Fort Coulonge’s Café Downtown was transformed into a cabaret on Saturday evening as six burlesque dancers performed individual routines, boas and all, to a packed house.
This was the first burlesque show hosted by the venue, which has made a name for itself in the Pontiac nightlife scene by putting on semi-regular drag performances and inviting the region’s many musical talents to perform on its stage.
Café Downtown owner Natasha Lamadeleine said she has been . . .
dreaming of hosting a burlesque show in Fort Coulonge for many years, since she was first exposed to the art in Las Vegas.
“I always wanted to bring one to Coulonge but I didn’t know how to start,” Lamadeleine said, noting it was her friend Heidi Newberry, also a member of the Centre de loisir des Draveurs arena committee, who encouraged her to finally give it a go.
Lamadeleine’s friend put her in touch with his boyfriend, also a drag performer, who then in turn connected Lamadeleine with many of the burlesque dancers she knew, most from Ottawa, and some from Montreal.
“I knew no one in the Pontiac who did [burlesque],” Lamadeleine said. “If someone in the Pontiac did do it, I would take them for sure.”
The event was originally set to happen at the Centre de loisir des Draveurs, as a fundraiser for the arena, but when the arena committee could not secure the proper liquor license, Lamadeleine, determined the event go ahead, decided she would host it at her own restaurant, as she already had the needed license.
“A lot of people say we don’t have a lot in the Pontiac. There’s no activities, the bars are mostly closed, the pool hall is closed,” Lamadeleine said. “So I’m like, ‘Let’s bring something fun, something different, so that people go out like they used to.’”
by Sophie Kuijper Dickson
Fort Coulonge
May 11, 2024
