French Festivals Not to be Missed in 2024
There are more French festivals around the country than you may think. They are a popular meeting place for lovers of music, food and everything that makes Canada’s Francophone culture so dynamic. Here are four Francophone festivals that should not be missed in 2024.
La Nuit sur l’étang
La Nuit sur l’étang has just celebrated its 50th anniversary, and is one of the oldest and most important Francophone festivals in Ontario. The event is held every April in Sudbury. Collaborating with le collège Boréal, this festival t celebrates French-Canadian music and culture.
The festival takes place over two days, with shows lasting for approximately five hours. Running for over 50 years, the festival has stood as a must-visit event.
In recent years, many Franco-Ontarian artists have been able to launch their musical careers to a professional level thanks to the recognition that they have received at La Nuit sur l’étang. The group LGS (Le Groupe Swing) was nominated for a Juno in 2009 and was the headliner of the 45th edition of the festival.
The next event is scheduled for spring 2024.
Festival de la Curd
Located in Eastern Ontario and launched in the summer of 1993, the Festival de La Curd began as a community celebration organized by the St. Albert Cheese factory for residents of the Eastern Ontario community.
The festival not only brings together fans of regional dishes like poutine, but also promotes Franco-Ontarian culture and heritage through live entertainment.
This year, La curd innovated by offering four shows at the community center in St-Albert.
Nicole Beauchesne, a committed citizen of St-Isidore interviewed par ONFR, believes it is important to have a range of shows in the region: “I really liked it, it was well organized. I’d like them to continue this version, even if I also like the traditional version of the Festival de la Curd.”
Osheaga
The music and arts festival Osheaga takes place every year in Montreal at the end of July or the first week of August and is the largest music festival in Canada.
After an interruption from 2019 to 2022 during the pandemic, Osheaga is back with programming that attracts varied audiences. Le devoir reviews this season’s major concerts: Kendrick Lamar, Billie Elish and francophone artists like Alicia Moffet, Charlotte Cardin and the French band L’impératrice.
Music is not the only attraction of this festival. Métro underlines the challenge of feeding 50000 festival-goers and makes an update on the fashion and trends at the festival.
Festival Franco-Ontarien
In Ottawa from June 14 through 16, The Franco-Ontarien Festival must be visited.
Franco-Ontarian culture can be found in all its diversity with live music, art and games. This year, the Franco-Ontarien Festival welcomed big names in the francophone music community, such as Sophie Grenier, Gregory Charles and Dayv Poulin. Festival Goers also experienced a performance from Duo Hoops, a mix between comedy and circus.
“It’s not the first time I see DJ UNPIER live, but every time I watch him perform it’s so refreshing to hear his completely unique style of music,” said Emma Hurtubise, an Ottawa local who attended the performance of DJ Unpier in 2019.
The dates for the Franco-Ontarien Festival in 2024 have been set for the weekend of June 14, however no performing artists have yet been confirmed.