Chapter 4
Festival du Voyageur — Pea Soup Love Story
Experience some of the joy of Festival du Voyageur! Festival is a celebration of French Canadian and Metis cultures held once a year at Fort Gibraltar. Enjoy music, jigging, snow sculptures, great food, and all that French Métis culture has to show!
Stand 10-20 meters away from the front doors of Fort Gibraltar. Look in any direction as the Pea Soup Love Story takes place 360 degrees around you.
The concept of a winter festival celebrating Manitoba’s Francophonie took root in 1967 among a few brave citizens of Saint-Boniface who organized themselves under the banner of the Saint-Boniface Chamber of Commerce. They approached the City of Saint-Boniface with a plan in the hopes of obtaining some financial backing. Unfortunately, the offer the city put forth could not sustain such an ambitious idea. They would have to wait.
The following year, the organizers approached the city with the support of 18 different community organizations. The City of Saint-Boniface gave the plan its full approval and the very first Festival du Voyageur took place in 1970, within the context of the official celebrations of Manitoba’s centenary.
Georges Forest was given the task of promoting the event and was determined that it would be a great success! So much so that this small business owner, along with his wife Anita, took it upon themselves to promote it everywhere dressed as the famous voyageur couple Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière and Marie-Anne Gaboury. They went to every radio and TV station, spoke with every newspaper reporter, travelled to events as far away as the US Midwest and Québec, posed for countless photos and even did their grocery shopping, all while wearing historical costumes. His iconic voyageur look and efforts to promote this new event would lead to Georges becoming the first Official Voyageur and creating a tradition that continues to this day.
The celebrations lasted four days from February 26th to March 1st, 1970. The Francophone community in Saint Boniface mobilized more than 4000 volunteers and launched a winter party. More than 75,000 people showed up to take in the festivities that included: a costume ball, snowshoe races, massive toboggan slides, dances and lots of traditional music and food.
Just like the motto of the voyageurs of old, the Festival has persevered and even thrived expanding its programming to include an international snow sculpting symposium, over 100 live musical performances in heated tents, a reconstruction of the North West Company post Fort Gibraltar and a renowned fiddling and jigging competition that continues to bring folks together along the frozen banks of the Red River.
Written by Colin and Monique. Revised by Phil and Janet.
| It’s Manitoba’s centennial year and the launch of the new winter festival – the Festival du Voyageur. |
| We’ve been recruited, us students from the Collège Saint-Boniface, to build a huge ice palace at Provencher Park. |
| So in the evening, I serve pea soup and tourtière in a small kiosk. |
| My fingers are burned and my feet are frozen! |
| My best friend from Collège tells me: Stop griping! Do a little jig to warm up. |
| Suddenly, I feel a hand grab my arm and pull me towards a stand where musicians are setting up. |
| I found your jigger, says the guy with the big beard who’s dragged me here. She’s full of joie de vivre, this one! |
| Everyone applauds me for my courage. I see the laughter in the bearded man’s sparkling eyes. |
| I hold his hand so tightly that our steps fall in the same rhythm. After our breathless demonstration, the fiddler plays the new Festival song: |
| Voyageur, vas faire tes bagages, c’est à l’aube que nous partirons! [Applause] |
| You must be Métis to jig like that! |
| I blush a little and say, “Ya, I am Métis, are you?” He says, “Me, too. It’s about time they organized a festival to celebrate in French.” |
| He buys me a glass of caribou and we toast to the sound of the fiddle: “To our festival!” |
| Si l’santnerre dju Manitoba pi l’komansman dju Feschiival dju Wéyajeur, la novel fêt diverre. |
| Li z‘ichudjyan dju Kâléj Saint-Boniface lon iti d’mandi d’bâchirre ein gro palla di glass dan l’Park Prâvanshi. |
| Aswerre, ma sarvir d’la soupe ô pwâ pi d’la tourkyerre dan enne pchitte bouchik. |
| Mi dwè sonta bruli pi mi pyé sonta jli! |
| Mon ami, a m’dji: |
| Arrêt di shyâli! Fa enne pchitte jig pour ti rishoffi. |
| D’ein kou, j’file enne mein ke m’pâgne li brâ, pi ke m’chirre a enne estrad divou kli musichyein y s’einstalé. |
| Ein gâ avek enne grosse barbe, y m’trenne juskisitte, pi y dji : « Ja trouvi votte jigeuze. A lâ bein d’la vi selsitte ! » |
| Kan sh’t’arrivi su l’estrad, toulmond klaka di mein paske sh’ta kourajeuze. |
| J’vwè l’rire dju barbu dan sé zyeu ke péchéye. |
| « Ah non, mon jenne barbu ! Si tchu pans ke chu vâ resti diboutte-lâ… J’jig, saffek twé itou, tchu vâ dansi ! » |
| Apra notte spektak a koupi l’souf, l’vyâlon y jou la novel shanson dju Feschival : |
| Voyageur, va faire tes bagages, c’est à l’aube que nous partirons. |
| J’r’tourne sarvir ma soupe pi mi tourkyerre. |
| Y m’dji : « Sta bein l’tan d’ârganizi ein feschival pour féti an fransa. » Mwé itou. |
| Y mashette ein verre di karibou pi, ô son dju vyâlon, on treink : « A notte feschival! » |
