RETROUVAILLES SAINTE MARIE 2009 est la grande rencontre annuelle des résidants, organismes, institutions et entreprises de Sainte Marie qui échangeront sur leurs visions de l’avenir du quartier. Touts les citoyens de Sainte-Marie sont les bienvenues donc venez en grand nombre!
SAMEDI, le 21 NOVEMBRE 2009 de 9H00 à 17H00 à l’école Pierre-Dupuy, 2000 rue Parthenais, Montréal. Garderie gratuite disponible. Pour information et inscription gratuite: téléphone 514-872-7012 et visitez www.crlsaintemarie.com
The “internet journalist” mentioned in this blog is me but I can’t actually take credit for doing the investigative work as it was somebody else I know that finally knocked on the door in question to uncover the truth behind this story… what am I talking about? Read here and find out.
This story ended up being a practical joke as expected BUT in the end I was hoping that part of this “mystery” would be true and that a restaurant would open up on De Rouen street… nope. Anyhow, my blog today will makes sense once you read this blog here.
I like the idea of social housing… but how long does it take to finish one of these buildings? This De Rouen St. building started construction sometime last Fall/Winter 2008 and it’s still not complete. It’s great to have government signs up saying that they’re investing in social housing but we citizens equally value action. Please, finish this building already so that people can live in it! It’s almost there (but you can tell, it’s not quite complete with this photo – disclaimer: this photo is about a month old as of this date but it still does not change the result)… it’s been almost there for a little bit too long. Meanwhile condos being built take 2 or 3 months to complete max…
Everyday this summer, I’ve been walking past this little independent bike shop out of a garage on Hogan street (corner Hochelaga). Its business hours seem based on the weather: if it’s nice, it’s open, sometimes it’s closed anyways and sometimes it’s open late on Friday or even Sunday evenings. The fascinating part is that people from the community regularly come to hang out. Cartons are lined up on the side-walk for people to sit and chat while others come for a friendly tune-up. With all these people who knew each other, it was a little intimidating to ask if I could take a photo but finally as summer was coming to a close, I knew I had to find the confidence to simply ask in order to document what I find to be such an important “heart” of the most eastern portion of the Sainte-Marie neighbourhood.
So I introduced myself and met the shop’s owner Renaud. He was immediately inviting, accepted my offer to take a photo for this website and started conversing about his shop. It was obvious why people come here – Renaud has a genuine charisma and the hang out spot seems to be as organic as you can get. Renaud told me that people come to hang out as soon as he opens shop in the morning and I remember one lady once telling me that it was the equivalent of a neighbourhood coffee shop. Elliot, my dog, took a liking to Renaud too (that’s him in the photo getting spoiled with dog treats by Renaud).
I’ll have to translate this blog into French but it’s late and I just wanted to get across the enthusiasm I see around this corner every day. Winter’s slowly coming so I am definitely going to miss walking by this great vibe on my way home from work. But I can’t wait until next summer when I am going to get the first tune-up on my bike in years. Est-ce le coeur du quartier? C’est définitivement un gros morceau.
Message de Marie-Eve Arbour et les Amis du Parc Médéric-Martin:
Bonjour à tous!
Avec le comité des Amis du parc Médéric-Martin, nous avons décidé de faire un ciné-parc supplémentaire! Vous êtes donc tous invités à venir bien habillé, avec vos couvertures, oreillers et chaises, pour une projection intime! Invitez donc votre famille et vos amis.
FILM PROJETÉ : « Home » Film très intéressant pour se sensibiliser face aux différents enjeux environnementaux, avec des images provenant de plus d’une cinquantaine de pays.
OÙ : Au parc Médéric-Martin (entre les rues du Havre et Gascon, au nord de la rue de Rouen).
QUAND : Mercredi le 23 septembre 2009.
*** En cas de pluie, l’activité sera malheureusement annulée…
