Festival Champlain will bring the time capsule to life

The past and the present will collide on June 13 in Bell Park to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the French presence in Ontario.

That's the day Café-musique Productions of Rayside-Balfour is finally able to unveil what all the hardwork, planning and rehearsing for the 400th Festival Champlain was all about.

The event celebrates Samuel de Champlain's dream to establish Francophone communities in Ontario and also highlights the explorer's open mind towards First Nations communities. It's a full day of festivities that begins at 10 a.m. on June 13 and stretches into the evening.

"June 13th, we're going to have a grandiose celebration," said Maurice Berthiaume, 400th Francophone Champlain co-ordinator. "Families will see Samuel de Champlain arriving in his full splendor on Ramsey Lake with a group of Métis following him. People are going to see great historical recreations during the course of the day.

"We are going to go back 400 years in time."

Musical performances from some of Northern Ontario's most talented Francophone performers — the likes of Chuck Labelle, the Ducharme Family, Louis Racine et les Pourquoi Pas and national fiddle champion Paul Lemelin — will be presented throughout the day.

Storytellers Gaëtanne Breton and Rachel Desaulniers of the Association de canot-camping du Lac Témiscamingue, the French River Métis Tribe, Jay Bailey - Le Voyageur Errant, Alain Therrien and the Scouts will also be part of the festivities.

The evening festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. with opening ceremonies at Grace Hartman Amphitheatre in Bell Park and performances by the Metis Fiddler Quartet and folktronica musical group Swing.

But the main attraction — la pièce de résistance, if you will — is the mega concert and historical production "KANATA-Champlain," created by Café-musique Productions of Rayside-Balfour. With music and costumes, the presentation brings to life Champlain and the people he encountered as he explored the land that would become Canada.

"The 400th Festival Champlain is also a good opportunity for Métis, First Nations, Francophones and all those who wish to immerse within the French culture for one day, to join in and celebrate our Franco-Ontarian heritage," says Richard Meilleur, 400th Festival Champlain historical co-ordinator.

Early bird tickets for the evening performances are available until June 10 at the Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario box office, 705-525-5606 ext. 4.

For more information, visit the Festival Champlain website, subscribe to the Facebook event page and follow @Champlain_400 on Twitter.