Canada’s ‘Igloofest’ revels in music

Thousands gather each year, united by passion for electronic dance music.

MONTREAL: Thousands of partygoers gather each year at Montreal’s Igloofest celebration, united by their passion for electronic dance music and fearlessness in the face of Canada’s unforgiving cold.

For the three weekends in January, revelers at the open air party dance to Techno music on Montreal’s old waterfront, usually in temperatures well below freezing.

“Montrealers love the cold and have a festive nature,” explained Nicolas Cournoyer, director of operations and co-founder of the annual event, which now is in its fifth year. “Dancing in minus 20 degrees Celsius in the snow with mittens on, that’s what attracts people — braving the cold as a group, being in a crowd,”he said.

Last year, 45,000 people braved the cold to dance to tunes spun by internationally renowned disc jockeys. “The cold is exciting,” said a young woman sporting ski goggles and a cap.

The first outdoor music festival which was held in the dead of winter five years ago was modestly successful, attracting about 2,000 over a single weekend. In the past couple of years the event has grown dramatically and about 50,000 participants are expected this year.

Attending an outdoor dance party in winter can be risky in this country where the average temperature in January is minus 30 degrees Celsius. The event over the years has taken on an increasingly international nature, with about one in four merrymakers from locales outside of Montreal.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2011.