Festival Western de Saint-Tite

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Festival Western de Saint-Tite
Saint-Tite Western Festival
Festival western de St-Tite (Logo).png
GenreMusic festival, Country music,
Rodeo, Parade
Begins1967
Location(s) Saint-Tite, Quebec
Canada
Coordinates 46°43′47″N72°33′44″W / 46.7297°N 72.5623°W / 46.7297; -72.5623
Website Festival Western

The Festival Western de Saint-Tite is a major annual event held in September, in Saint-Tite, Quebec, Canada.

Contents

Voted "Best Outdoor Rodeo in North America" since 1999, Saint-Tite's festival, now in its 52nd edition, attracts around 600,000 visitors every year.

It developed from a rodeo inaugurated in 1967 to promote the leather industry. It hosts a major rodeo competition, along with other cultural events.

During the two weeks of competition, the entire town shuts down to accommodate spectators.

History

In 1967, a Saint-Tite company specializing in leather work organized a rodeo as a marketing operation on a local sports ground. The event hosts nearly 6,000 visitors [1] and is so successful that it quickly formed several committees to repeat the experience in subsequent years. The active and voluntary participation of citizens is the basis of the event and contributes to the concretization of the company. Efforts are being made to introduce a professional rodeo and equestrian competitions. In 1968, the parade with animal traction made its appearance. Over the years, several activities are added to the festival, always around a Western theme.

In 1972, large wooden stands are inaugurated for the spectators of the rodeo.

Over the years, the city of Saint-Tite, the festival organization, the city's businesses and citizens have gradually changed the look of the infrastructure to make the city look like a Wild West village.

Jean Charest, former premier of Quebec, and his wife, Michele Dionne, on 7 September 2008. Jean Charest a Saint-Tite.jpg
Jean Charest, former premier of Quebec, and his wife, Michèle Dionne, on 7 September 2008.

This transformation is visible by the following aspects:

A fountain, near the church, is topped by a sculpture depicting a cowboy riding a wild horse.

A western-style four-sided clock is installed at the main intersection of the city.

Road signs indicating the street names have been modified to make them look western.

The shops often have a permanent exterior decoration to the western style. While some have completely changed the outside of their business, most are content to have stylized the name of their business.

Households can participate each year in a decoration contest from outside their home. While most citizens install fences, poles and colored lights, some create articulated decorations with electric motors or cover their entire terrain with western-style objects.

In 1999, the wooden platforms were demolished to make way for new steel platforms with a capacity of 7,243 places.

The Saint-Tite Western Festival is a non-profit organization whose mission is to produce professional rodeos and activities designed to recreate a country-western atmosphere. While promoting an incomparable atmosphere, the event aims to maximize major socio-economic and tourist benefits within the city of Saint-Tite, the MRC Mékinac and throughout the Mauricie region. All this to obtain a radiation at the international level.

A must-attend country-western event and benchmark in terms of professional rodeo in Eastern North America, the Western Festival of Saint-Tite has carved out a place for itself in its region and its community. Its growth is the result of the work of a large number of passionate men and women.

The Organization's vision is to set the standard for producing rodeos and country-western activities in Eastern North America.

In 2008, the festival attracted 585,581 visitors, including 100,000 for the horse-drawn parade.

Prizes and distinctions

See also

Related Research Articles

Saint-Tite City in Quebec, Canada

Saint-Tite is a town in the province of Quebec, Canada, north of Trois-Rivières, in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality (RCM) and in the Mauricie administrative region. In the 19th Century, the Batiscanie economy was mainly founded on forestry and agriculture. With many small businesses, Saint-Tite expanded through the production of leather goods and various types of shops. Saint-Tite became a capital of the region, especially concerning education, health and social services. Today, tourism counts as an important economic activity. Its chief industries were forestry, agriculture and leather goods production.

Mékinac Regional County Municipality Regional county municipality in Quebec, Canada

Mékinac is a regional county municipality (MRC) in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, Canada. Its seat is Saint-Tite. It is composed of 10 municipalities and 4 unorganized territories.

Mauricie Administrative region in Quebec, Canada

Mauricie is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km² and a population of 266,112 residents as of the 2016 Census. Its largest cities are Trois-Rivières and Shawinigan.

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Batiscanie is the watershed of the Batiscan River, located in the center of the province of Quebec, Canada, covering 4690 km² on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River. The area covered by Batiscanie is 53% in the administrative région of Mauricie and 47% in the administrative region of the Capitale-Nationale.

Rivière des Envies

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The zec Tawachiche is a zone d'exploitation contrôlée (zec) covering 318 km², of which 310 km² are located in Mékinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. This zec is mainly located in the municipality of Lac-aux-Sables and in the non-organized territories of Lac-Masketsi and Lac-Lapeyrère. The zec territory is situated north of Sainte-Thècle and Saint-Tite. Located approximately 80 km north of Trois-Rivières, it is bordered to the east by Portneuf Wildlife Reserve.

Pierre-Paul River

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Mékinac River

The Mékinac river is a located in the RCM Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Mauricie, the province of Quebec, in Canada. This river of Middle Mauricie has played an important role in the forestry industry at the end of the 19th century.

The Little Mékinac North River flows from North to South, in three municipalities, in the region of Middle Mauricie, in administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.

Archange Lake (Mékinac)

The Lake Archange is located at the boundary of Sainte-Thècle and Grandes-Piles, in the Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, in Quebec, Canada.

Lake Traverse (Mékinac)

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The Lejeune Township is located in the MRC Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, Quebec, Canada.

Tavibois

The Centre Tavibois is located in Hérouxville, in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.

Lake Roberge (Grandes-Piles)

Lake Roberge is located in the municipality of Grandes-Piles, in the MRC Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.

The former Lake Kapibouska was formed artificially by a bulge in the Rivière des Envies, in the city of Saint-Tite, in the Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.

The hamlet Matawin River is located on the east bank of the Saint-Maurice River, in Trois-Rives, in Mékinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. In the past, Matawin River was a municipality. Today, the territory of Matawin hamlet is a sector incorporated to the municipality of Trois-Rives.

Mauricie tourism represents an important sector of the economy with some 1.2 to 1.5 million visitors each year who spend more than three million nights and spend some 200 to 300 million dollars per year in tourist attractions and services. In 2011, 90% of tourists in Mauricie are Quebecers; other tourists come from other Canadian provinces (3%), United States (2%) and other (4%).

South Mékinac River River in Quebec (Canada)

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References

  1. ↑ "Historique". festivalwestern.com (in French). Retrieved 18 November 2015..
  2. ↑ Marie-Josée Roy, « La SOCAN décerne ses prix annuels », sur journaldemontreal.com] (consulté le 25 septembre 2019)

Coordinates: 46°43′47″N72°33′41″W / 46.7298°N 72.5613°W / 46.7298; -72.5613

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