Photo: Shirley Nadeau

The 25th annual Community Christmas Hamper Campaign was very different from past years, but the organizing committee is just as pleased with the results. COVID-19 changed the way many things were done, but we were able to help 235 families and individuals.

Photo: Peter Black

The Ville de Québec says it has taken another step toward expropriating the badly deteriorating Maison Pollack on Grande Allée.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain

This street is named in honour of Jean Carignan (1916-1988), who was one of the greatest folk fiddlers of the 20th century and the leading exponent of the Celtic tradition in French-Canadian fiddling.

Photo: Cassandra Kerwin

The ongoing pandemic has forced Winter Carnival organizers to make some major changes and go mostly virtual for the first time in the event’s 67-year history. From Feb. 5 to 14, Carnival-goers can discover Quebec City’s iconic winter magic from the comfort of their homes on the Carnival YouTube channel, #ColdOrNot, I’m Going!

Photo: Dominique Lavigueur

An article in the Oct. 21, 2020 edition of the QCT reported that a historic boundary marker, known as a B.O. (Board of Ordnance) stone, was missing from the grounds of Chalmers-Wesley United Church on Rue Sainte-Ursule in Old Quebec.

This mother took her little one stroller-skating on the ice oval on the Plains of Abraham last week. With favourable weather and excellent ice conditions, thousands of residents are lacing up their blades. For information on COVID-19 regulations on the use of outdoor rinks, go to the Ville de Québec website.

On Jan. 13, Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault, on behalf of Minister of Culture and Communications Nathalie Roy, announced the government’s economic recovery plan for museums in the Capitale-Nationale region, with grants totalling $756,600.

Five members of the Patenaude family picked up sticks and laced up for a little early-morning shinny on the rink in front of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec on Grande Allée. Under the latest COVID-19 restrictions, only family “bubbles” are allowed to play hockey on the city’s outdoor rinks.

Good thing we’ve got NHL hockey to keep us indoors after 8 p.m., eh?
No, we’re not going to talk about the curfew here. What is there to say besides yet another chorus of pandemic-inspired WTFs (where the F, kids, stands for “fudge”)?

No, let’s talk hockey, eh! Canadian hockey, eh! A brand new and temporary all-Canadian division, eh! Eh?

The Couperin Concerts are back (online) and are “going for baroque” with baritone Hugo Laporte and lutenist, theorbist and guitarist Charles Galipeau.

The concert consists of excerpts from baroque operas and solos for theorbo and lute, and includes works by Dowland, Purcell, Handel, Corbetta, Visée, Lambert, Lully and Couperin. Several arrangements are by Galipeau.

Photo: Cassandra Kerwin

Once the snow begins to pile up, skiers are eager to hit the slopes, even during a pandemic. Ski resorts throughout Quebec are prepared for a record-breaking season this year. Not even a provincewide curfew has stopped people from strapping on their skis and snowboards.

Photo: Lise Lafond

Walking in the woods, I often pass by the Rivière aux Pommes that cuts through a piece of our land. Alder trees (Latin name Alnus, which means “close to the river”) grow on both sides. The alder is a deciduous tree, meaning it sheds its leaves in fall, and is a member of the birch family. There are many species of alder, including the speckled alder, which is native to Quebec.

The 2020-21 season of the National Hockey League (NHL) got underway on Jan. 13 with five games, including the first of 10 meetings between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The late start was due to the completion of the Stanley Cup playoffs last fall and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo: QCGN

At the dawn of 2021, English-speaking Quebecers are witnessing the relative language peace we have enjoyed for many years fade.

Winnifred (Crawford) McCARTNEY
December 20, 1924 – December 24, 2020