Tour Des Arts Celebrates 20 Years

The Tour Des Arts is a popular tourist event in the Eastern Townships as many of our celebrated local artists open their studios, ateliers and homes to allow patrons of the arts to visit and buy some unique Quebec Art in the truly breathtaking setting of The Townships.

The 2008 Tour Des Arts marks the 20th anniversary of the event...often called "The event of the summer" in the Knowlton area of Sutton, Mansonville, Cowansville, Waterloo and many hidden corners in between on the dusty highways and back roads of the historical area around The Eastern Townships.

The popular arts show allows visitors to follow an easy-to-navigate route and visit many artists featuring styles from original pottery to painters and sculptures. This edition of features:

Myriam Bardoul.
"Born in Belgium, Myriam has many original talents. Her contemporary style gives the observer a feeling of freedom of imagination, unpredictability and discovery. Myriam is very interested in the assembling of diverse materials permitting her to play with shapes and textures leading to the creation of one of a kind pieces of jewelry and paintings."

Brigite Normandin
"As far as I can remember the concept of assemblage has been at the core of my work. Gathered fragments and random found objects inspire me to draw, paint, assemble and sculpt works with a thought provoking existential edge."

Michelle Lalonde
"Original mosaics for home and garden. Unique mosaic designs and sculptures (ceramic tiles & glass) for the home and garden...pedestals, animal shapes, vases, wall murals."

Almut Ellinghaus
"Sculptures for garden & house. Coming from a background of designing and building masks, objects and figures for the theatre, Almut now follows her desire to create objects for the garden. Being an acomplished sculptor, she models her sculptures in clay and casts them in durable concrete. The sculptures are often tinted and stained with oxides and are sealed for protection. Her unique pieces draw on legends, dreams and fairytales. They are a reflection on a woman's life, her thoughts and her images. All pieces are limited editions and are cast from uniquely created originals."

Jack H. Walker
"Folk art, primative painting, traditional furniture. Although I'm serious about my art, I don't take my art too seriously. In fact, the more humorously I can create something, the happier I am. I find great pleasure in turning old fishing buoys into comical “guard dogs”, building whimsical bird feeders from twigs and sticks and painting pictures of streets where the buildings all seem to have lives and ersonalities of their own. I try to make you think differently about the way you see something and give you a smile while you're doing it."

Jany Fournier
"Paintings and mixed media. Jany Fournier studied drawing, painting and printmaking at l’école des Beaux-Arts and l’UQAM. After teaching fine arts and painting for over 25 years, she has returned to her own artistic production.For her acrylic, watercolour and oil pastel works, the artist is inspired by the rural backdrop and surroundings of the charming village of Knowlton. You are invited to her workshop gallery, to discover these landscapes and still life pieces, celebrating her impressionist vision of this unique natural setting."

Mark Zimmerl
"Oil paintings, bronzework, raku ceramics. Mark Zimmerl graduated from Concordia University with a degree in Fine Arts with honours. Inspired by the natural surroundings of his Brome studio, he is currently working in painting, wood sculpture, and ceramics. He has created a whimsical mythical world from the spirituality of the landscape and creatures of the Eastern Townships."

There are dozens of other artists and crafts-people from a wide range of disciplines and for a full listing visit the official Tour Des Arts Website at http://www.tourdesarts.com/en/artwork

Sutton, one of the artistic hot-spots of the Eastern Townships is again hosting several art related events to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the TourDesArts.

From July 5 - 20, the Gallery is proud to be supporting the Tour des Arts, one of the region’s major art events. This year the Tour is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

For 10 days, from July 12 - 20, some 40 local artists will be inviting the public to visit their studios. The show at Arts Sutton Gallery will display work by each artist in the Tour des Arts, so that visitors can get a sense of the art that interests them and choose their itinerary accordingly. They can then embark on a tour that takes them along our beautiful country roads to fascinating discoveries.

As one of the participating artists, Claude De Gaspé Alleyn, commented, “visitors who do the Tour and visit individual studios are given a privileged look at the space in which many different types of art are created. Often they find that each artist’s creativity is multi-dimensional and is expressed not only through the works they make, but also in the way they live.”

