The second edition of La Grosse Lanterne burned bright. An estimated 900 music fanatics turned up to the event in Béthanie, QC. During the two days of festivities, festival-goers were treated to live music, visual arts, good food and outdoor activities. The beautiful weather ensured that attendees enjoyed the picturesque forest, the local products available at the Place du Marché, and camping out on the banks of the Black River. All for the love of nature!
The ticket-holders arrived on Friday, August 7th as soon as the site opened at noon. They unpacked their camping gear in time for the outdoor screening of a 4 short films: L’appareil de la destruction by Jean-Christophe J. Lamontagne, Bleu Tonnerre by Jean-Marc E. Roy & Philippe David Gagné, Roi de la montagne by Anh Minh Truong, and La Vie Magnifique Sous L'eau by Joël Vaudreuil. DJs Poirier and Toast Dawg warmed up the Auberge area with their groovy beats.
The party continued on Saturday, August 8th at the Unis TV stage with a great, eclectic lineup. Koriass, Karim Ouellet, Ponctuation, Milk & Bone, Loud Lary Ajust, Heat, Gabrielle Papillon, Bernhari, Face-T and Dear Denizen all contributed to make this second edition a real success. Malajube played songs from all of their 3 albums. The excitement was incredible. Entirely lite by lanterns, the crowd ventured into the forrest to see bands Country and DJs A-Rock & Shaydakiss play on the Moog Audio stage. Their energy was perfect after the highly anticipated set from Malajube.
We would like to thank all of our volunteers, artists and technicians. We also want to thank all of our sponsors without whom the festival would not have been possible: Unis TV, Moog Audio, Boréale, Sirius XM, NRJ Estrie, CISM, LDI Technology Design, Omnison, Arbre-évolution, Domaine Pinnacle, Boîte à musique, Naya and Airstar Canada. A big shout out to the food-trucks Le Nice Truck and Landry & Filles, as well as the butcher’s shop Coutu et Frères, Les Jardins du Lac and Pops Arts. And finally to our team at Bonsound, Pivot Événements, Atelier du loisir as well as the media for their great coverage.
Long live La Grosse Lanterne! See you next year!
Photo: Cindy Boyce