Since its creation in 1990, the Vancouver Festival d’été francophone has become one of Canada’s most important francophone cultural events west of Ontario.

From June 12th to 24th, 2008, the Vancouver Festival d’été francophone invites you to share during the biggest season in its history, that will make Vancouver rock to the beat of francophone music. 2008 is an unprecedented year for commemorating major historic events. The 19th season of the Festival d’été will celebrate the 400th anniversary of Quebec as well as the 150th anniversary of British Columbia. For three days, the Francodome, an imposing geodesic structure in the heart of Vancouver, will be the stage for francophone artists from British Columbia and across the nation.

The festival will start on June 12th at the Francodome with the talented Josée Allard and will continue on June 13th with the show "La Grande rencontre" which promises to be an adventure where music, song, poetry, dance and multimedia all come together to celebrate the vitality and the diversity of French Canadian creative endeavours.

On June 15th, come and discover the show "Dans le port de Vancouver", which will bring together on stage many francophone artists from British Columbia who represent all kinds of musical genres. The Children’s Festival will take place on June 14th at 1:30 p.m. An invasion of clowns and magicians on 7th Avenue will delight the children. Two shows for children under 12 are also planned at Studio 16: “Chansons de grenouilles” (Froggy Songs) and “Vazzy en Nouvelle France” (Go in New France). The night will begin at 6 p.m. with Michelle Richard and Ingrid Rondelle, the winners of the Pacifique en Chanson festival, for the opening, followed in style by Bruno Pelletier and le Groszorchestre, and then the Cowboys fringants, all in an atmosphere of fun and festivity! On June 21st, the famous DJ Ghislain Poirier will get you out on the dance floor with some irresistible rhythms. Finally, a patriotic atmosphere will settle over the Centre on June 24th when we will celebrate Saint Jean-Baptiste Day, Quebec’s provincial holiday. With plenty of feeling, the show will start with renditions of the greatest hits by Quebec artists and DJ Eric Lenger’s turntables will keep the rest of the night young.

You get the picture... This year is going to bring us another fantastic Festival d’été where you will enjoy wonderful shows and celebrate the vitality of Canadian francophone culture in its many faces.

The Vancouver Festival d’été francophone 2008 shows:

The Francodome welcomes Josée Allard

Thursday 12 June | 7:30 pm | Free entrance | W 7th Avenue @ Granville Street

"Sweet but cool melodies, creative words and different perspectives about life evolved within each song style... This music grew on me very fast." This is how one fan describes Josée Allard’s tunes. Her mellow voice and her ability to appeal to both French and English audiences are what set this talented young redhead apart. With a delightful blend of pop and folk, this sincere and charming performer sings about the joy of living thanks to love.

Singer-songwriter Josée Allard grew up in British Columbia where she started singing and composing songs at the age of 10. Heavily influenced by Jewel and Sarah McLaughlin, Josée has opened for famous Quebecois artists Jean Leloup and Diane Dufresne, and has worked with professional francophone musicians including Isabelle Longus, Mélonai Brisdon, Joelle Rabu and Danielle Hébèrt.

Dans le port de Vancouver

Sunday 15 June | 3 pm | Francodome | Howe Street @ Georgia Street | Free entrance

To celebrate the francophone community in British Columbia, we will present a public concert featuring many of the francophone artists in our province. In closing this week of celebration, the Francodome will become the showcase for francophone culture in British Columbia. Some twenty local artists will come together on stage for a unique concert of instrumental music and song. We will take a musical tour of jazz, rock, pop, and traditional music...

An evening to discover or reconnect with the talents in our midst. Show directed by Isabelle Longnus.

La Grande rencontre

Friday 13 June | 7:30 pm | Francodome | Howe Street @ Georgia Street | Free entrance

An adventure melting singing, music, poetry, dance and multimedia to celebrate a lively and diversified French Canadian creation. (Geneviève Toupin - Manitoba | Antoine Gratton - Québec | pAn - Nouveau Brunswick | Mélanie Leblanc - Nouveau Brunswick | Raphaël Freynet - Alberta | Stef Paquette - Ontario | Shawn Sasyniuk - Ontario | Karine Gallant - Ile du Prince Edward | Julie Lebel et Karine Gagné - Colombie-Britannique | Alexandre Bilodeau - Nouvelle-Écosse)

Children’s Fest

“Chansons de grenouilles“/ June 14th, at 2 pm / At Studio 16: 7th West Avenue / 5$

Nova, Isa et Chou, it’s a family story! Nova is a 3 1/2 year old little girl. She loves singing and dancing with her mom Isa and her dad Chou. Nova’s Mom “Isa” is a singer/songwriter known as one of the most influential francophone artists in Western Canada. Her dad “Chou” is musical director and pianist Jonathan Benny - both of whom are well known on the chanson music scene in France and in Canada. Together, they wrote “Chansons de Grenouilles - Frog Songs”, a show and new album of original and traditional French Canadian and French children’s songs.

