LES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC (MONTREAL 2011)- PANZERA SAS's BEATLES TRIBUTE and JUPITER WINNERS!!, by TICKLEBEAR

well, 

the festival is now over, 

we know the winners 

and we had a last presentation by the people of 

PANZERA SAS, 

the BEATLES' TRIBUTE, 

which was a great way to close the festival.

:)~

as for this year's winners, 

let me remind you of my own results, 

and i'll then reveal the official winners:

ITALY, 

AUSTRALIA, 

FRANCE, 

CZECH REPUBLIC, 

ENGLAND, 

USA, 

CANADA, 

CHINA. 

for their part, 

the judges gave the gold jupiter to 

ITALY. 

the silver jupiter went to 

FRANCE. 

and the bronze jupiter went to 

AUSTRALIA. 

as you can see, 

i got the top three right, 

just not quite in the same order...

so, 

see you all next year 

for another great edition of 

L'INTERNATIONAL des FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC 

in 

MONTREAL, 

in 2012!! 

:)~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: FRANCE, by TICKLEBEAR

the last contestant in 

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC, 

is the french team, 

LACROIX RUGGIERI, 

a frequent visitor in this competition; 

and this year, 

their theme is 

"MAUDITS FRANCAIS", 

(damn frenchy), 

a catchy title!! 

this said, 

they also included some narrative into their presentation 

and you know by now how i feel about those... 

hence the minus half-star.

this said, 

it was fun, 

even impressive at times. 

something over the lake, 

i don't know what you call those, 

(neither in french or english...). 

a static installation that shoots fireworks in various circular patterns 

really caught my attention 

and i found this most effective.

their musical selection  was delightful 

and there was something for everyone's tastes. 

their CanCan was certainly entertaining, 

and they struck a chord with their various moods. 

elegant and festive, 

they celebrated french savoir-faire. 

well-done guys!! 

but even without the narratives, 

my rating remains the same... 

still, 

a great performance 

which i'm glad i saw. 

see you all next saturday for the results!!

:)~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: CANADA, by TICKLEBEAR

could i be a bit blasé about love? 

because "Eros and Psychée" failed to seduce me tonight. 

it was the presentation of the canadian team, 

BEM FEUX D'ARTIFICE. 

first of all, 

there was a narrative... 

a big no-no with me. 

the music selection was splendid 

but i feel they could have done more with that. 

never once was i wooed 

and i even saw people on the bridge leaving way before the end... 

a little bland, 

lacking energy, 

it was elegant and well timed, 

but my opinion is 

that this had not reached its full potential.

the delay between each scene was too long, 

it took a while for each scene to pick up any momentum

and somewhat grab your attention. 

the display over the lake was alright [at times], 

but on the other hand, 

up in the air, 

it was a bit "n'importe quoi"... 

sadly.

i don't foresee any prize for them this year, 

but i could be wrong... 

i am not a professional, 

after all... 

:/~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: USA, by TICKLEBEAR

let's make one thing clear here:

i love the movie "Wizard of Oz". 

i love fireworks. 

thus, 

you would think i would love 

ZAMBELLI FIREWORKS' creation, 

presented at 

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC.

unfortunately, 

their choice of soundtrack failed to built momentum, 

and to illicit an emotional response from me. 

it left me cold, 

much to my astonishment. 

i'm usually an easy sell for most visiting american teams... 

what happened?!?

i must say 

they had included some of the dialogues from the movies, 

not the most exciting thing to do for fireworks. 

other countries had included long narratives into their presentation 

and it never made for a good show, 

in my opinion. 

also, 

some of the songs weren't just right for this either. 

the fireworks were fine if you omitted the soundtrack, 

but since we have to take in account both visuals and sounds, 

their score is not too high... 

the fireworks weren't a total disappointment, 

but my reaction was... 

i never thought i'd say this: 

sure, 

they made a lot of noise, 

but the WOW!! factor just wasn't there for me, 

sadly... 

:(~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: AUSTRALIA, by TICKLEBEAR

i knew i could count on those aussies to have a good time. 

the folks of 

HOWARD & SONS PYROTECHNICS 

simply dazzled us!!

their musical selection was refreshing 

as it was often punctuated by aboriginal music 

instead of relying on the usual standards we hear a tad too often. 

it lent to the whole experience a special flavor 

and i was riveted from beginning to the end!! 

their rendition of the music over the lake and up in the air was breathtaking, 

perfect synch and the overall impression was a thrilling one.

another serious contender!! 

the judges will be hard put to declare a winner here... 

i'm so glad i got to see it. 

:)~ 

HUGZ

PINKARNAVAL (MONTREAL 2011), by TICKLEBEAR

another parade in the city, 

PINKARNAVAL, 

this one was part of the 

JUST FOR LAUGH FESTIVAL, 

and inspired by the fashion designer 

JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER. 

it started late... 

which in my book costs them!! 

the rhythm was uneven, 

some things took forever to make an appearance, 

while others rushed by...

this said, 

the parade had its charms 

as it offered us a poetic portrait of the designer's contribution. 

i appreciated, 

given the fashion industry is aimed at near [artificial] perfection, 

seeing this was an all inclusive event 

because we could see people of all races, 

all ages and even some with [physical and mental] disabilities. 

nice because we all bring something to this world. 

some participants performed quite well, 

much to the crowd's delight. 

and Jean-Paul leading the parade was certainly a highlight!!

in conclusion, 

picking up the garbage minutes before the event was a nonsense... 

some security people were rude... 

a vehicule cut through the crowd to exit the site...

it could have been run tighter... 

but it remained a fun event to see nonetheless, 

leaving room for improvement for future events. 

