Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France: an edition that allowed the rediscovery of Quebec

The organizers of the Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France put a positive assessment of the event ending today, stressing that the treasure hunt allowed participants to rediscover their city or explore the unknown places of Old Quebec.

“For us, the important thing was to keep the holiday spirit of New France alive,” commented Melanie Raymond, event general manager. “The fun way we convey information has obviously attracted very different clients, couples of different ages, and families with young children or teens, and the interest is there.”

looking for the treasure

“While searching for treasure, we discover places in Quebec that are less known than others but are part of our history. This is a comment that has been made a lot: “We discovered places in Quebec that we did not know,” M. points out.^I Raymond, referring for example to Parc-de-l’Artillerie.

The holidays have been canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, and the holidays are back from August 5-15, but in a reduced format, centered on a treasure hunt around seven historical figures. Sets have also been installed in Old Quebec and about thirty actors interact with visitors.

Activities such as display or demos of past crafts did not exist this year. Organizers wanted to avoid gatherings in the current health context. next year for 25^NS Edition, “We still hope to return to a festive and unified place where interactions are most important,” states M^I Raymond.

An estimate of the number of participants was not provided. However, there are approximately 40,000 clues scans in the collections, via smartphones, in order to access additional content such as historical capsules.

“nice concept”

“It’s a really cool concept. Even though we’re from Quebec City, we don’t come every week (in Old Quebec). She makes us discover the nooks and crannies, the shops, bits of our history,” said Roxanne Beaumont, who met during an assignment with her kids. She explains that the topic of scavenger hunt is also fun for young people.

“It makes us spot nooks and crannies. There are places where we have never set foot,” says Patrick Gagnon, accompanied by his wife and their three children. The family highlighted the diversity of historical figures: young Emile, 9, especially appreciated the stories surrounding indigenous chiefs Donacona and Kundiaronk. “That’s fine, because there are a lot of characters from New France,” he says of the mission. “It tells their story,” adds Emile, who is interested in this period of our history.