Stilt walkers part of St. Jean Baptiste Day celebration

The threat of inclement weather forced organizers of Les Compagnons des francs loisirs’, St. Jean Baptiste Day celebration, to change venues in the days leading up to Saturday’s event.

St. Jean Baptiste, also known in English as St. John the Baptist, is one of the more well-known figures in the bible, described as a Jewish prophet, and Christian saint, who baptized Jesus in the River Jordan.  

“St. Jean Baptiste is the patron of  Francophones across the world. It is basically a celebration of French culture. Obviously, every region celebrates differently, but mostly it is around music a lot of the time, and around family activities,” explained Joel Ducharme a spokesman for Les Compagnons.  

Les Compagnons has hosted its version of St. Jean Baptiste Day for roughly 60 years.

“It is a very, very old festival. It is shared through many countries, and we discovered this year through the Ukrainian Club, that it is also shared in the Ukrainian tradition. So, they are here at the festival,” explained the project manager at Les Compagnon, Anne Brule.  

It has been explained that as part of the Ukrainian tradition, young people would gather to jump over fire as a way to purify the soul.

This year’s festivities were initially planned for the Kiwanis Bandshell at the North Bay waterfront, but rather than risk having to cancel the activities altogether, due to poor weather, the decision to make the move to Northgate Shopping Centre saved the day.

“With committee partners so generous in reaching out, helping us at the last minute, like Northgate, they made it all possible. Without that help, we wouldn’t have been able to host the event,” shared Brule.

Changing venues did require some downsizing.

“We were forced to give up the barbecue and the bouncy castle, but that is pretty much all we had to compromise on,” explained Brule.

Activities were spread out between both mall courts, as well as a pop-up location in the mall.

The space allowed for numerous family-friendly activities for people to enjoy.

“We’ve got stilt walkers, musicians, singers and make your own juggling balls,”

The mascot (Mrs. Frog) was spotted walking through the crowd interacting with the children.

Games were played and prizes were handed out. 

And in keeping with the party atmosphere, popcorn, and cotton candy machines were set up for all to savour.

 The event was officially kicked off with speeches by Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota and North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico who spoke of the many contributions the French community has made and continues to make in North Bay and area.  

“The whole community came together to make it happen,” said a delighted Brule.