For its 15th anniversary, Canada’s premier festival of lights conquered the hearts of visitors like never before. MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE, triumphed once again and provided plenty of action during its twelve day run from Feb 20 to March 2. Arts, gastronomy, outdoor activities and urban illumination make this top-rated international Lights Festival impossible to ignore. In Montreal, lights are synonymous with joy and fun. With an array of interactive lighting projections the city eclipses all others when it comes to playing and entertaining outdoors in the frigid winter weather. There is nothing like ingenious interactive lighting to get people outside, dancing and sliding in the streets.
Faces of Montreal
Projected 3 storeys high on the façade of the Maison du Festival, visitors could enter a videobooth and watch as their face was projected in 3 D, giant-sized in real-time, on the mask of the façade! Interestingly visitors could also join the crowd on the interactive dance floor and activate video projections on the Maison du Festival. It was an interactive experience as each participant contributed to a massive-scale, living progressive artwork, a magnificent mosaic of this vibrant community.
Nucleus
This year, the Place des Festivals welcomed a stunning multi-dimensional installation that had to be seen and experienced to be believed. Nucleus, an unprecedented experience was undoubtedly one of the “Wow” moments of the festival. Nucleus took place center stage in the heart of the Place. Visitors discovered an intriguing cube of lasers, smoke and lighting effects, a hallucinatory multi-dimensional installation of sound and light. This giant cubic cluster of lasers invited visitors to take control and, through their movements, generate the energy necessary to awaken the Nucleus. It was like a communal winter workout that generated a sound and light experience worthy of a science-fiction film, in real-time right before your eyes.
Urban Super-Slide
The Milk Family Fun Zone offered activities sure to please the widest range of winter warriors. Starting with the ever popular and gigantic interactive urban super-slide that provides 110 meters of crazy zooming fun, with wild sound effects and multicoloured lights. This super-slide has become a staple installation for the festival. The exceedingly popular winter ferris wheel was definitely the best way to get an eyeful of Montreal and the St-Lawrence River. This year the Air France Ferris Wheel was relocated to the foot of the esplanade, smack dab in the heart of Ste. Catherine Street during the 12 day Festival. The new location made it even more exhilarating, spanning virtually the entire site and encompassing all of its marvelous lighting effects.
Potluck: UQAM Façade Projection
Finally Potluck, a spectacular video mapping projection was presented non-stop every evening during the festival.TURBINE , a visual design workshop created a 5-minute mind-boggling video that was projected onto UQAM’s President-Kennedy Pavillon. Conceived from life-sized models, the piece juxtaposed an impressive series of images veering from hyperrealist to psychedelic.
Montreal en Lumière, Canada’s premier festival of lights is not about escaping winter. It is about showing how amazing winter can be. It’s about getting people outside especially at night when revelers can enjoy captivating video mapping, engaging luminous installations and fun street animation. There is nothing like imaginative interactive lighting to spark interest, create ambiance and bring people together.
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