Five reasons to check out 2018 Festival du Bois
1 Contredanse
The annual three-day Festival du Bois is the province’s largest celebration of francophone music and culture. Kicking off the event is an all-ages contredanse in the Grand Chapiteau. A contredanse is a kind of traditional folk dance that features a band (Vancouver’s The Sybaritic String Band), a caller (who teaches the sequence of figures in the dance before the music starts), and of course dancers.
2 Les Chauffeurs à pieds
One of three tradition-based Quebecois groups (the other two are Bon Débarras and Le Vent du Nord) performing at the festival, Les Chauffeurs à pieds (“Drivers on Foot” or “The Feet Warmers”) are renowned for their renditions of traditional songs and ballads.
3 Mazacote
Much of the music talent hails from closer to home. Mazacote is a six-piece world-Latin band with roots in Nicaragua, Mozambique and Colombia.
Other Vancouver-based performers include Jacky Essombe, Blackthorn, and Alouest. The latter hails from Maillardville itself, home to Festival du Bois.
4 Children’s Tent
Performers include Boris Sichon, who will demonstrate some of the more than 400 instruments—from Chinese gongs to Bulgarian bagpipes—he has gathered on his travels. Traditional music duo Vazzy, singer/comedian André Thériault, Alphonse and Lola, and Podorythmie (presenting their Crankie Show) also perform pour les enfants.
5 Axes of evil
New this year: recreational axe throwing. Demonstrate your lumberjack skills (or lack thereof ) via the Axewood Axe Throwing Crew’s fully mobile axe-throwing experience. In addition to this and other activities, Festival du Bois features traditional and popular French Canadian food (including maple taffy on snow and poutine), a Sunday breakfast, the Franco-Columbian Improv League, local vendors, historical exhibits, facepainting, and more.