Le Mur du Son

July 3rd and 4th, 2010... you will see and hear Le Mur du Son (The Sound Barrier)
Enjoy :)

Quebec City Aerial Festival & why I haven't blogged lately

It has started. The incredible "Festival aérien de Québec" has started!

Every year, cool airplanes, jet fighters and cargo planes come to Quebec City to show off! If, like me, you've always dreamed of being a jet fighter pilot, then you absolutely have to go. You'll see crazy pilots doing stunning tricks and stunts, big military airplanes ready for some action... and you'll have lots of fun!

I usually go to such events and film, but for this one, it's going to be impossible. You won't get a video from me, but if you want to film and post it on YouTube yourself, go ahead and do it! I would really love to see your work!

Lately I haven't posted a lot. In fact I kind of left the project on the side. I've had personal problems so I couldn't focus on Quebec Event City. I did film the last event (the Rendez-vous Naval) but didn't finish the editing. I will soon, though. But in the next few days I'll be moving to a new place, so I won't have so much time. I'll try to do my best and give you updates when I can, but it will be a lot less frequent than before. But keep visiting, I like to see the stats go up :)

See you soon!

Why Quebec could see the NHL soon

That's actually a good question to ask. Why would it be possible to see an NHL team back in Quebec City?

Since a couple of days, we've heard about Glendale and the Phoenix Coyotes moving to Winnipeg, then staying in Glendale, then moving again, then staying again! The city of Glendale has said it was ready to pay up to $25,000,000 to the NHL to cover the team's losses. Now I'm no accountant, but it seems pretty ridiculous to me. The team is losing money since it got in that bloody desert! It's not like it has ever been profitable! When asked about all those money losing cactus teams he brought during his reign of terror, Gary Bettman said that almost every team has had a period where they lost money, including teams in Canada. He mentionned how the NHL has supported Ottawa and Edmonton... but might I remind you that these teams have been profitable in the past! It's not too hard to help a team get out of trouble when that team is located in a country that loves hockey! Now don't get me wrong, I know some people in Florida and Atlanta love hockey... but when 97% of your city's population doesn't even know why an offside was called, there's a problem. Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Quebec City... these are real hockey towns!!

"Woah... wait, what? Did you say Quebec City?" Yes I did, Mr Imaginary-Surprised-Guy! That city, my city, has got no NHL team, I know, but we are a hockey town. A true hockey town! We full our 15,000 seat arena for junior games, we sellout our World Championships tickets in a couple of minutes! We play hockey in the winter... and the summer!!... That being said, why don't we have a team right now? Let's see why we lost it in the first place.

In 1995, Marcel Aubut, the team's owner, had known for long that the Nordiques were in trouble. The arena was too small, and the new players agreement was just signed with no salary cap. Now the Nordiques weren't even losing money back then... But Aubut needed help and cooperation from our governments or he knew that the Nordiques wouldn't be able to survive. He asked the city for help and got turned down. He asked the provincial governement and got turned down too... actually, he practically got asked to give the team away to the government. What the hell!... With no potential local buyer, he had no choice but to let the team go away. He stared at the papers he had to sign to seal the deal with Denver... he stared at it for long minutes... hours! He tried to ask the governement for help one last time... The answer was no! He signed. Knowing he just broke the heart of a million fans. Quebec City wasn't financially healthy back then. No investor wanted to build an arena with no help from the government. Quebec City isn't as rich as big American cities. Money was hard to find. Fans? Not so much. But it seemed that money counted more than passion.

Things have changed today. Quebec is the city that best survived the financial crash in North America. It's the city with the lowest unemployment rate! Since 2008, it's all going uphills! Many investors and groups want to get involved in the building of a new arena. The governement? Hasn't changed much... but the city wants to pitch in $50,000,000! How about the investors for a team? Well, a lot of rumors are flying around. But better than just rumors, Quebecor Group has publically declared that they are trying to acquire a team!

So why no team yet, then? Why is Quebec out of the picture in the Coyotes deal? Cause we have no signed guarantee that a new arena will be built yet. The government says it's interested but won't give the money nor promise to give it. They want business plans, they want studies, they want this and they want that! They will pay when pigs fly!... But maybe not. Quebecor doesn't want to rush expectations and be the next Balsillie. Quebecor wants to get all the right cards in its hands and lay them off on the table at the right moment. I think it's coming way faster than we think. I think we might see the Nordiques back for the 2011-2012 season. Let's keep our ears open and stay alert, because it might all unwrap pretty soon!

Go Nordiques!!!

Gumball 3000 in Quebec

Yo dawg! I heard you like Tony Hawk. So I put Hawk in a car so yo can watch while he rides!

Enough "yo dawg" jokes, yesterday was Gumball 3000 right here in Quebec City. Xzibit, Tony Hawk, DJ Muggs, David Hassellhoff (really...) and many more where here. Frankly, we didn't hear about it until they dropped here. They showed off their cars and partied all night. Frankly... nothing to be too excited about unless you really like expensive cars. The "cast" isn't too impressive to me, but that's just my opinion. People who went there had a great time, so it's all good.

Next time, try to make more noise before you come here, Xzibit, cause we didn't even know :P

Quebec City Timelapse Video

Someone made this incredible video of Quebec City. This was filmed from January to April 2010. It's multiple timelapse shots of the city. Enjoy!!

Timelapse - Quebec city winter 2010 from Dominic on Vimeo.

Quebec City Gets Its Own Beer Festival

It's confirmed! Quebec City will get its own Beer Fest!

As previously rumored by Quebec Event City's Twitter account months ago, Quebec's capital will have it's beer festival, called Festibière, from August 19th to August 22nd, 2010. Access will be free, but if you intend to dip your lips in beer, you will have to buy coupons. Each coupon will allow you to taste a product from one of the 50 beer makers expected this summer.

And if you are curious about making your own beer, conferences will be held on that very subject.
I can't wait to drink with you guys!

Tickets for the Quebec City Summer Fest

Starting today, you can buy your bracelet to the Quebec City Summer Fest online! Hurry up, though, the number of passes are limited (60,000 only). Get yours by following this link before they're all gone!

If you're worried about not getting a pass, you will still be able to buy daily tickets on location. But you will have to buy them for each day you want to attend a show.

I got mine :) Get yours... and see you there!