There will be no Écomarché on Île Saint-Bernard in 2024. The Héritage Saint-Bernard organization is taking a year’s break to reflect on the future of this event, which has grown over the years and requires considerable financial and human resources.
Translation Amanda Bennett
The Écomarché was originally created in 2009 to “promote the island of Châteauguay to the general public”, explained Marie-Hélène Dorais, Director of Héritage Saint-Bernard. After 12 editions, the festival has been a great success. On average, 10,000 people came to the site over two days to see the participating local artisans.
Time and Money
These two days of activities in August represented months of work for the organization. “We don’t have a dedicated team for this event like we do for other festivals. It takes up a lot of our energy, because we have to start canvassing almost as soon as the event is over, in preparation for the following year,” explained Ms. Dorais.
Financially, the festival’s budget fluctuates between $125,000 and $140,000 a year. “Héritage Saint-Bernard doesn’t receive any recurring financial support from the federal or provincial governments. We receive grants on a project-by-project basis, and we have to start all over again, year after year,” explained the director. The organization generated some revenue from the rental of tents and the sale of buttons bearing the event’s logo, but sometimes had to absorb part of the costs associated with the Écomarché, according to Ms. Dorais.
Primary Mission
“With this year of reflection, we want to focus on our primary mission, which is the protection and enhancement of natural environments and environmental education,” she points out.
In keeping with this mission, Héritage Saint-Bernard has worked hard to ensure that the Écomarché is an eco-responsible event. In fact, in 2019 it won the eco-friendly event of the year award from the Conseil québécois des événements écoresponsables. “When we looked at the other festivals that have won in recent years, we realized that the bar was even higher than before, and that we’d have to work even harder to stand out from the crowd,” added Ms. Dorais.
The current thinking is also prompting the organization to reflect on the consumer values associated with this type of event. “In the 5Rs rule, now 6Rs, there’s the of refusing at source. To ask ourselves, do we really need it? Even if the products on offer were local and eco-responsible, that’s still part of our thinking process,” she says.
After a year’s hiatus, Héritage Saint-Bernard will decide whether or not to bring the event back, or whether it will be revamped.