VAZZY in New-France / June 14th at 3 p.m. / Granville Street @ 7th Avenue / 5$

Embark on a musical voyage in time! Suzanne Leclerc and Bryn Wilkin introduce a lively and interactive presentation of traditional French-Canadian songs and music, accompanied by historical and cultural anecdotes depicting life in the early days of Canada. All kids are invited to participate to the show by clapping and singing and foot tapping, spoon playing, as well as a simple folk dance.

Bruno Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre in concert

Saturday, June 14th at 7 pm : W 7th Avenue @ Granville Street

For over 20 years, Bruno Pelletier has been making waves on the concert scene around the world. It’s no surprise. He’s a singer and an accomplished musician, a huge star in Quebec, the winner of 15 Felix awards in the course of his career, and his enchanting mellow voice still goes straight to our hearts and souls. The Festival d’été will be your chance to hear his latest album “Bruno Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre”, a unique recording with accents of pop-jazz, that brings back some all-time favourites in English and in French as well as some of the artist’s own hits from the past.

Bruno Pelletier is, first and foremost, a sublime singer and one of the most talented francophone artists of his generation. His great versatility and his passion for the stage have made it possible for him to seamlessly reconcile a prolific career as a solo performer and some famous musicals like “La légende de Jimmy”, “Starmania”, “Notre-Dame de Paris” and “Dracula - Entre l’amour et la mort”.

This show promises to be an intimate and unpretentious performance that is fun and emotionally rich!

Les Cowboys Fringants in concert for the first time in Vancouver!

Saturday, June 14th, W 7th Avenue @ Granville Street

The Cowboys Fringants need no introduction!! With a real cult following in Quebec, these four musicians (Jérôme Dupras, Marie-Annick Lépine, Jean- François Pauzé, Karl Tremblay) with their zany humour promise once again to bring us a wild show that breaks away from conventions. Their audiences are getting bigger all the time, captivated by songs that can be funny, provocative or nostalgic, in a subtle alchemy of rock music and traditional Quebecois folk.

Since 1997, these fun and wacky artists have been performing across Canada and Europe with hits like “Toune d’automne”, “Les Étoiles Filantes” and “En berne” in their baggage. They have filled the Bell Centre to the rafters for two concerts and their albums Break Syndical, Attache ta Tuque and la Grande Messe have sold over 500,000 copies. Nominated several times for awards at the ADISC Festival, the Cowboys Fringants won the Felix prize for Group of the Year, as well as for the best pop song with “Les étoiles filantes”. Their rising stardom is not about to wane!

This summer the Festival d’été will beat to the crazy rhythms of DJ Ghislain Poirier!

Saturday, June 21st | Starts at 9:30 pm | Cyber Night Club | 750 Pacific Blvd (Downtown), Vancouver

Ghislain Poirier is a musician and DJ from Montreal, who has earned quite a reputation as a genius of Hip Hop deconstruction with ragga, grime and techno accents. This summer, he will stop over in Vancouver to get you dancing to his latest album No Ground Under, with his own fiery brand of futuristic electro funk. It’s a bold mixture, groovy and off key, that is a perfect reflection of the eclectic range of musical tastes of the ace of bass!

This DJ is hot and he has worked with some of the world’s best MCs and musicians, including the New Yorker Beans, the American DJ/rupture, the Parisian group TTC and the British band Lotek Hi-Fi (Big Dada). He has also made a name for himself in recent years with his remixes, including new renditions of Champion and Pierre Lapointe, the young British sensation Lady Sovereign, Les Georges Leningrad and the British rock group The Editors. In 2005, the album Breakupdown was released and nominated at the ADISQ Gala in the category of “best electronic album”. With such a fantastic reputation under his belt and a sound in his suitcase that explodes on the dance floor, Ghislain has travelled far and wide.

Saint Jean-Baptiste day

A patriotic atmosphere will settle over Le Centre on June 24 as we celebrate Saint Jean-Baptiste day, Quebec’s provincial holiday. The show will start with renditions of the greatest hits by Quebec artists followed by DJ Eric Lenger’s turntables to keep the rest of the night young. Come out to dance and enjoy the culinary specialities of “la Belle Province”.