The participating artists are:Robin Badger Myriam Bardoul, Claude Beauchemin, Stéphane Bingen, Hélène Brunet, Brenda Carson, Robert Chartier, Nicole Côté, Irma et Roger Côté, Claude De Gaspé Alleyn, Francine Denault, Isabelle d’Hauterive, Almut Ellinghaus, Muriel Faille, Jany Fournier, John Fowles, Claire Globensky, Anne Johnston, Christina Jones-Steingruber, Michelle Lalonde, Stanley Lake, Joe La Starza, Pina Macku, Judy Mullins, John Murphy, Brigite Normandin, Potton Valley Quilter’s, Rhonda Price, Peter Raymond, Louise-Andrée Roberge, John Rollit, Christiane Roy, Carolyn Smart, Craig Skinner, Eira Thomas, Anke vanGinhoven, Jack H. Walker and Mark Zimmerl.

Come celebrate at the opening reception for the Tour des Arts exhibition, with the artists, on Saturday, July 5 at 2:00 p.m. at the Gallery.

The show runs until July 20.

The Gallery is located at 7 Academy in Sutton.
Exhibition hours are: Saturday, July 5 and Sunday, July 6 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed July 7- 9. Open every day from July 10 – 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Source : Galerie Arts Sutton
Pour information : Catherine Audet, Coordonnatrice de la Galerie
(450) 538-2563 info@artssutton.com

The Tour Des Arts is more than just art! There are also incredible music and performance artists presenting original and popular works throughout the series. Most of the events happen in the Sutton, Quebec region as Sutton continues to lead the way in the region in culture and tourist offerings.

This year you can enjoy the evening events:
Saturday, Jul 12
The Homebrew Dixieland Band at 7:00 pm featuring: Stanley Lake: Trumpet David Sutherland: Clarinet David Reilly: Trombone Simone Esterez: Bass Jean Lavigne: Drums
Claude Prud'Homme: Guitar Reservations: 450 538 2000 Admission $5 Auberge Glen Sutton
1388 Vallée Missisquoi Glen Sutton, QC


Sunday, Jul 13
PEC percussion 08:00 pm Soirée de rythmes et de réflexions sur le temps. En compagnie de musiciens, Frédéric Gaud vous convie à une percussion athlétique sur des tambours géants, fabriqués de ses mains. I think the translation for that is like the song from T-Rex : Bang a Gong Get it On!! Réservations: 450 538 0486 Prix d'entrée $15 / Admission $15 Coeur de Village- Salle Alec & Gérard Pelletier
4-c, rue Maple Sutton, QC www.salleagpelletier.com


Tuesday, Jul 15 Poésie en français 07:30 pm Participants: quelques figures bien connues de Sutton et des environs, quelques figures nouvelles... Réservations: 450 538 0486 Renseignements: 450 538 5008 Gratuit / Free Admission www.salleagpelletier.com


Wednesday, Jul 16
Readings- Prose and Poetry 07:30 pm Discover the varied literary talents of our local English writers. Réservations: 450 538 7333 Gratuit / Free Admission. Le Cafetier de Sutton 9, rue Principale nord Sutton, QC


Friday, Jul 18
Beavan Flanagan - Jazz Piano 07:30 pm Beavan Flanagan playing original compositions and jazz standards Reservations 450 243 0069 Free Admission Café Inn 246 Knowlton
Knowlton, QC

Three Old Bags 07:30 pm Back by popular demand! Risqué comedy about a trio of funky old ladies that just won't quit. Co-created by Mary Harvey, Gissa Israel, Pina Macku and Emma Stevens. Réservations: 450 538 0486 Prix d'entrée $15 / Admission $15 www.salleagpelletier.com

Saturday, Jul 19
Jazz Heads- "The Standards" 06:00 pm - 09:00 pm DINNER-CONCERT featuring Dave Sutherland: flute, saxophone Mike Gauthier: guitar Stanley Lake: trumpet André Lafleur: bass Reservations: 450 538 7333 Free Admission Le Cafetier de Sutton
9, rue Principale nord Sutton, QC


