile Home and NomadUrbains
The Teatro Pavana stilt walkers
Acrobatics by Bulles de Zinc
Musical street theatre with L’Aubergine
An original artistic techno creation by Marc-Andrée Goulet
Theatre of flying objects with Cal y Canto
Giant fan juggling with Shintaï JonGlo Théâtre
Shows on Rue Saint-Jean: Free.
Every evening starting at 6 pm.
Family Place, sponsored by le Lait
With something happening under the big top, at the amphitheatre or the Ephemeral Gardens, Family Place, sponsored by le Lait, is taking over the entire Espace 400e site! From Friday July 4 to Sunday July 14, there’s a great choice of free family activities to choose from every day from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm.
“We’re lucky to have this outstanding venue for our activities at Family Place. Every year, we try to come up with an exciting new program that makes the most of the site. And with even more interactive activities planned this year, the kids will love it!” reports FEQ general manager Daniel Gélinas.
The big top will feature a slew of popular kid’s stars, including Arthur l’Aventurier, La Comtesse d’Harmonia, Carmen Campagne and Koukoulia, to name just a few of the shows that will have the whole family singing, dancing and laughing along.
This year there will be a new tent just for puppet shows. Everyone loves a puppet show, and the original and inventive creations produced by Aliona Munteanu, Puzzle Théâtre, Belzébrute and many others are sure to set the imagination free.
The program at the amphitheatre opens with the Brazilian drums of Le Bloco. In the days that follow, Le Filament and Artéfacts et Artifices will be presenting their street theatre, Strada its Fanfare Monfarleau and Shintaï JonGlo Théâtre will display their remarkable fan handling techniques. More fun and exciting shows will also be taking place around the Ephemeral Gardens.
Along with all these shows, Family Place also has a wide range of activities and sports, artistic and discovery workshops planned. Kids will be thrilled with the new ÉducaZoo and Repti-Zone exhibits where they can learn all about reptiles and other cool pets or exotic animals. Also offered: an acrobatics course, a skate park, a visual arts workshop, a wooden toy-making workshop, a workshop for budding scientists, extreme face painting and much more!
For festival information, www.infofestival.com.
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