Photo: Cassandra Kerwin

There was almost no room in front of the Bell Stage on July 13. Despite weather warnings, people had been lined up for hours. Some had driven hundreds of kilometres to see Imagine Dragons, a concert on the roster of the Festival d’Été de Québec (FEQ). To everyone’s disappointment, Mother Nature created a repeat of the Foo Fighters’ 2015 concert, to the day.

A few years ago we rented a cottage in the Eastern Townships and, on our first night there, we heard a skittering sound above suggesting a mouse afoot. An investigation of the attic in the morning led to the discovery of not a mouse but a virtual time capsule of magazines.

Photo: Wikipedia Commons - Public Domain

This street is named in honour of Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (1863 - 1937), also known as Pierre de Coubertin.

Born into an aristocratic French family, Coubertin became an academic and studied a broad range of topics, most notably education and history. He was deeply interested in physical education and the role of sports in schooling.

Photo: Peter Black

He turns 83 on July 30, so Buddy Guy has more than earned the right to sing the blues and claim the title of the last of the great bluesmen, B.B. King, Muddy Waters and their ilk having already ascended to the big three-chord progression in the sky.

Photo: Cassandra Kerwin

Triathletes were unruffled by the heavy rain and thunderstorm of July 13. Early Sunday morning, 300 amateur and elite international athletes competed in a triathlon on a course through lakes and forest at Lac Delage in the sixth XTERRA race, competing for a spot in the XTERRA World Championship in Hawaii.

Photo: Cassandra Kerwin

A series of tents, cabins and rides reminiscent of Barnum and Bailey popped up under the ramps of Autoroute Dufferin-Montmorency off Boulevard Charest from July 12 to 16. Visitors to the dimly lit Îlot Fleurie walked into EXMURO’s Humanorium: l’étrange fête foraine / strange fun-fair.

Photo: Peter Black

The weather “played a spoilsport” for two evenings of the 2019 edition of the 11-day Festival d’Été, but organizers are declaring the 52nd version of Quebec’s most popular musical event memorable “in every way.”

The Club de Rugby de Québec (CRQ) and the Québec Dynamo soccer players are enjoying a great summer on their respective pitches, across the province.

The CRQ women lead Quebec’s Women’s Super League and have an unbeaten record. On July 13, the CRQ team won 38-10 over the Barrhaven Scottish club from Ottawa, for their seventh straight win in as many games.

July 16 and 18 – VEQ Out & About for members of the community aged 50-plus. Join us as we take the Lévis ferry to enjoy magnificent views of our beautiful city and local cuisine, or bring a lunch and enjoy it on one of the many picnic benches. Free transportation is provided. Contact Paige at 418-683-2366, ext. 222 or Alexandra at [email protected].

Photo: NBA Canada website

The Toronto Raptors, the newest champions of the National Basketball Association (NBA), will hold their 2019-20 training camp in Quebec City.

The announcement was made in a press release by the Université Laval Sports Activities Services on July 10.

Photo: Renaud Philippe, courtesy of FEQ

Pop star Corey Hart “never surrendered” to travel obstacles in his way, including being boxed in by traffic in Montreal. That was a very good thing for organizers of the Festival d’Été de Québec (FEQ) who had scrambled to have Hart fill in the abruptly vacant headliner spot on the opening Thursday of the monster festival.

It’s possible some soccer-playing kid in Kenya is wearing my orange Simon Gagné T-shirt as he kicks the ball around in the streets of Nairobi. (The shirt, if you’re wondering, was a promotional giveaway back in 2010 when the Philadelphia Flyers, featuring local hero Gagné, now retired, made it to the Stanley Cup finals, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks).

The honour guard of the Service de Police de la Ville de Québec marched from the statue of Samuel de Champlain to City Hall, where the City’s 411th anniversary celebrations continued.

Photo: Lise Lafond

After two years without successfully hatching any goslings, this year Angry Bird (if it is him …) and Mrs. Bird are happy to show us their pride-and-joy goslings, three little ones that look happy and healthy. In a few weeks, the Canada geese will disappear, only to stop over at our farm in the fall before they take off to spend winter in the south.