Sunday, Jul 20
Pastoral Concert 04:00 pm 130th Anniversary Pierre Jasmin: piano Beethoven: Appassionata, sonatas Free Admission DONATIONS www.philharmontreal.com Église Good Shepard Church 1458, ch. de la Vallée Missisquoi Glen Sutton, QC

Theatre Lac Brome 08:00 pm "Intimate Exchanges" by Alan Ayckbourn
- A comedy of bad manners and good timing

"Let's be Frank"
- A play by Ricky Blue with Sinatra's Great American Songbook

"Richard Donat Reads Leacock"
- Vignettes by Stephen Leacock

Show time 8pm with a Thursday matinee Info- Box Office 450 242 2270 Ticket Prices $15 to $26 www.theatrelacbrome.ca Theatre Lac Brome at Arts Knowlton 9 Mont Echo Knowlton, QC

Have a great Tour Des Arts and enjoy your visit to the region of Lac Brome, Knowlton and the surrounding beauty of our little slice of paradise! Visit the official Tour Des Arts Website at http://www.tourdesarts.com/en/artwork

Property For Sale In Lac Brome

A property in Lac Brome in central Knowlton has been put on the market and it is an ideal occasion for someone interested in living in Knowlton to have a great view and a dream house all together at an affordable price!

Many people want to live in The Eastern Townships and while Knowlton is officially recognized as one of "The Most Beautiful Villages" in Quebec it has often been a place that was only affordable to millionaires as the prices of housing was higher than almost anywhere in Quebec.

For more photos and information on this property for sale in Lac Brome visit this webpage.

Many properties for sale are large sprawling estates which may be enjoyable if you can afford a stable of workers to cut the grass, tend to the ponds, and clean the 5,000 square foot house. This sort of homeownership isn't possible for everyone.

For the rest of us, and with this property for sale in Lac Brome, there is a realistic chance to live in this incredible small town and be within walking distance of all local services! This cute, treed property overlooking a lush valley filled with birds and deer, is one of the last empty lots right in Knowlton that someone can build the house of their dreams without buying an old Victorian fixer-upper! Build an energy efficient and modern house and be the envy of everyone who is forced to paint their old wooden house that was built in 1800 every year!

Highland is a small cul-du-sac in Lac Brome within walking distance to the Community Center and Health Care Services as well as the IGA, Schools and Day Care making this location perfect for a small family, first time home-owner or a retired couple looking to live in a reasonable and manageable fashion.

Centrally located property in Knowlton, Quebec. Centrally located on a quiet street close to all facilities this 11,280 square foot lot has a view of the sloping, treed mountains. This parcel of land is ready for your new house. The initial landscaping has been done meaning retaining walls, fill and grass has been seeded. The land is provided with water and sewer services by the town of Lac Brome. Great views at the rear of the property.

Very quiet residential street is walking distance to shopping and the new community center. Build your dreamhouse in the center of the village and enjoy quiet country living in the safety of a wonderful neighbourhood. The lot is 80 feet wide by 141 feet deep and has several trees on the property and a view of the hills that is awesome.

Build the house of your dreams in a great place on a cozy lot with a great view and wonderful neighbours!

For more photos and information on this property for sale in Lac Brome visit this webpage.

World Class Concerts Coming To Knowlton

World class music directed by classical-music star Kent Nagano is coming to Brome Lake in August and the Town is already excited about the series of concerts that will be offered in Knowlton under the name The Festival Bel Canto!

The Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (OSM) and its music director, Kent Nagano, have announced that a festival will be taking place devoted to bel canto (“beautiful singing”). The festival, which will be held from August 15 to 24 in the historic village of Knowlton, is a presentation of the OSM and Rome’s Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in association with Bombardier. More information at the OSM official website.

