Expo Manger Santé et Vivre Vert 2016

The article was originally published on Friday, March 11, 2016.

Expo Manger Santé et Vivre Vert
March 11 - 13, 2016

This is the 19th edition of Expo Manger Santé et Vivre Vert. This exposition attracts primarily the food enthusiasts interested to be healthy, concerned about ecology, and who would like to feast all their senses during this three day event held at the Montreal’s Convention Centre. More than 30,000 visitors in total are expected in Montreal and Quebec-city, where this exposition will also take place. This is the biggest appointment in he province of Quebec with the spring’s "health-flavour".

With 350 exhibitors in Montreal and Quebec, this Expo offers the visitors a multitude of taste and Green gourmet venues to change their diet and improve their health. There are three educational stages which present speakers committed to ethical and human values. These speakers animate workshops, lectures, cooking demos to highlight the innovations in the food and health sectors. They also provide examples of natural solutions for people to take control of their health and well being.

One can taste a lot of foods and new products that are bursting with flavours, and encounter a multitude of ideas for meals and lunch boxes. One can also find about anti-stress techniques, how to ameliorate our environment with our everyday actions, and much more.

Many different foods and products are offered for tasting. They are bursting with new flavours. One will also encounter a multitude of ideas for meals and lunch boxes, will learn anti-stress techniques, and how to ameliorate our environmental with our everyday actions, and much more.

As in the past, the Expo is being held at the Montreal's Palais des Congres Centre. To find out more about the opening hours, visit the Expo Manger Santé et Vivre Vert website.


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Montreal Home Show 2016

The Montreal National Home Show 2016 
37th Edition

 March 5 - 13, 2015

Once again, Place Bonaventure welcomes the very popular The Montreal national Home show, this year celebrating already its 37th Edition. Presented by RE/MAX in collaboration with the National Bank, the focus on renewal and innovation marks this edition.

The 2016 Show is a unique 10-day event where visitors can:

• Gather tips and advice from more than 500 partners and exhibitors
• Attend more than 60 interactive conferences on various topics, from renovating to deciphering the implications of co-ownership
• Admire FLOR, the premiered creation of world-renowned designer Jaime Bouzaglo (Armani, design concept of a royal palace, Europe’s most prestigious boutiques and many more) 

All the displays and themes at the show will inspire visitors and help them gain the confidence they need to make their dream project come true!

There are attractions of the 37th edition of Montreal’s National Home Show:

The Experts Zone, a presentation of lacopropriété.info, offers  subjects as diverse as the speakers who will take to its stage. Many types of conferences, touching on various subjects and aimed at different audiences, will be offered during the Show. Visitors are invited to come and chat with Saskia Huot, Ginette Gervais, Hugo Girard, Danny St-Pierre, Emmanuel Bilodeau, Vanessa Sicotte and Manon Leblanc. They will be at Montreal’s National Home Show to inspire visitors with their passion and their renovation know-how. For more information and to look up the conference schedule click here.

A Thinking Habitat Mini-chalet decorated live! The tiny-house space is one of the star attractions of this year’s Show. Canal Vie’s Escouade Déco Top Chrono team, with Anne Casabonne and Erik Maillé, will decorate a Thinking Habitat Mini-chalet in 3 hours on March 5th, live, before the visitors’ eyes.

The Hockey Lounge, presented by Deck To/Go in collaboration with Sleeman, will broadcast hockey games. BBQ Québec’s Max Lavoie will give his Grill 101 class, so “Become a Grill Master” and have a taste of his succulent grilled creations at the BAR-B-CUE terrace! The Hockey Lounge is the perfect place to relax or have a drink before you resume your visit. Come and watch the games of Montrealers’ favorite hockey team in this space during the Show. It will also be the perfect time to take advantage of the discounts offered to hockey fans on the 8th and 10th of March, as of 5 p.m.

For more information about various activities, opening hours and tickets, visit The Montreal National Home Show's website.

