Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain

A couple of years ago, this space made the case for the “versatile, nutritious, abundant, delicious wild blueberry” as Canada’s national fruit. “It’s grown from coast to coast to coast, a leading export product, and a staple for all manner of wildlife – indeed beavers have been known to snack on the berries.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain

Canada Day will feel different this year, with no large gatherings on the Plains of Abraham, no giant cake, compliments of the Château Frontenac, served on Dufferin Terrace, and no fireworks! Local notables can enjoy the novelty of sitting on deck chairs in their own yards, watching their children or grandchildren run through the sprinkler.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain

July 2, 1820 – The Quebec Gazette
Emigrants For Quebec

Photo: St. Patrick’s High School

With plans to host an in-person graduation ceremony once it is safe to bring people together again, the staff of St. Patrick’s High School organized its annual Ring and Pin ceremony on June 22. One hundred Secondary 5 students answered the call and assembled in the school gymnasium to officially join the ranks of the SPHS alumni.

Photo: SEPAQ

After more than three months closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Aquarium du Québec and its thousands of underwater residents are quivering with impatience at the idea of once again welcoming visitors, starting June 29. The aquarium is reopening in line with public health directives.

Photo: Golf Martial-Lapointe

Golf Quebec has announced that it will go ahead with a shortened season for 2020, which will include the Duke of Kent Tournament, held annually at the Club de Golf Royal Québec on Île d’Orléans.

Photo: Lise Lafond

After a record-breaking heat wave and a very dry month of June, rain is here at last.

Photo: Cassandra Kerwin

Nothing – not even a pandemic – was going to stop the 12th annual Grand Défi Pierre-Lavoie (GDPL) from happening. One way or another, physical fitness motivator Pierre Lavoie was going to encourage his fellow Quebecers to get up and move, despite COVID-19.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain

This street is named in honour of Guillaume Bresse, born in 1833 in Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu. After primary school, he became a factory worker in Montreal. It is believed that Bresse learned the shoemaking trade while living in Massachusetts after emigrating there with numerous other Canadians.

"Give me a head with hair!”

Photo: Public Domain

A century ago, on July 1, then known as Dominion Day, a military review was held at Camp Valcartier. At the beginning of the ceremony, Colonel Vuchterle of the Czechoslovakian army reported to Lieutenant-Governor Charles Fitzpatrick that the 475 officers and 9,300 soldiers under his command were ready for inspection.

Certain restaurants and bars, like the Fou-Bar on Rue Saint-Jean, have created terrasses on the sidewalks and streets of Quebec City to allow space for social distancing during the deconfinement period.

Photo: Shirley Nadeau

These large exotic statues, made of a synthetic resin and set on cement bases, can be found in four different locations in Quebec City.

Do you know where they are located (street address, if applicable), when they were installed, the names of the works of art, and who the artist is? Hint: There are small plaques on the sides of the four statues.

Photo: Canadian Olympic Committee

The Quebec Sports Hall of Fame recently announced that five athletes and two people in the “builders” category will be inducted for the year 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 30th gala ceremony will not be held until the fall of 2021.

Cross-country skier Alex Harvey and mountain biker Marie-Hélène Prémont were two of the five local athletes selected.

Photo: Screenshot from Google Maps

Students, parents and school officials are preparing for an almost-normal school year after the Quebec government announced that all schools, CEGEPs, vocational training centres and universities would reopen in September.