For the second time in a week, festival-goers have had to evacuate Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) facilities due to strong winds and violent thunderstorms.
Since the beginning of the day, the FEQ organization has considered several scenarios to sustain this evening with Les Cowboys Fringants and Robert Charlebois.
At the end of the afternoon, the organizers had brought forward the date for the concert by the Cowboys Fringants and Robert Charlebois. The latter could appear on the plains of Abraham. Of the fifteen planned songs, however, he was only able to implement seven.
For their part, Les Cowboys Fringants had to end their show quickly.
As the crowd cheered, they shouted, “We apologize, it’s not our choice.” We’ll try to do one quickly. But you can’t connect the instruments! What song could we sing a cappella together? The festival ended the event by announcing the evacuation.
If lightning is seen within a 10km radius, the FEQ will halt all concerts and evacuate outdoor venues, FEQ program director Louis Bellavance warned in an interview on the program C’est encore mieux l’Afternoon.
reorganization
Earlier, the organizers decided to change the program schedules to allow festival-goers to see the headliners’ concerts. Sara Dufour’s show has been canceled so Robert Charlebois will take the Plains of Abraham stage at 6:30pm, followed by the Cowboys Fringants at 7:30pm.
The dates of the concerts planned for the Parc de la Francophonie have also been brought forward, while the performances by Mon Doux Saigneur and Sara-Danielle have been cancelled.
“It’s disappointing because there are artists who have been canceled and others who will be playing under different conditions,” admitted Mr. Bellavance. Everyone is in solve mode. To ask a Robert Charlebois to play 45 minutes is sacrilege.
Heavy thunderstorm
As early as 7 p.m., strong winds swept through the FEQ systems and the greater Quebec City area, which could receive up to 40 millimeters of rain in a very short time.
Environment Canada’s severe thunderstorm warning for Quebec City triggered an alert in the evening.
Conditions are favorable for the formation of severe thunderstorms that can bring strong squalls, large hail and heavy rain tonight, the ministry said.
Other sectors affected by this warning: Côte-de-Beaupré – Île d’Orléans, Lévis, Lotbinière, Portneuf, Saint-Lambert and Valcartier – Stoneham.
Keep in mind that severe thunderstorms can produce tornadoes, the ministry warns on its website.
This is the second time in a week that FEQ has had to review their organization due to the difficult weather. On Tuesday, all open-air festival venues were evacuated due to high winds and severe thunderstorms.
With information from Kathleen Lavoie