Festival du Bois will party on, sans frog hats

What would Festival du Bois be without an appearance by Frenchie the Clown?

The annual celebration of all things French-Canadian — but especially music and those Maillardville frog hats — once again plays host to Joey Esperance and the character he's been bringing to the festival for “at least 25 years,” by the local actor's estimation.

For this year's Festival du Bois, Esperance filmed himself — as Frenchie — reading, in both French and English, the 2020 children's book Be You! by Peter H. Reynolds.

“I created a little area in my apartment, and I pretend I'm in Paris 'cause that's where I'm supposed to live,” Esperance says. “It's a way for Frenchie to be there. And for the kids who enjoy Frenchie to have a little bit of time with him.”

This is the festival's 32nd year. The event is typically three days long and hosts 12 to 14 musical and children's acts from across the country. Attendees at the festival's Maillardville/Coquitlam site number between 12,000 and 15,000. Last year, it took place in early March, just in time to escape lockdown.

This year's virtual event from April 16-30, or “Festival à la cabane,” sees a full roster of musical talent and children's programming, all pre-recorded. The lineup is a mix of returning acts, like Quebec City trio Genticorum and B.C. fiddler Jocelyn Petit, and first-timers.

One of the newcomers is Loig Morin. Originally from Brittany, France, Morin moved to Vancouver 11 years ago. He has released three albums since, including 2019's Citadelle. His new album, Printemps, features Romance à l'italienne, a duet with Vancouver singer/songwriter Jill Barber. The track has been topping Canadian francophone charts.

While many of the musical guests at the festival have roots in Acadian and other traditional fiddle music, Morin's music is along the lines of what he calls “indie-pop chanson, with a bit of electro.”

Morin recorded his performance with guitarist Vinay Lobo and vocalist Maude G.L.

“Before I had a band, but I was never happy. It sounded too classic, too pop. You have to find the right musicians. I often don't like the sound of session musicians. So I said, `I'm going to work a lot with sequencers and with loops, and play with just one guitarist and one singer and me.'”

Morin says that he was depressed when he wrote the songs for Printemps, which is intended as the first of four albums based on the seasons.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, it seemed like everybody started drinking over Zoom, and I did too! Then I said, `Oh my goodness, I need to stop.' When I stopped, a lot of sad things came back. The music is joyful, but the lyrics are sad.”

Frenchie's appearance, reading an empowering kids book, will be a little less complicated. He makes only periodic appearances these days, since “the clown ended up on the back-burner” once Esperance decided to focus on theatre.

In 2016, Esperance earned a Jessie for his performance in Théâtre la Seizième's production of Michel Tremblay's A toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou. During the pandemic, he's spent more time creating his own projects, including a self-written piece he performed on the balcony of his West End apartment.

“That being said, as far as a profession, my clown makes more money than I do,” says the actor. “It's more lucrative to be a clown performer than a theatre performer.”