FESTIVAL. The curtain fell on the 2023 Putin Festival on Saturday night. Outstanding shows, record crowds and decadent Poutines marked this 16th edition, which General Manager Simon Proulx described as “fabulous”.
Even before the first day of the event, the organizing committee expected a great edition. In fact, the program, spearheaded by Les Cowboys Fringants, has been one of the strongest in recent years and the pace of pass sales indicated great enthusiasm. A record 31,000 people attended the Putin Festival over two sold-out nights.
“We were glad that we were able to give a few more people access to the site this year by redesigning the stage front,” explains Simon Proulx. The site is still constrained by the surrounding infrastructure, but there is also the second tier that allows us to increase the area and let the event grow. The hopes we had were fulfilled as we had three big nights.
At the opening of the festival, Roxane Bruneau delivered a performance that captivated the audience, who were undisturbed by the few drops of rain that fell. On Friday, the evening led by Fouki, Jay Scott, Koriass and Souldia provided a festive atmosphere that is rarely found in the Marcel Dionne Center.
“Roxane Bruneau was a solid headliner. It’s a night that’s usually less busy, but there were other names like Allyson Pétrin, Les Louanges, Clay and Friends and Dumas that drew people to the place. On Friday, however, nobody could remain indifferent to the party organized by the four artists on stage. “People were in a good mood right from the start,” said the managing director.
While several festival-goers had to be evacuated by Saint-Jean rescue teams on Friday, Simon Proulx said the festival had adapted quickly by increasing the number of staff on Saturday night.
On that last night of the show, Les Cowboys Fringants delivered one of the most remarkable performances in the history of the Putin festival. The passage of the Repentigny group even extended beyond 11 p.m.
“You could practically say it was the most anticipated show in Quebec. It was a dream scenario. We knew the cowboys really wanted to be here. We knew what was happening for them this summer and it was a really fantastic and very emotional show. The group asked us if finishing later was a problem and I couldn’t see who could have complained about the situation. It was very generous of them; “It felt like something big was happening,” said the Les Trois Accords singer.
In addition, Simon Proulx underlined the surprise that singer Lydia Képinski gave them by covering their song Youri in their own way during their performance on Friday. Singer Les Louanges’ performance also “disappointed” the general manager, who praised the excellent job done in attracting so many acclaimed performers to Drummondville this year.
The golden fork
Perceiving an increasingly intense competitive atmosphere in recent years, the organizers of the Putin Festival have decided not to award the Fourchette d’or prize this year. However, each of the Poutiniers present received a symbolic gold fork from the hands of Pierre-Luc Boisvert to thank them for their presence and their work.
“We always wanted the competition to be a good-natured thing and not very serious. The restaurants were very proud of the win and a competitive atmosphere emerged. We didn’t want it to go any further than it was. We now assume that the prize must be present at the festival. We were also up there with the Poutines. We can even count one liver infarction within our team, done with the aim of testing all the products,” said Simon Proulx.
In addition, the partnership between the event and CALACS La Passerelle will certainly be part of the protocols for years to come, Mr Proulx assured. Although no report has been produced less than 24 hours after the end of the festival, the managing director reiterated his intention to continue this collaboration.
“For us, this is a nice addition to our security system. The protocols introduced met the need. “This will be a long-term part of our efforts to keep our visitors safe,” he said.
Finally, Simon Proulx confirmed that 2024 will be the 17th edition of the Putin Festival. With the specter of extensive works at the Marcel Dionne Center looming on the horizon, the Director General said that all options will be considered in terms of hosting the celebrations in due course, but that it is too early to say. Progress on this topic as of this writing.
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