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One baklava at a time, Lebanese Quebecers crowdfund for Beirut
Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ruby@qctonline.com
Lebanese Quebecers Marie Anne Dayé, Jacques Fadous and the owners of the Patisserie Denis Tannous haven’t forgotten Beirut. They hope their neighbours haven’t either.
On Aug. 2, 2020, an explosion apparently caused by poor storage of a combustible chemical used in fertilizer levelled warehouses in the port of Beirut and caused widespread destruction in surrounding residential areas. Around people were killed, an estimated 6,500 were injured and 300,000 lost their homes, compounding the everyday fear, anger and frustration brought about by inflation and economic and political paralysis.
At the time, Dayé and Fadous organized a vigil outside the National Assembly and encouraged donations to the Lebanese Red Cross and other local humanitarian organizations. Now, they are working with Limoilou-based nonprofit Collaboration Santé Internationale (CSI) to raise money to send a shipping container full of medical supplies for Lebanese hospitals. The Patisserie Denis Tannous in Sainte-Foy is donating one dollar from every box of baklava sold. Dayé said she and Fadous hope to unite Lebanese Quebecers around their project, and encourage people of all backgrounds to contribute what they can.
“Instead of just getting together and saying, ‘We support Lebanon,’ we wanted to do something more concrete,” Dayé said. CSI is a nonprofit specialized in the delivery of medicines and refurbished, used medical supplies to hospitals, clinics and charities in post-conflict countries. “In Lebanon, there is a serious shortage of certain medicines, and people don’t always have the money to buy them, so we figured that [sending] medical supplies would be a good way to help,” she said. CSI is working with two deep- rooted local charities, the Cedars Medical Association and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, to establish what specific supplies are needed; the charities will then distribute the supplies to local hospitals. Dayé and her friends need to raise $15,200 to cover ship- ping costs; as of this writing, they have raised just under $5,500.
Shortly after the explosion, Dayé felt compelled to visit Lebanon, her father’s native country. She is now temporarily living in Beirut, working as a journalist and helping to coordinate the aid effort.
“The situation has deteriorated further here, and I don’t want to say people have forgotten it, but it has been placed on the back burner,” she said. “The economic crisis began in 2019, and since then, inflation has been rising and the Lebanese pound has been losing value. In May 2021, the exchange rate was 12,000 [to the US dollar], in July, 20,000 and now 27,000. Last year, I could get a coffee for 5,000 pounds, and now that same coffee costs 20,000, but people who work here still earn the same salary. Everything’s harder, and even electricity is less available than it once was,” she said.
“There are so many terrible things going on in the world at the moment – the war in Ukraine, for example – but the crisis in Lebanon hasn’t ended.”
Those who wish to donate can do so online via the crowdfunding platform Zeffy. Cash donations can also be dropped in the donation box at Zeitoun Cuisine Libanaise in the Grand Marché.
Editors’ note: This article was updated on June 21, 2022 to reflect updated casualty numbers and clarify that local nonprofits will distribute supplies bought with the funds raised to hospitals in need.
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Musical Wednesdays return to Chalmers-Wesley United Church
Submitted by Shirley Nadeau
The organizers of the Summer Open Doors program at Chalmers-Wesley United Church, located at 78 Rue Sainte-Ursule in Old Quebec, are pleased to announce the program of the upcoming summer concert series.
The first of the Musical Wednesdays concerts, featuring Crépuscule – Christian Haerinck (bagpipes), Dominic Haerinck (guitar) and Daniel Fréchette (fiddle) – a trio of musicians who play toe-tapping traditional Scottish music – will take place on June 29, starting at 12:05 p.m. Admission to all concerts is free, but donations are always welcome.
Before the Musical Wednesdays concert series gets underway, however, two additional free concerts will be presented at Chalmers-Wesley by visiting American choirs.
On Friday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m., the Chamber Singers of Greenwich Academy from Connecticut will present a program of works by Mozart, Schubert and Rutter.
On Saturday, June 18, at 7 p.m., Mundus, a contemporary and world music choral ensemble from Minneapolis, will perform. All are welcome!
There is also an exceptional free concert on Sunday, July 3 as the Ville de Québec celebrates the 414th anniversary of its founding by Samuel de Champlain in 1608. Organist Jean Côté will give two 40-minute recitals at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
The Musical Wednesdays concerts continue throughout July and August at 12:05 p.m. as follows:
July 6 – Rébecca Veilleux (mezzo-soprano) and Élie Lefebvre-Pellegrino (baritone), voice students of the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, will sing selections from their favourite operas, accompanied by pianist Maureen Frawley.
July 13 – Marc-André Marquis, organist of Églises Saint-Mathieu and Sainte-Geneviève;
July 20 – Guitars & Co. a group of young classical guitarists from Nîmes, France;
July 27 – Le Duo Cordes au Vent: Peter Calkins (flûte traversière) and Lise Lavoie (guitar classique);
Aug. 3 – David Jacques (baroque guitar) and Lawrence O’Hearn (flûte irlandaise).
Aug. 10 – Alain Châteauvert (classical piano) will perform works From Chopin to Debussy including pieces by Franz Liszt and Quebec composers Ernest Gagnon and Calixa Lavallée.
Aug. 17 – Sharon MacLeod (soprano) and Peter Calkins (tenor) will present some of their favourite solos and duets from Quebec Art Company musicals. They will be accompanied by pianist Marc-André Marquis.
Aug. 24 – Pianists Maureen Frawley and Dana Nigrim will perform duets by Franz Schubert and Gabriel Fauré.
Aug. 31 – The season ends with a concert by Jacquelin Rochette, organist of Chalmers-Wesley from 1980 to 1987, who originated our summer concert series over 30 years ago and who, as the former artistic director of Cassavant Frères, was very involved in the restoration of the organ for the past many years.
The Musical Wednesdays concert series and the Summer Open Doors program at Chalmers-Wesley United Church are made possible by the financial support of the Cultural Development Agreement of the Ville de Québec and the Government of Quebec, and the Café de Paris, which also provides gift certificates for door prizes that are drawn at the end of each concert.
The church will be open daily to visitors from June 21 to Sept. 12, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, following the worship service. For more information about Chalmers-Wesley United Church, visit chalmerswesley.org.
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