Just when us residents thought the only music we'd be hearing was from the newly installed speakers downtown, which have been known to play everything from Eric Lapointe to The Plain White T's, we get the welcome news that the newest poster-boy for classical music in Montreal, non other than Berkely's famous Kent Nagano, will be offering a series of concerts right here in Knowlton! Pinch me! We must be dreaming! And to make us even more giddy: Gino Vanelli will be performing! Some of you old timers remember Gino Vanelli from CHOM-FM back in the day when he sang "Wild Horses" and "Black Cars" and to think that he will be up on Tibbets Hill in Knowlton performing some Italian operatics is too delicious to even contemplate!

The OSM wishes to enhance its summertime programming & something it has offered for many years now by repositioning the timeframe, setting and repertoire of its summer festival and in so doing expand the development of its audience. This edition of the festival will be held under the distinguished patronage of Italian soprano Renata Scotto. Madam Scotto, one of the great singers of the second half of the 20th century, today devotes herself to teaching, among other ways as master of voice at the Accademia.

Among all the musical instruments, the human voice occupies a very special place, states OSM music director Kent Nagano. It is considered by many the most beautiful of instruments, capable of translating the passions and torments of the human soul in the most eloquent manner. For my colleagues at the OSM and myself it is important to honour, to share and to bring to life the great tradition of Italian bel canto today. We wish to provide a wider public with the possibility of discovering and enjoying this form of vocal art. And this is one more way of innovating and enriching our educational mission.

Two weekends with the OSM and free events with six concerts under the tent in Lac Brome (Knowlton) in August.

In the environs of Brome Lake, in a rustic and intimate setting, six concerts spread out over two weekends will be presented in a tent accommodating 600 spectators. Two performances in a concert version of the opera Norma, Vincenzo Bellini's masterpiece, will take place on Sunday, August 17 and 24, at 3 p.m. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore and pianist Antoine Palloc will launch the Festival on August 15 at 8 p.m. in a major recital with piano. On August 16 at 8 p.m., soprano June Anderson and four young singers from the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia will take the stage with the OSM and Kent Nagano to perform some of the most beautiful arias and ensembles by Rossini and Donizetti. The coloratura soprano Sumi Jo, meanwhile, will be featured at an evening dedicated to Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini under the direction of Kent Nagano on August 22 at 8 p.m. This concert will be presented in Montreal as well, on August 20, as part of the Mozart Plus series, again under Kent Nagano. On a more popular note, well-known singer Gino Vannelli will be doing a show of Italian songs inspired by his most recent album, entitled “Canto,” with the Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke under the direction of Stephane Laforest.

Concerts are under the Tibbits Hill Big Top


Tickets for the event range from $54 to $66 per ticket depending on if you are up close or in the back with the commoners. The calibre of talent would be worth twice the price and to be hearing the sounds of Nagano and Guests on Tibbets Hill will certainly be an incredible experience...kind of like a Woodstock for us sophisticated Townshippers!

August 15-16-17
Opening recital with Jennifer Larmore
June Anderson and young singers from the Accademia under the direction of Kent Nagano
Bellini’s Norma opera in a concert version with the OSM and Kent Nagano

August 22-23-24
Sumi Jo sings Mozart, Donizetti and Bellini with the OSM and Kent Nagano
Gino Vannelli in concert (in excerpts from his most recent disc, “Canto”)
Bellini’s Norma opera in a concert version with the OSM and Kent Nagano

The programming includes free events during the day on the weekends: a concert featuring young singers from the Atelier lyrique de l’Opera de Montreal; a concert by the Choir classique de l’Estrie led by Francois Panneton, giving pride of place to area artists; and a chamber-music concert with OSM musicians and soprano Marianne Fiset. In addition, master classes will be offered by mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore and the Accademia’s head of voice, Massimiliano Murrali.

What is bel canto?

The origins of bel canto are virtually indivisible from those of opera in Italy. From Jacopo Peri's Euridice (1600) to Bellini's Norma (1831) by way of works by Cavalieri, Caccini, Monteverdi, Rossini, Donizetti and a number of lesser known composers, the art and science of "beautiful singing" evolved according to principles and techniques handed down over the centuries by the greatest performers to a handful of carefully selected students, the trustees of an invaluable treasure. The predominance of bel canto in Italy (and its influence right across Europe) obviously had important repercussions on vocal music written after 1845 - the first name that comes to mind being that of Verdi.