:)~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: ITALY, by TICKLEBEAR

well, 

if you've missed tonight's fireworks by the italian team, 

you've missed a serious contender here for 

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC 

of MONTREAL. 

the italians clearly came here with gold on their mind 

and i'd be more than willing to give it to them. 

just like an italian wedding banquet, 

the table was full and everyone left satiated. 

:)~ 

the musical selection, 

the momentum they built with it, 

the way they used the whole space, 

it sure was a crowd pleaser!! 

i never once looked at the clock, 

fascinated that i was was by the show. 

:)~ 

can we extend an open invitation to them to come back anytime they want? 

this is the kind of fireworks i like to see. 

:)~ 

HUGZ 

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: ENGLAND, by TICKLEBEAR

the latest contestant in

L'INTERNATIONAL des FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC 

was 

ENGLAND, 

represented by 

PYRO 2000. 

they played a dangerous game 

as i found the musical choice, 

(while great music in itself), 

rather appropriate for a sunday morning breakfast... 

although it was beautifully interpreted, 

but too often, 

it felt sedated, 

with an occasional outburst... 

risky, 

if you ask me!! 

there's only one chance to make a first impression, 

but fortunately for them, 

they made a last[ing] impression. 

some of their more interesting work was done in low altitude, 

but given my position, 

i couldn't favorably photograph those... 

but overall, 

they did quite well. 

:)~ 

HUGZ 

THE CARIFIESTA PARADE 2011 in MONTREAL, by TICKLEBEAR

well, folks!! 

i've baked my butt for you 

as i sat on the marble platform of the Hydro-Quebec building this afternoon 

and it was so hot under the sun... 

but it was fun!! 

:)~ 

when people from the caribbean regions throw a party, 

it is a party!! 

even if not much was done in the matter of floats 

since it was simply a few 2 by 6 beams put together 

with some blue plastic tarp for shade... 

fortunately, 

many participants were in full regalia 

and dazzled the crowd with their glitters, their moves and their smiles. 

it was noisy 

due to the huge speakers they all had, 

which we could hear long before they showed up. 

and it was sheer chaos 

as most times, 

you couldn't tell the people watching from the participants, 

the bystanders hugging so closely  those parading. 

a security nightmare, 

possibly the most unruly event i've ever seen, 

but the chemistry was there!! 

:)~ 

so, 

to conclude, 

my butt still hurts, 

my ears are still ringing, 

and i still have a favorable impression of this event. 

this was good!! 

simply invest a bit more in those floats 

and you'll have a 5-stars next time!!

:)~ 

HUGZ 

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: CZECH REPUBLIC, by TICKLEBEAR

last night, 

we had the second contestant presenting its fireworks 

from the Czech Republic, 

FLASH BARRANDOV SFX.

i found this more delightful in all aspects, 

the composition and the kind of pieces they used, 

the music was perfect 

and their interpretation was inspiring, 

even though on a couple of occasions, 

i would have wished to see a bit more... 

i saw a few novelties and 

the overall impression was grand, 

while remaining subtle 

as opposed to what some other countries got us used to. 

if i felt the finale was a bit short, 

better that than looking at my watch 

wondering when it'll all be over... 

i've been there in the past.

THANX GUYS!! 

:)~ 

HUGZ 

LES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: CHINA, by TICKLEBEAR

a new edition has started tonight for 

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC. 

the first country to compete was 

CHINA. 

sadly, 

i was not overly impressed in general. 

the music seemed totally random 

and i personally prefer when a story is told, 

a theme followed... 

as for the fireworks themselves are concerned, 

the synch was good, 

their selection was average, 

but some details were nice 

as far as composition goes. 

still, 

in all fairness, 

it was not a total let-down 

as this remained enjoyable. 

i just don't see them as contenders for a jupiter... 

:)~ 

HUGZ 

DÉFILÉ de la St-JEAN BAPTISTE (MONTREAL, 2011), by TICKLEBEAR

i believe that today was my first time i went to watch 

the St-JEAN BAPTISTE parade. 

a reflection on our history, culture and diversity. 

i somewhat enjoyed this, 

despite the fact they started a whole half hour late... 

the weather was not the finest... 

the crowd wasn't as big as they would probably have liked, 

and much quieter... 

from giant puppets to people dressed in colonial gears, 

from traditional music to Hare Krishna to close the parade, 

it was an eclectic mix, 

just as we are!! 

:)~ 

HUGZ

JUST A REMINDER, by TICKLEBEAR

this is the schedule for the upcoming season of 

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC. 

i am looking forward to this, 

but it appears i will already be missing 

the performance from the canadian team... 

as i'll be out of town presumably.

this saddens me. 

still, 

i will show as much as i can, 

as usual. 

:)~ 

HUGZ

BUTTERFLIES GO FREE 2011 (MONTREAL's BOTANICAL GARDEN), by TICKLEBEAR

so i went back to 

MONTREAL's BOTANICAL GARDEN

to enjoy the annual event, 

BUTTERFLIES GO FREE. 

i simply loved it!! 

go before it ends, 

on april 25th. 

i dare you not to enjoy this... 

:)~

of course, 

you shouldn't miss out on visiting the other greenhouses. 

the BOTANICAL GARDEN remains a sure value here in MONTREAL. 

make sure to put it on your calendar!! 

:)~ 

HUGZ