MONTREAL - An estimated50,000 concert-goers bared evening showers to attend the St. Jean Baptiste outdoor concert at Maisonneuve Park Friday night for a program featuring such stars as Robert Charlebois and Rufus and Martha Wainwright.
The turnout was considerably lower than previous Fete Nationale concerts when the event has attracted 200,000 fans. One estimate pegged the actual number of attendees Friday to be as low as 20,000.
Montreal police arrested 11, including one who reportedly bit an officer. The result is considered reasonable for an annual event which sometimes sees some spectators head downtown to commit acts of petty vandalism after the show.
In many other parts of the province rain forced smaller shows to be rescheduled or canceled altogether, including in Pointe Claire, Lasalle and Trois-Rivieres.
Earlier Friday the Fete Nationale parade held in Montreal Friday sought to underline history and roots.
And those roots were well-watered in a rainy-afternoon of festivities.
But for the estimated 80,000 at the parade, the cloudbursts were just a form of liquid sunshine.
The parade featured giants on stilts representing 30 larger-than-life characters who coloured Quebec's history, ranging from Champlain to the Rocket. Those were just a few of the 1,200 entertainers thrilling flag-waving onlookers.
It was hard not to note that the rain on the nationalist-oriented parade mirrored some gloomy times for the nationalist movement.
Former premier Bernard Landry admitted as such but promised sunnier times for the nationalist movement.
"It's like the temperature, it's not nice at the moment but the sky will be blue again quite soon," he said.