All photos by Nadia Slejskova.
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Métiers d’art 2015: Remise de prix

Salon des métiers d’art 2015 - Winners

Awards Ceremony

December 16, 2015

The Awards Ceremony of the 2015 edition of the Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal was hosted by Annie-Soleil Proteau. The Salon is an excellent opportunity to showcase the exceptional work, creativity and unique expertise of its artisans. The winners this year for the several categories of the awards were (see the winners group photo at the top of the article) the following artists and craftsmen:

Career Award
($60,000) - Awarded by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec to Quebec fine craft artists to recognize their contribution to Quebec's cultural vitality and help them continue their experimentation and creative activities:

Odette Drapeau, bookbinding artist


Jean-Marie Gauvreau Award
($10,000 value) given by Conseil des métiers d’art du Québec to showcase the excellent work of an artisan with 10 years of professional craft experience:

Marie-Hélène Beaulieu and Sebastien Duchange (Sebomari) (Loft B 1103) for the works in the category "lithosphere" which stand out for their aesthetic forms, refinement and mastery of the techniques used.

Jean-Cartier Award
to Pay Tribute to Young Talent ($500 value) given by Salon des métiers d'art to an artisan with less than five years of professional craft experience:

Marie-France Labrosse, ceramist (Loft 247 A) for the originality of her production.


Visual Presentation Award

Stand & Loft (value of $500 each) for artisans who have excelled at designing their stand or loft:

Jaimie Robson and Maya Ersan, ceramists (Workshop Make), (stand 267)

Geneviève Lugaz, toy maker, (Shed Creative space), (403 loft A)

First Attendance Award
($1,000 value), given by Institut des métiers d'art to support graduates in one of the craft programs at Cégep du Vieux-Montreal:

Marion PUARD (Mademoiselle Poire - Miss Pear), creative and textile imprimeure (Loft 903 D) for the originality, visual brilliance and a very original way to present her products.

Following are photos of two winners at their stands after the Awards Ceremony:

Marion PUARD, Mademoiselle Poire - Miss Pear (Loft 903 D), First Attendance Award

Marie-France Labrosse, ceramist (Loft 247 A), Jean-Cartier Award 

Food and drinks at the Awards Ceremony, with authentic Quebec artisanat cheese and beer on the menu.

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The admission is free.
For more information in this years show, visit the Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal website.

Salon des métiers d’art 2015

Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal
Montreal Annual Arts and Crafts Show

December 11 - 20, 2015

This year, Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal (SMAM)  is celebrating its 60th anniversary. More than 420 professional exhibitors from many corners of Quebec, as well as other parts of Canada and even from France are participating and showcasing their one-of-the-kind creations. This is a very much anticipated Quebec arts and crafts show which takes place annually at Place Bonaventure just before the winter holiday season and offers an excellent opportunity for the visitors to acquire some unique holiday and Christmas presents.

All works of art at Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal are recognized as "fine crafts" in accordance with the norms and standards of Conseil des métiers d’art du Québec (CMAQ). This makes sure that every piece has been designed and made by artisans in full mastership of their craft.




The visitors will find many practical and very useful objects for the kitchen.

There are also may kiosks with fine clothing.

One will see a number of works from the MANO a MANO project (photo just below), Artisans sans frontière, in Bolivia. You can read about it here. 

This year, the Food Court is the largest ever. Visitors will find many delicacies, and could spend a long time tasting all the food displayed.

There are also alcoholic drinks to discover, like apple and pear ice wine, or honey, tomato, and other types of wine.

Many foods will delight people with a sweet tooth. Those who are more healthy minded would enjoy the cranberry stand. Others will be more excited about cookies or chocolates.

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The admission is free.
For more information in this years show, visit the Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal website.

APCQ 2015 - Tournée des destinations

Tournée des destinations
Tour Destinations

December 3, 2015

This year the APCQ (l'Association des professionnels de congrès du Québec) invited organizers of business events to a special culinary Tour Destinations of different Quebec regions. The 32 regions had demonstrated its cuisine to the attendees of the event at the Hyatt Regency hotel today.

APCQ  is a network dedicated to Business Tourism. It brings together organizations and qualified speakers who know the market for congresses, meetings, and other events. The APCQ offers congress and event organizers different types of quick connections and business links, and this service is efficient and free to all 32 destinations forming its network, including about 100 hotels as well as convention centres at those destinations.

