2010 - Report on the 11th edition

What a Festival!

Montreal, Monday, March 1, 2010

It’s official! This 11th edition of the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival presented by Hydro-Québec wins the Gold Medal, having picked up the momentum set by last year’s 10th anniversary-and Montrealers celebrated every moment!

We witnessed record attendance for all three programs, a 60% increase in on-site sales, twice the shows, and an explosion of support from local fans and media!

Yes, the Festival has reached maximum speed, thanks to its public and private sponsors, but mainly due to our incredible fans!

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2009 - Report on the 10th edition

A perfect 10 for its 10th birthday!

Montreal, Monday, March 2, 2009

The MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival celebrated its 10th birthday by illuminating Montreal in the image of Paris, the featured city honored for the occasion.

This 10th edition delivered definitive proof that Montreal winters will never be the same thanks to this triple-threat festive, artistic and gastronomic celebration.

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2008 - Report on the 9th edition

1,000 invitations… accepted

Montreal, Monday, March 3, 2008

More than ever, the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival and its 300 partners fulfilled their mandate to light up the heart of winter and entice Montrealers out of hibernation. In fact, this Festival has become the light at the end of the tunnel of winter—even though this year’s winter has, in fact, been gloriously sunny and snowy! Sure, a few may have grumbled at yet another snowfall, but that beautiful white stuff thrilled all of our visitors and guests.

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2007 - Report on the 8th edition

A stellar wrap-up to the 8^th edition of the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival

Montreal, Monday, March 5, 2007

The 8th edition of the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival will be remembered as the one that truly established its identity. Powered by a combination of innovation and daring, the urban winter festival hit the ground running with a dynamic series of new activities and a different program for every day of its run.

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2006 - Report on the 7th edition

Innovation, provocation and appeal for the 7^th annual MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival

Montreal, Monday, February 27, 2006

The MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival’s 7^th edition took place amid much innovation, provocation and seduction this year, further increasing its popular appeal. And anyone who’d been wondering where winter had gone during the month of January must certainly have been reminded that it was simply on vacation until February. Because it landed precisely during the 10 day-period that spans the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival.

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2005 - Report on the 6th edition

Arrivederci MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS!

Montreal, Monday, February 28, 2005

It was last year on the same date that we delivered our re-cap for the 5th MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival. And on that day, we proved beyond any doubt that we’d more than lived up to our mandate of creating a perennial winter-time festival to draw Montrealers from hibernation and give everyone else a reason to come to our fair city in the dead of winter. So with the success of this year’s 6^th edition, it’s safe to assert that we’ve also demonstrated how the changes made to the 2004 roster of activities were successful by design, not accident, and proof of the perennial viability of the exciting event.

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2004 - Report on the 5th edition

The MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS FESTIVAL 500,000 visitors for our 5th year! Great weather spells a huge success!

Montreal, Monday, March 1, 2004

The 5^th edition of the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival has come to a glorious finish, thanks to the huge popular acclaim of over 500,000 visitors. And it’s made the organizers pretty happy, too, when over 11 mild days and nights Montrealers and tourists alike showed up to soak in the very best of a special 5^th anniversary edition. And the best was very good indeed, an unusual mix of exciting activities spread over a somewhat more concentrated period than in previous years, but – judging from the figures – of particular appeal to local and out-of-town visitors alike. Divided into three separate but complimentary showcases – the Sun Life Financial Performing Arts, the SAQ Wine and Dine Experience and the Hydro-Quebec Celebration of Light – this year’s Festival attracted not only lovers of art and fine dining, but a huge number who showed up simply for the fun of it all. And that includes a strong turnout of families, descending on the site to enjoy the many activities that were planned specially for kids and their parents.

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2003 - Report on the 4th edition

"A festival is like a crystal at the core of an apple" - Robert Wilson

Montreal, Monday, March 3, 2003

The fourth edition of the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival, which wrapped up last evening, was an outstanding success. More than ever this year, the involvement of all the Festival's partners in the development of quality programming clearly showed. The general public enthusiastically participated, the firm Descarie & complices estimating the total number of persons who took part in the three segments of the Festival at around 400,000 despite a reduction in the number of evenings of free activities at the outdoor site.

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2002 - Report on the 3th edition

Sustained public and media interest, high praise and the enthusiasm of partners and participants Nearly a half million festival-goers took part in the third edition of The MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival

Montréal, March 4, 2002

The MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival has just concluded an important chapter in its short history, by attaining the organizers’ objective of becoming a popular success in the event’s first three years. Enjoying the impromptu support of Mother Nature this year, the Festival has, thanks to its varied, accessible and enchanting programming as well as the support of its numerous public and private partners, become somewhat of a tradition.

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2001 - Report on the 2th edition

Over 300,000 Montrealers adopt their new winter festival

Montreal, Monday, February 26, 2001

Only in its second year, the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival has met the challenge of organizing a quality event that was clearer, more varied, daring, convivial and accessible. In short this event is now closer to what Montrealers imagine a "festival" could be, while arousing a huge public participation. The MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival has arrived in leaps and bounds.
According to preliminary estimates, around 320,000 people participated in the Festival's various activities and of those present 10 to 15% were from outside Montreal. We can indeed call this year's event an immense popular success that surpassed the organizers expectations.

2000 - Report on the 1th edition

Tracking In on Montreal!

Montreal, Sunday, March 5, 2000

In its 23 days of activities, the first edition of the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival, in collaboration with VIA Rail Canada, will have managed to capture the attention of Montrealers and visitors alike, starting with bringing them to the downtown area, and focusing their attention on the very best the city has to offer: an innovative way of tasting and seeing the urban winter scene. This first step forward with the goal of breathing new dynamism into Montreal in the heart of the winter season, with the simultaneous presentation of three festivals, was much appreciated by all its participants, and has already aroused the curiosity of several foreign participants, setting the stage for many new development ideas and projects for the future.

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