Hot syrup and a sirocco breeze for Laurentians

The pre-opening conference worked well to help officials get everything the right temperature before the grand opening.

Immigrants brought in by the CARI St. Laurent discovered just how delicious some aspects of Quebec culture can be.

“This is the first time I've ever seen that,” said Amina, who recently moved to Canada from Lebanon, as her daughter pulled maple taffy off the snow with a popsicle stick.

A CARI official shared her optimism.

“This is exactly part of our mission here, which is to ease the transition from culture to culture for new immigrants, who get to see what the local flavour is all about,” said Martine, a case worker for CARI. “We also like the festive side of it!”

Now that everything's in place, the public can now invest time and money in Beaudet Park, to help build the ambience at the sugar shack. Is everything in place? Not really, because some unknown situations remain yet to be resolved.

The sugar shack will also serve as the backdrop for the popular French-language TV show Salut bonjour!, airing daily from 6 to 9 a.m., and that coverage remains under the control of Mother Nature. If the weather doesn't co-operate, the event will be moved to the next day.

Organizer Mario Bonenfant is asking the public to come out in droves on March 15, because subsequent days will be reserved for school children.

In related news, the sugar passport project will be scaled back, but will almost certainly be back to achieve its potential for next year, if a last-minute sponsor doesn't come forward.

(Translated by Marc Lalonde)

(Photo: Martin Alarie)