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Cold comfort >> The deep-winter outdoor dance party
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by JACK OATMON We live in a miserable, lip-cracking deep freeze for a third of the year, braving the kind of frigid climatic insanity that most people in the world can’t even imagine. But from hockey and skiing to mulled wine and snow forts, one of the most endearing and unique things about Montreal is the innovative, somewhat eccentric way we overcome the otherwise discouraging odds and manage to have a blast all winter. Piknic Electronik has long been a part of devising fabulous, indulgent new ways to get out and go crazy in the city, redefining public spaces as surreal audiovisual landscapes at bafflingly reasonable prices. Perhaps their most amazing feat over the years has been the development of a winter edition, now known as Igloofest, which draws thousands of people out into the ice and snow for something halfway between a snowball fight and a rave. 
TECH-SNOW: Thomas Schumacher “It started four years ago on Île Ste-Hélène,” explains organizer Nicholas Cournoyer. “It was called Piknic Electronik des Neiges and it was during the Fête des Neiges, which is a kids’ festival. During the summertime, the Piknic is quite the experience, but we wanted to do something a bit crazier in order to have people enjoy the winter more. Part of why people don’t like the winter is because they’re not properly dressed. So the one-piece snowsuit contest was the main feature of it—a contest where people wear some cool, old-school snowsuits and go dancing outside.” The hilarious results of the one-piece competition are the hundreds of rose-cheeked dancers in neon Descente getups, hurling snowballs and wielding mugs of hot toddy, grooving to the best contemporary club music around. In short, complete madness in a beautiful setting with the kind of agreeable atmosphere that only Montrealers can bring to such an event. And it’s only getting more sophisticated.
The event, like virtually everything Piknic does, is also only growing over time in both length and girth. What started as a one-night event with nearly 1,500 attendees has now mushroomed. “It’s a co-production with les Quais du Vieux-Port and it was such a success last year that this year, they decided to do not just two nights, but two weekends with four events. Last year, we had more than 2,000 people per night. This year, with [Misstress] Barbara and Josh Wink, there will be even more than that.” The larger, longer format is also allowing the organizers to showcase far more artists and a broader vision of electronic music. “For the first night with Josh Wink, he goes everywhere from acid house to funk and a bit of techno. And Barbara has her electro-house and tech-house thing. The second night will be more of a Mutek sound, so more laptop live sets and minimal stuff. The next one is Ninja Tune, so you get grime, ragga, dancehall and hip hop. The last night is Thomas Schumacher, so that one will be a lot more techno. We pinpoint four different styles of music to have different crowds, and therefore a different experience, every night.” Plans for bigger igloos made of both ice and snow, an interactive “digital graffiti” display with artists drawing projected designs in real time and two whole weekends of ambitious programming mean that what has traditionally been one of Montreal’s zaniest winter parties will now be hotter—and cooler—than ever before. With Josh Wink, Misstress Barbara and Arsen |
“The thing is, at the Fête des Neiges, it was free,” continues Cournoyer. “At les Quais du Vieux-Port, we can charge, so it’s easier for us to have a bigger production. We have a stage with a really good sound system, with more visual stuff, more lighting, more stuff to have a real audiovisual experience. And so last year, the ambience was just crazy.” |
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