An organizer looking for a place to hold its next event saves time and money by using the APCQ. The APCQ works with organizations and business events organizers to assist them in looking for sites.

Today's event began with a motivational lecture by Sylvain Guimond. His inspiring and also comical discourse kept the audience's attention. At the end, I noticed one woman wiping off a tear, as something he said about love, or rather the absence of love in one's life, must have touched a cord in her. 

After Sylvain Guimond's presentation he mingled with people and displayed his published books.

The food from 32 Quebec regions was very popular with the attenders.

The culinary variety was great, and the food was displayed and arranged with great mastery.

Those present were able to experience the type of service that would be available at the future events they will be organizing. They were also connected to and networked with their contacts and colleges.

To find out more about APCQ, visit the APCQ website.

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Montreal Summit of Innovation 2015

5th Edition: Climate Change
Cities, People and Prosperity 

Monday, November 30, 2015

In conjunction with this 2015 Climate Change Conference that is presently taking place in Paris, the Montreal's Summit on Innovation had equally addressed  the climate change issues this year.

The Montreal's summit called to action to envision ways of mitigating and adapting to climate change. It endeavoured to open new solutions for cities and its inhabitants to enjoy well-being and prosperity for the future to come. The Climate (of) Change Summit presented leading academics, policy makers and scientists and heard their overviews on the anticipated impacts of the global climate change, specifically the impacts on Montreal and Quebec. Several presentations were by experts on best practices in risk management and investment strategies. In addition, as a response to climate change, the summit brought into focus new directions in city planning, examples of innovative business, and also social and technological initiatives.

The following topics were presented and discussed in depth:

The urgency and the cost related to climate change
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University

Future Earth: Collaborative science for sustainable development
Paul Shrivastava, Executive Director, Future Earth

Countdown to 2 degrees
Damon Matthews, Associate Professor and Concordia University Research Chair (Climate Science and Sustainability), Concordia University

Anticipated impacts of climate change on Montréal and Quebec
Alain Bourque, Executive Director Ouranos 

The vulnerability of cities
Alan Mitchell, Executive Director,Cities Global Center of Excellence KPMG LLP

Green infrastructure: Making Montréal more resilient in the face of climate change
Dr. Jean-Patrick Toussaint, Science Project Manager, David Suzuki Foundation 
and
Jérôme Dupras, Professor, Department of Natural Sciences Université du Québec en Outaouais 

Genomics for an urban environment better adapted to climate change
Marc LePage, President and CEO Génome Québec

Designing resilient cities and communities
Polly Turton, Associate (MIEMA CEnv) Arup UK

Future of solar power
Andreas K. Athienitis, Professor, Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering Concordia University

Low climate impact urban growth
Christian Savard, Executive Director, Vivre en ville 

Long term strategies for real estate today
Natalie Voland, President, Gestion immobilière Quo Vadis 

Building the solutions economy
Stephen Huddart, President and CEO, The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation

Collaborative mobility and carsharing: citizen choices and challenges for cities
Marco Viviani, Director, Development and Public Relations Communauto 

Between climate change and public health: the necessary move to a true clean tech economy
Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder and Managing Partner, Cycle Capital Management

Responsible finance and investing
Karen Clarke-Whistler, Chief Environment Officer, TD Bank Group

The first half of the day focused on various climate change issues and how to address them. In the afternoon, some concrete paths of action were proposed. Over 400 delegates participated in the day conference presentations series.

The summit culminated in the evening with a conference-lecture given by David Suzuki as part of the Bell International Leaders Series. The audience was huge, at least three times or even larger than the number of the day participants.

SETTING THE REAL BOTTOM LINE
David Suzuki
Geneticist, broadcaster, and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation 




Among climate change and other environment issues, David Suzuki specifically stressed the importance of creating a legislature to protect the right to live in a clean environment: "Recognition in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — the highest law in our country — is the final step toward protecting the right to clean air, fresh water and safe food for all Canadians."

David Suzuki founded the Blue Dot Movement to do exactly that - to advocate the clean environment across the country and to inspire people and communities to establish and sign a Declaration for Clean Environment at their municipalities. Visit the David Suzuki Foundation website if you would like to find out about or join the Blue Dot Movement.