La Caravane’s last hurrah… until next year, that is
Tucked in the woods just on the edge of North Hatley near Capelton is a veritable bohemian paradise. For the past 10 years, La Caravane has been a cultural hot-spot of artists, both from the Townships and abroad. Next weekend, however, will be the last of their bi-weekly shows as the owner, Cécile Francoz, is launching her own album and taking a year off.
The 100 year-old-house and surrounding land that make up La Caravane has many functions: youth hostel, restaurant, café, art gallery and concert hall. Back in 2005, Francoz left Val David in the Laurentians for the Townships, and decided to bring some vitality to this quiet corner of the countryside.
“What brought me to create La Caravane first and foremost was the music,” said Francoz, a musician herself. “Back in Val David, there were tons of places I could go for jam sessions, and I wanted the same experience here. Now we have jams, storytelling nights, art exhibits, plays.”
According to Francoz, La Caravane truly does dabble in all things: on Wednesdays, the hostel offers boardgame nights and jam sessions. Every time there is a concert, Francoz prepares locally-sourced, organic meals for guests.
“I think people appreciate what we do here. There aren’t many intimate stages like ours left, it’s a different vibe. When Tire le Coyote came, it was crazy. You’re right next to him, it’s like he’s in your living room,” she explained with a laugh.
“It’s important. It’s a place where you can come meet people, get into the music scene, see tons of artists. We have a lot of regulars, but also get a bunch of newcomers.a lot of people know us, even down in Montreal,” continued Francoz. “When we first started, we had a show every weekend. Now it’s every second weekend, but we get all kinds of artists, not just locals. We have people coming from all over: Montreal based artists, European bands.”
Despite the value of La Caravane as a cultural hub, the weekend of the 21, 22, and 23 of June shall be the last set of shows that will be presented there in a long time.
“I’m taking a break,” announced Francoz. “I’ve got my album coming out and I want to focus on it. I want to play music and travel.”
Francoz’s first studio album, “Ça”, will be presented on the first night of the “last hurrah” weekend, June 21. The presentation, lasting from 5 to 7 p.m., is completely free.
“It’s a French song album,” said Francoz. “There’s some African inspiration on the album though, from my travels.”
The grand reveal of her album is only the start of the celebration, however. Francoz said that, to create a nice sense of her work coming full-circle, Tomas Jensen, who was one of the first artists to play at La Caravane, will be playing Saturday June 22 at 8 p.m. at $15 a ticket. After that, Los Pacos, a south-american themed band, will complete the weekend with a bang on Sunday, June 23 starting at 5 p.m., at $10 a ticket. On the menu that night will also be a bonfire, a DJ and plenty of jam sessions.
“Tomas was the one of the first and it seemed fitting he be one of the last. He’s from Argentina, though he’s lived in Quebec for a long time now. He sings in Spanish, Portuguese and French. He’s a fabulous performer,” said Francoz, adding that though she typically makes food on show nights, this time it will be more of a bring-your-own-food affair. “It’s our last show, I want it to be a party. I play with Los Pacos, so I figured that with that and cooking, I wouldn’t have time to celebrate!”
Though all of this sounds quite final, Francoz reassured The Record that this is not the end of La Caravane, only a brief hiatus.
“My intention is to take a bit of time to re-source myself and the business. Think of new things to do,” she explained. “We’ll be back, it’s just that for now, I’m realizing that La Caravane isn’t very profitable. The only thing that’s really working money-wise is the hostel, but that’s not what I set out to do so, I’m going to get out there and see what other people are doing, gather some ideas, and set up shop again.”