Frelighsburg is getting set to host Festi\u2019Bois 2022 over Labor Day weekend.<\/p>\n
Launched in 2019, and organized under le R\u00e9seau foresterie Frelighsburg and Vitalit\u00e9 Frelighsburg, Festi\u2019Bois provides a platform for artisans that transform wood and professionals that work with forests to show off their craft. Having attracted over 2,000 visitors last year, Festi\u2019Bois will have tons of activities on site to educate the public on the important role that forests play in our daily lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unique and we didn\u2019t know if it would work. We just wanted to let people know about the forest, how to take care of a forest, the people that work with forests that are very important, and the people that do very beautiful things with wood in Quebec, that thing we underestimate,\u201d said Denise B\u00e9langer, president of the organizing committee for Fest\u2019Bois 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n B\u00e9langer said that as an organizer, she began to learn a lot from the festival and that people will be able to discover a variety of art forms made by local artists and artists from Montreal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe try to vary the work of the artisans if we can. Myself, I discovered a lot of things about what people do with wood. We had somebody that makes guitars and that has been exploring for the last 25 years the sound with Indigenous wood,\u201d mentioned B\u00e9langer. \u201cWe want artists that work 20 per cent or less with exotic wood, we want to talk about our Indigenous wood and what we can do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Apart from the artistan kiosques that will be on site, two conferences will be held and there will be demonstrations. One demonstration will be provided by Noble Element in Cowansville, a business that uses a traditional method to build wooden structures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to have one conference with cardiologist Michel White from the Institut Cardiologie Montr\u00e9al. We are going to have that conference in the forest. (\u2026) It\u2019s to talk about all of the benefits that forests can bring to our health, it can be mental health or physical health,\u201d said B\u00e9langer. \u201cWe are going to have a conference on Saturday given by a research professor Pierre Drapeau of UQAM. He has been working on the ecology of old forests.\u201d<\/p>\n Festival attendees will have the chance to witness the work of an arborist, who play an important role in keeping the region\u2019s forest healthy and secure, amongst other activities for families to enjoy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe new thing that we are going to have, we want to attract children. So, we created a puppet show and it\u2019s going to be the story of a tree. The puppet will be made out of wood and it\u2019s all evolving around wood. After the puppet show, (\u2026) there will be a treasure hunt to discover the tree species in the arboretum (located beside the elementary school in Frelighsburg),\u201d explained\u00a0 <\/span>B\u00e9langer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With the support of local groups, B\u00e9langer hopes that the Fest\u2019Bois 2022 will be an eye opener for attendees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re going to discover why maple trees are so important and the hole that is created by old branches that fall in the ground, who is nesting in those holes? Discover things that we don\u2019t see actually or that we don\u2019t know. I\u2019d like that people get a sense of the importance and the beauty of our territory and our forests,\u201d noted B\u00e9langer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n