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Belmont Park ‘revival’ planned for Montreal’s 375th anniversary

Click to play video: 'Belmont Park set to re-open'
Belmont Park set to re-open
WATCH ABOVE: After closing in 1983, Belmont Park will get a second lease on life as a part of Montreal's 375th anniversary celebrations in 2017 – Jun 15, 2016

MONTREAL – After closing in 1983, Belmont Park will get, in a way, a second lease on life as a part of Montreal’s 375th anniversary celebrations in 2017.

The borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville is planning a “revival” of the iconic park, harking back to the days when it first opened in 1923.

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WATCH ABOVE: A Youtube video of what Belmont Park used to look like in 1906.

“There will be two segments to the project,” said Nathalie Fortin, CEO (CLIC) de Bordeaux-Cartierville.

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“A weekend in July will feature a revival of the park before all the rollercoasters,” said Fortin.

Montrealers will be able to paddle canoes along the Rivière des Prairies, have a picnic lunch, enjoy actors and people in costumes who will recreate what life was like at the beginning of the 20th century.

READ MORE: Saint Joseph’s Oratory gets facelift for Montreal’s 375th anniversary

As for the second segment, Ahuntsic-Cartierville residents will enjoy a “mobile Belmont park.”

“Symbols of the park will be put in a little truck that will travel around the neighbourhood,” said Fortin.

Those symbols will include the iconic “laughing lady” and distortion mirrors.

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WATCH ABOVE: Belmont Park’s iconic “laughing lady”

At the end of the summer, children will be able to go to a summer camp where they will make costumes and puppets to perform in during a big parade at Belmont Park.

The ultimate goal of these activities said Fortin, is to build bridges between communities.

“More than 50 per cent of the population [of Ahuntsic-Cartierville] is born outside Canada, for us is very important to make them discover what was Montreal at that time,” said the organizer.

“We think that such an attraction is win-win, a good gain for everybody.”

 

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