Tourtières, anyone? Club Bon Accueil will host a salmon festival of Québécois culture from noon to 4 pm on Saturday, September 29 at its meeting hall on Manson Avenue.
Tourtières, or meat pies, aren’t the only kind of traditional French-Canadian fare available at this event to promote cultural diversity.
Festival organizers said they originally wanted to plan the event for the summer, but soon realized that summer was already too busy with all the other events around town.
Building on success from last year, the third annual event promises more opportunities to discover French-Canadian culture.
The festival offers a whole day of fun for the family including a salmon barbecue. In the afternoon there are many activities for children to participate in. Events include a children’s mini parade opening where children will wear toques that look like animals, a pumpkin-carving contest, face painting, music, colouring contests, hat making and painting on cloth. Festival volunteers have cleaned up the trails around the back of the meeting hall so that children will have space to run around and hunt for treasure. “We hope to expand the treasure hunt to around Powell River in the coming years,” said Rhea Zajac, who is organizing this year’s event. “That would be a great way to help people discover the town.” She said that after all the pumpkins have been carved they will close the event with a pumpkin parade. Adults can enjoy demonstrations of rug hooking, weaving and making maple syrup in a sugar shack.
Once the children’s activities finish up, adults will be able to bid in the silent auction and buy raffle tickets for handmade crafts.
“The artisan and gardener group meets once a week and they work on handicrafts,” said Zajac. “There are slippers, pottery, weaving and other handmade items for the raffle and the silent auction.”
A Powell River Salmon Society information kiosk will also be available at the event so people can learn about the life stages and biology of salmon.
To wrap the evening up, Club Bon Accueil will host a dinner in its basement by Laughing Oyster chef David Bowes who will prepare a variety of mouthwatering entrees.
After dinner, diners will enjoy the music of a Buddy Holly tribute show.
The afternoon activities are free for the public to join. Club Bon Accueil is selling tickets for the dinner and show.
“You don’t have to speak French to attend the event,” said Zajac. “You just need to appreciate French culture.”
For more information about the Salmon Festival readers can contact Zajac at Club Bon Accueil 604.483.3966.
