Shawn Conner has five reasons why you should check out the fantastique 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 a Pieds
One of three traditionbased Quebecois groups (the other two are Bon Debarras and Le Vent du Nord) performing at the festival, Les Chauffeurs a 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 sixpiece world-Latin band with roots in Nicaragua, Mozambique and Colombia. Other Vancouverbased performers include Jacky Essombe, Blackthorn and Alouest. The latter hails from Maillardville itself, home to Festival du Bois.
4 The children’s tent
Performers geared toward the younger set 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 Andre Theriault, 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.
FESTIVAL DU BOIS When: Friday to Sunday Where: Mackin Park, Coquitlam Tickets: festivaldubois.ticketzone.com