Celebrations at Tremplin de Dégelis

Presented by Le Tremplin, Festival de la chanson et de l’humour de Dégelis

Rédaction

Nathalie Le Coz, shares with us his encounters with Lower Laurentians who have forged their own paths.

Sitting down with Chantal St-Laurent and Christian Ouellet after the 24th edition of Le Tremplin, the enthusiasm is obvious. The dust of rising stars has not settled. I’m looking at the coordinator and president of the song and comedy competition. They were both there at the beginning of the adventure in 2000, and have just closed the 2024 event, calling it an exceptional vintage.

It was a very fine group, with very few gaps between them. Many could have won. But they stuck together. We rediscovered the pre-Covid vibe.

Christian Ouellet, president of the board

Le Tremplin de Dégelis is a springtime event at the end of the Témiscouata region, where budding singers and comedians converge, and some 200 volunteers swarm the reception, box office, community meals, stage set, shuttles between performance and rehearsal rooms. And let’s not forget the audience!

Here, too, there are regulars who enjoy following the event year after year, who bet on this or that youngster, and who are proud to have witnessed the winning performances of today’s well-known figures: André Sauvé, Maxime Landry, Philippe Laprise, Sara Dufour, Ingrid St-Pierre, Boucar Diouf, Guillaume Pineault, Ève Côté ….

Participants come from everywhere : Saguenay, Montreal, Quebec, New Brunswick, and even France. More and more of them are young, especially the boys. In 2024, it was a girl who won the competition for humor. Girls are by far the majority in interpretation.

There is no set song, but they are asked to include a rhythmic song in their repertoire, which adds to the challenge. Otherwise, the emotional ballad or sad song would be too tempting. There’s never been an age limit. The only requirement is French.

Alongside the public competition, the Tremplin offers training. On-line technical workshops cover copyright, showbusiness structure and promotional strategies. On-site trainers, who have been loyal to the event for ten years, coach and stimulate competitors in writing and creation. They sometimes find the same participants coming back and going from one competition to the next to hone their skills.

We don’t promise them instant success, but we do offer them tools.

Chantal St-Laurent, coordinator of Festival Le Tremplin

Chantal praises the quality of the five accompanying musicians and the stage technique.

There are several categories open to entrants: singer/songwriters, performers aged 18 and over, performers aged 17 and under, and comedy. Out of some 160 entries, the total number of participants selected is around 25. Entries are not free, and participants have to pay for their stay in Dégelis, but it seems that the notoriety of the contest far outweighs any financial considerations.

Marie-Ève Imbeault, lauréate 2024, Jean-François Baril, porte-parole et animateur 2025, Christian Ouellet, président du conseil d'administration, Chantal St-Laurent, coordonnatrice et Alexis St-Pierre, lauréat 2024Cindy Rivard

Speaking of the Tremplin’s reputation, it is also measured in terms of tourism spin-offs. After 25 years, Chantal can say of Dégelis :

We used to gas here, now we come on vacation!

We owe this event to former teachers who set up a Music Hall at school. Le Tremplin is an extension of this, which already incorporated song and comedy. As you’d imagine, the synergy with the community is excellent, and enables us to recruit financial partners.

As you’d expect, the twenty-five or so young participants, gathered over several days, get the party started. Surrounded by former prize-winners, late-night jams create magical musical marriages and prolong the party.

Reserve your next Patriotes vacation for the
25th edition of the Tremplin de Dégelis!

May 12 to 18 2025