Weather brings out the best on Ste-Catherine St.
Andrea La Dina sat on a bar stool and sipped a glass of rosé wine Sunday afternoon as she watched throngs of shoppers hunt for lastminute bargains on downtown Ste-Catherine St.
The street was closed to cars for three days over the weekend for the 20th edition of the Ste-Catherine St. festival.
La Dina, who shops downtown regularly, said she has never seen so many people on the busy shopping street.
“It’s really cool and it finally feels like summer,” said La Dina, who was having a drink with her partner, Julian Rodriguez. “It is amazing that they can close the street for three days. The atmosphere is great.”
The annual festival was a huge success over the weekend despite a rainy start on Friday, merchants said.
“(Friday), the weather was quite difficult to deal with,” said Montreal-based jewelry maker Sonya Szczygiel. “But right now it’s fantastic. There’s been a good energy on the street. There’s the music, people are friendly. People seem excited.”
The Ville-Marie borough estimated 300,000 people would visit Ste-Catherine St. over the weekend for what they called “biggest open sky gathering of merchants in Canada.”
Gregoire Thibault, who owns a gaming store on the street, said he sold many Pokémon cards and board games over the weekend.
“It has been very lively and it is great to see people in a good mood,” said Thibault, who was participating in his second street fair. “Next year, I will get some games out so people can play.”
At the Roots store near Peel St., a manager said the street fair is a welcome change for staff and customers. “The staff really like it,” said the co-manager, who identified herself as Rebecca.
Artist Stéphanie Bérubé had been at work since 9 a.m. on Saturday creating a scaled-down replica of the Olympic Stadium in the intersection at McGill College Ave.
It was about 12 to 15 feet long, and about five feet wide at the base. Part of it was painted onto what looked like a piece of plywood, while the rest was painted onto the ground.
By playing with perspectives, Bérubé was able to make her 2-D design look as though it was sprouting up from the asphalt.
She and her assistant helped passersby take the perfect shot of it by directing them to the best vantage point. She said parents loved it just as much as their children.
This is Bérubé’s third year participating in the festival and she said the city’s 375th anniversary has drawn a lot of people.
“It’s nice out and everyone is great,” she said.
“I think it’s perfect,” said Montrealer Bing Fung, who had no prior knowledge of the festival before stumbling onto Ste-Catherine St. on Saturday.
She said prices are good, making for a fun day of shopping.