Bel canto enjoyed a new golden age during the first third of the 19th century when Rossini (1792-1868), Donizetti (1797-1848) and Bellini (1801-1835), smitten by classical ideals, lent their incomparable melodic gifts to the most beautiful voices of their time, fostering a virtuosity always at the service of expression. Soaring cantilenas, cascades of coloratura, runs, trills and other vocal fireworks and the most endowed singers found their abilities glorified by the pens of these composers of genius. Inspired by the magnetism and the personality of their performers, and laying the foundation for a veritable cult of the diva or divo par excellence and in the best sense of the terms and they devoted their creative talent to that most beautiful of instruments, the one that conveys with greatest eloquence the passions and torments of the soul: the human voice.

Closer to our era, the words bel canto evoke, for lovers of the vocal arts, a sort of Eden restored. Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballe, Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne and Renata Scotto in the second half of the 20th century succeeded in restoring a lost art its letters patent, while in our time June Anderson, Sumi Jo and Jennifer Larmore have been some of the heirs to this great tradition.

Partnership with the Accademia nazionale Santa di Cecilia
This partnership with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is the result of an initiative of OSM music director Maestro Kent Nagano and Professor Bruno Cagli, president of the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia and who will be present in Knowlton. Founded in 1585, the Accademia is one of the world's most renowned music institutions, as much for the exceptional role it plays in education as for the excellence of its orchestra and chorus. Renata Scotto, patron of the Festival, is currently master of voice at the Accademia. A bel canto festival in Rome will take place from September 12 to 29, 2008.

As Professor Cagli explains, the Accademia was founded at the time of the great polyphonists (Palestrina, Vittoria, Gesualdo, Marenzio), just before the birth of opera: "We work regularly with Renata Scotto and other musicians to maintain the great tradition of bel canto, an essential part of the history of music. We are convinced of the need to offer an exact representation of the great vocal repertoire but also of the need to guide young singers in their professional apprenticeship. We hope that the collaboration between Santa Cecilia and the OSM, between these two worlds, will excite the interest of those who appreciate good music and will lead us to further initiatives in the future."

A number of artistic and educational collaborations are being born out of this partnership between the OSM and the Accademia. The bel canto festivals in Knowlton and Rome will present the same opera: Vincenzo Bellini?s Norma conducted by Maestro Kent Nagano with Micaela Carosi and John Relyae. Singers from the Accademia di Santa Cecilia have been invited to Knowlton to share the stage with soprano June Anderson. Moreover, teaching is at the heart of the partnership, with master classes, scholarships offered by the Accademia for advanced study in Rome, and a training program for young singers. Finally, violinist Riccardo Minasi, a specialist in early instruments (style and practice) from the Accademia, will act as advisor for the performances of Norma.

Knowlton and the Town of Brome Lake were important partners and without the mobilization of a good number of citizens and businesspeople in the Brome-Missisquoi area such an event would not have taken place.

For the honorary president of the Festival, Mr. Marco Genoni, ex-president of the Knowlton Chamber of Commerce, “The extraordinary beauty of nature here, the renowned gastronomy and the abundant historical character of the village were some of the factors in the choice of Knowlton as the setting for the Festival. A decisive element was the community itself, of Knowlton and of the region: a community that answered the call with enthusiasm and generosity, a community rich in tradition. I thank the Town of Brome Lake, which will be a major partner in the organization of the Festival”.

The new President of the Brome Lake Chamber of Commerce, Cameron Brown (of Camlen), welcomes anyone interested in more information about Knowlton to visit the Chamber of Commerce official website. Brome Lake Chamber of Commerce Website

This sort of world-class event being held in Knowlton is proof that Brome Lake is an important part of the heritage and future of Quebec. Bravissimo to all those who worked so hard to make the event a reality!