Discover Laval's history with Heritage Tours

"Les Virées patrimoniales is anything but a history course," she says. Rather, it's a fun, interactive way to meet the characters who left their mark on Laval, while admiring the many historic buildings that still stand today. Along the way, actors tell the story of their character's family, and tell us more about their way of life.

Les Virées patrimoniales features an encounter with Fleurette and her twenty-six children, Ti-Jo Connaissant and his many trades, a visit to l'Abord-à-Plouffe and the "cageux", and many other colorful characters.

What's more, the characters on stage come to life in the very places where they actually lived. We try as much as possible to blend in with the surroundings," explains Sylvie Lemay. We make agreements with the current owners of historic houses. It's all part of the process: the tour takes on a greater historical significance on the very sites where history was made!"

Sylvie Lemay came up with the idea of these Heritage Tours after years of artistic creation in Laval. In addition to acting in films and television series, most recently the film Une colonie, Sylvie has worked with a number of cultural organizations in the Laval area, and is still considered a reference in the field.

Over ten years ago, with two other partners, she came up with the brilliant idea of showing Laval from a different angle. Using historical information gathered by the Bureau des arts et de la culture as part of the Laval Heritage Routeproject, she created the open-air theater that is Les Virées patrimoniales. Groups are invited to gather around an experienced guide and let themselves be lulled by the history of mythical neighborhoods such as Vieux-Sainte-Rose and Saint-Vincent-de-Paul. The perfect complementarity between historical information and the sparkle of the actors brings to life the Laval of yesteryear!

The challenge was to bring Laval's history to life, with a balance between historical information and theatrical entertainment, as Sylvie explains.

In Quebec, we're traumatized by history classes," she laughs. Many people are afraid that history is 'flat'! On the contrary, the tours do more than offer a historical vision. There's the whole contemplative, entertaining and outdoor side, too. And our tours are aimed at tourists and Laval residents alike," she adds.