Whether it’s through a class trip, a family trip or even government funded exchange program like Explore, Québec is a must visit destination for French language learners in Canada. Below we’ve compiled a list of some favourite festivals to check out to make that French language practice even more interesting:
It’s funny to think about winter in the middle of summer, but our list definitely has to start with Le Carivale, Quebec’s most well-known festival. This carnival is also known in many other parts of the world as it is the largest winter festival in all of the world. It takes place between January and February each year. A tall 
snowman known as “le bonhomme de carnivale” is known as the mascot of the carnival.
Some of the fun activities that visitors can partake in, are hockey, skating, looking at the beautiful ice sculptures, watching a parade and even fireworks! This fun festival is a great way to break up the cold and harsh Canadian winters. The next festival is scheduled for February 4th to 13th, 2022.
Just for Laughs Comedy Show
A bilingual comedy show right in Montréal! The festival takes place the entire month of July where French-speaking Canadians get a chance to make the crowd laugh the first half of the month and English-speaking Canadians dominate the stage the second half of the month. There are many non 
verbal acts as well such as acrobats which ‘wow’ the crowds. Their motto “make people happy” has been a well-known statement and guide for their past and future events. While this festival has just passed, from July 15th to July 31st 2021, this might be an interesting place to visit next July!
This festival is brand new in 2021 and takes place at the beginning of August 5th to 15th in Old Québec. This event is a treasure hunt about historical events and figures where participants will search areas and look for clues to solve seven quests. Participants can also have access to the treasure hunt via a Smartphone. They will need seven “keys” to complete the task! This sounds like a great outdoor festival to help bring history to life for students!
Festival de la gourgane
Here’s something a little more outside of the frequently visited cities of Québec..The festival of the bean! I 
wrote a long blog about this already, but I wanted to note it here again as during COVID road trips to places far and wide in Canada have become more frequent. Hot air balloons, a seniors dance, a baseball tournament, this festival has it all! It is tentatively scheduled between July 15 to August 15 2022. To learn more about this picturesque region, a delicious soup recipe and the history of this festival, check out our previous blog post here. Also, I love this giant bean mascot.
Have you ever visited Québec? Where did you go, what did you see, what was your favourite part? Let us know and I will include in future blog posts 🙂