Québec, Quebec, May 25, 2011 -- Parks Canada, the oldest national park service in the world, is observing its 100th anniversary this year. This summer, Quebec’s 24 national historic sites, three national parks, and one marine park will present a host of extraordinary visitor experiences that the whole family will long remember.
Visitors will be delighted, whether they’re adventure seekers, nature lovers, or history buffs. Whatever they crave—whether on land, water, islands, or high in the sky—they’ll find something to enjoy.
In town
How about some urban camping? That’s what the Lachine Canal site in Montreal and the Lévis Forts have planned for June 17 and 18 as part of Learn-to-Camp Weekend. Similar activities will be held in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax as part of this unusual introduction to camping.
And in Montreal, a new sound-enhanced experience, Wave, will offer visitors an innovative and original way to discover the Lachine Canal with the help of an electro-acoustical musical recording inspired by the urban landscape.
In the country
Nature lovers will want to head for the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park, Quebec’s only marine conservation area, where two outstanding programs will run all summer. St. Lawrence Live will let viewers go along on a scuba dive—without getting wet, thanks to a giant screen. Camera-equipped diving biologists will set off in search of marine life, including starfish, frilled anemones, and more. And as part of Ocean Encounter, diving naturalists will go looking for marine invertebrates that visitors will actually be able to touch.
Known as having been a quarantine station, Grosse Île innovates by proposing the starry sky above this location in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. On August 11, an evening of astronomy will be presented there in collaboration with the Astronomy Club of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud and Croisières Lachance.
In eastern Quebec, the Mingan Archipelago will feature From Island to Island throughout the summer, allowing visitors to spend a half day on an island with a small group of 12 to 24 persons and a guide-interpreter. Depending on the length of the visit, a different island can be visited each day. For those who prefer exploring this distinctive terrain at their own pace, the national park reserve will offer Escape from the Ordinary, which makes available some ten islands, six of which have camping facilities.
For families
During the summer season, a host of family activities will be presented at numerous sites in Quebec. On June 11 in Gaspésie, Forillon National Park and the Battle of the Restigouche National Historic Site will hold open houses. On July 9, Meeting of the Cultures at the Cartier-Brébeuf National Historic Site in Québec will bring the stories, songs, dance, and traditional foods of various cultural communities to life. And in keeping with tradition, on July 1, Canada Day, and July 16, Parks Day, all Parks Canada sites will offer visitors free admission.
On July 16, La Mauricie National Park will dedicate Parks Day to families by offering hot air balloon rides, the ideal way to admire nature from on high. And parents of teenagers in Secondary 2 will surely want to take advantage of the fact that Parks Canada has given all students annual passports allowing free admission to all facilities in the system as part of the centennial celebration.
For history buffs
Other significant events are planned this summer in addition to Parks Canada’s centennial. Fort Témiscamingue in Duhamel-Ouest will observe the 325th anniversary of the critical military expedition led by Chevalier de Troyes and d’Iberville. On August 15, Acadian Day will be observed at Battle of the Restigouche National Historic Site in Pointe-à-la-Croix. At Fort Chambly, the 300th anniversary of the stone fort will be commemorated. August 20 and 21, as part of Fab Fort Weekend—during which admission to all of the country’s historic forts will be free—an 18th century French military encampment will be staged on the Feast of St. Louis. On August 21 the party moves to Forges-du-Saint-Maurice in Trois-Rivières, where items like cannons and cannonballs were produced for military forts. And in celebration of Parks Canada’s 100th anniversary, 100 cannons will be fired across the country, from coast to coast. Canada’s national treasures have never seen anything like it!
Parks Canada works to ensure Canada’s historic and natural heritage is protected and, through a network of 42 national parks, 167 national historic sites, and four national marine conservation areas, invites Canadians and people around the world to engage in personal moments of inspiring discovery at our treasured natural and historic places.
For more information, please visit www.parkscanada.gc.ca/quebec
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Information:
Karine Parenteau
Communications Advisor, Quebec
Office of the Director General, Eastern Canada
418-648-4984
Backgrounders associated with this News Release.
Parks Canada in Quebec
Summer 2011 Activity Highlights
