What a party last summer was in Québec City, QC! It was a lavish birthday bash to celebrate the city’s 400th that brought the likes of ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney to the normally staid provincial capital. Seems they’re reluctant to come down from that high—Québec City has decided to extend the festivities. So if you missed the hoopla, now’s your chance.
The mayor struck a deal with two iconic Quebec acts, world-renowned artist and director Robert Lepage and the famed acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil. Lepage was the wizard behind the anniversary’s highlight, a 40-minute-or-so multi-media, gargantuan-scale, light-show production called The Image Mill. According to Guinness, it’s the world’s biggest. Depicting the city’s four centuries of history, it will once again be splashed across 81 grain silos—a giant “screen” 30 m high and 600 m wide (98 ft x 1,969 ft). Every higher vantage point is a front-row seat since the dynamic light and sound presentation can be seen across the town.
Afterwards, in the quaint, cobblestone streets of historic Lower Town, Cirque du Soleil will create a special performance, exclusive to Québec City. The 70-minute-long show will feature more than 70 artists. It’s the Cirque going back to its street-performance roots, and it’ll coincide with the circus’s 25th anniversary this year.
Both shows are free and run five days a week from late June to mid September through 2013.
www.bonjourquebec.com