A well-lit festival

This past weekend, we paid a visit to the Flying Canoe Volant Festival in Mill Creek Ravine. If you've never been, it's a wonderful celebration of things Francophone -- folk dancing, storytelling, Métis fiddling troups, Indigenous drummers, art installations, gangs of les loups garoux, le tire à sucre, bannock, and chocolat chaud.

But my very favourite thing is walking snowy paths under beautiful lights with my friends...

Two friendly faces in the Flying Canoe Volant "logo"...

Teepees and tents in the trees...

Magical paths... like walking in a kaleidoscope!

A snowshoe lamp...

There were at least three of these batik-like lights...

and more plywood cut outs than I could count...

And coffee cans...

This tree of life turned all colours of the rainbow...

If you've never seen a Flying Canoe Volant, there are races down the local tobogganing hill, not to mention axe-throwing and woodcutting competitions for the coureurs de bois among us.

All of this is to commemorate the theme... a story about some voyageurs/lumberjacks who wanted to visit their sweethearts many miles away. They made a deal with the Devil not to blaspheme or touch a church steeple, and be back by morning, so he put them in a canoe that flew them to their loved ones. Of course, things didn't quite go according to plan on their grand adventure, but I don't think they lost their souls in the bargain so all's well that ends well. As it was here in Edmonton for the weekend festival!