Even some people who know Montreal didn’t think many people would turn out.
“I was surprised at how many people are actually here, considering the cold,” former Montrealer Jocelyn Throop exclaims.
She was with her partner Michael Landou attending final events to close Montreal’s year-long celebration of its 375th anniversary. Both were at a free 15,000-meal banquet at Marché Bonsecours. They were impressed by what they were seeing.
“Oh, it’s awesome,” says Landou. “Like they’re doing a ton of different things in the city!”
On St. Paul Street and other places around the Old Port, scores of people gathered for other activities, as preparations continued for a series of shows that are expected to last into the wee hours of Monday morning.
There have been more than 200 events, from the controversial illumination of the Jacques Cartier Bridge to $3.45-million granite sculptures that look like tree stumps, to mark the 375th. Many have been critical saying the whole thing just cost too much.
But France Chretien-Demarais, president of Montréal’s 375th Anniversary Society, says she’s thrilled and that Montrealers are happy about what has been done.
“They really enjoyed it,” she says, and it’s because of them that we had great celebrations. “That’s what we tried to achieve to get back Montrealers on their feet and make sure that they enjoy and get their city back.”
The final cost of the celebration won’t be known for a few months, but she says in the end, it brought people together.
“We’ve been a little bit pitying ourselves for the last 20, 30 years, and it was time to take ourselves seriously and say, ‘Listen, we can achieve stuff, and the mood is here, and let’s build something together.”
Landou understands some of the criticisms but thinks he can live with the amount of money that was spent.
“You know, it only happens once. “Three hundred and seventy-five years is a long time, so, I think it was worth it.”
For now, he and others just want to focus on the party tonight.
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