The sixth edition of the Fort-Coulonge/Mansfield Country Music Festival took place June 1-4 at the Centre des Draveurs Century 21 in Fort-Coulonge. The festival, which offered a mix of American country and Quebec country music, is becoming increasingly popular with country music fans in Quebec and Ontario. Over 250 caravans were parked on site for the weekend.

The weather was certainly a factor in the success of this years event, organized primarily by Phil Denault and his wife Carole Faubert.

The Fort-Coulonge arena was transformed into a . . .

concert hall, with two stages and two giant screens inside for everyone to enjoy. Denault was particularly proud of the 60 or so volunteers who had helped set up the venues over the previous week. The budget for the event exceeded $115,000.

Denault says he was confident that this 6th edition, now that the COVID-19 pandemic is clearly behind us, would be a success. He thanked the 40 or so sponsors, without whom this regional Country Music Festival would hardly be possible.

In all, over 40 artists performed over the four days of the festival. A gospel mass was also held on Sunday. Artists such as Rhéal Leblanc from New Brunswick, the dynamic Manon Roy and JC Harrison, André Varin from Gatineau, Ghÿs Mongeon from La Pêche and Ben Chabot from Île-du-Grand-Calumet were all present. The biggest crowd was on Saturday evening, with nearly 1,500 spectators on hand. The festival will return next year for its seventh edition from May 30 to June 2, 2024.

Pierre Cyr

Mansfield-et-Pontefract June 1-4, 2023