The Eastern Townships is gearing up for the solar eclipse on April 8 and local players and stakeholders are organizing activities to bring people together around the rare astronomical phenomena.

According to Lysandre Michaud-Verreault, communications director and official spokesperson for Tourism Eastern Townships, the Eastern Townships is one of the only regions in Quebec and North America where a total eclipse can be viewed for around 3 minutes and 30 seconds, while other areas that fall in its path will experience it for around 45 seconds.

The Municipality of the Township of Potton has adopted a resolution at its March 4 council meeting to seek out funding to develop Place de la Grange-Ronde into a cultural venue.

Place de la Grange-Ronde is the park that surrounds the historical round-barn in Mansonville, explained Mayor Bruno Côté. Work was carried out to restore the round-barn by the Potton Municipal Volunteer group in 2018, but the municipality stepped in to completely finish the project.

People in the Township of Potton are benefitting from the “Vegetables at Last!” project, funded by the Comité Estrien de saines habitudes de vie.

According to Emilie Turcotte-Côté, an agronomist that works with the committee and owner of Les jardins d’etc, the project is all about providing citizens with the opportunity to take part in different workshops to help them gain knowledge on how to build a garden and incorporate more vegetables in their daily diet.

The Yamaska Valley Optimist Club (YVOC) is back with its first in-person event for International Women’s Day since 2019 and the non-profit organization is changing things up this year through a collaboration with the Knowlton Players.

Lucy Davis, member of both the YVOC and the Knowlton Players, told CIDI that the group is ready to get back to celebrating with the community with a “Guess Who” style event.

Andréanne Larouche, Member of Parliament for Shefford, is reiterating her call to the federal government to find solutions for the distribution of local and regional weekly newspapers as the end of the Publisac in Quebec draws near.

The Publisac has been circulating for over 40 years and it acts as a distributor for weekly flyers, advertising, and many local and regional weekly newspapers due to its lower delivery costs. However, measures that were implemented at the municipal level in different areas of the province affected its business model and it became no longer viable.

The federal government has announced the extension of the Wine Sector Assistance Program with an additional investment of $177 million dollars over the next three years.

At a press conference held at Léon Courville on March 4, Pascale St-Onge, Member of Parliament for Brome-Missisquoi and Minister Responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, told CIDI that the wine sector is an economic driver for Canada and the funding will allow vineyards across the country to start new projects, make new investments and address challenges.

A documentary film about the Knowlton Academy (K.A.) ski program is in the works 53 years after students first hit the slopes.

Local photographer and filmmaker Ben McAuley and teacher and director of the K.A. ski program Nicolas Lemaître are collaborating on the project to provide people with a visual archive of what the program is all about and to “develop public interest.”

Renowned millinery artist Natalia Baquero has opened up her first boutique in Knowlton with the goal of sharing her creations with Townshippers and playing her part in preserving the craft.

Millinery artists create structured headwear, headpieces, and hats primarily by hand, explained Baquero, and they are customized to create pieces that stand on their own.

Educational institutions and stakeholders are voicing their concerns following the federal government’s announcement in January to cap the number of international students that can come study in Canada at 350,000 over the next two years.

Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, vice-chancellor and principal of Bishop’s University (B.U.), called the announcement “unfortunate” because it’s going to make it challenging for candidates to make it on time to B.U. for the start of their program.

Nature Nerding and Parc d’environnement naturel de Sutton (PENS) are teaming up to offer monthly opportunities for adults to reconnect, experience, and learn from nature.

“Nature Nerding for Curious Grown-Ups” will provide participants with the chance to take part in leisurely walks and “slowdown, reconnect, and revive” their “child-like sense of wonder and curiosity,” said Jessica Adams, educator and founder of Nature Nerding.

Non-profit organization BlackEstrie is shining light on black culture in the Eastern Townships with the goal of building connections between Quebec society and people from diverse backgrounds.

BlackEstrie started off with a Facebook platform that highlighted the work and contributions of black artists, entrepreneurs, and professionals in the region. However, BlackEstrie’s activities have since expanded into a television show called Personne n’en parle, covering topics such as “adoption, toxic relationships, and stereotypes against black people,” said founder Aïssé Touré.

Au Diapason has launched the 15th edition of its “La March/La Course” fundraiser to raise necessary funds in order to continue providing free palliative care and end-of-life support services to people in Brome-Missisquoi and Haute-Yamaska.

Over the years, La March/La Course has grown to become the Au Diapason Foundation’s “flagship” event, now raising 25% of the annual funds needed to support the work of La Maison and the l’Équipe d’accompagnement Au Diapason, explained Executive Director Charlotte Evans.

The Centre Action Bénévole Marguerite-Dubois (CAB Marguerite-Dubois) has received $45,173 in financial support from the provincial government through the Banques alimentaires du Quebec infrastructure program to expand and renovate its kitchen and storage area to help meet the demand for its food bank services.

According to Alexis Lapalme, coordinator for CAB Marguerite-Dubois, the goal behind the expansion and renovation project is to prepare for the increase in demand that is expected within the next year for the food bank because of the financial pressure that people are facing.

As food prices continue to increase, ETSB (Eastern Townships School Board) parents, educators, and staff are working together to ensure that students have access to affordable and healthy food at school.

Claudia Pérez-Levesque is the president of Racine Pop, a non-profit group formed by parents in 2022 to provide affordable and nutritious meals to students at Sutton Elementary School – twice a week – after the cafeteria service came to a halt.

Five mixed psychosocial intervention and policing teams (ÉMIP) will now be dispatched in certain areas of the Eastern Townships to better respond to citizens experiencing a mental health crisis.

According to a press release by the CIUSSS de L’Estrie CHUS, there are five local health service networks that will now be collaborating with their local police force to provide improved interventions for people in distress. These local service networks are la Pommeraie, which serves Brome-Missisquoi, Val Saint-François and Des Sources (Sûreté du Québec), Haute-Yamaska (le Service de police de Granby), and Memphrémagog (Régie de police de Memphrémagog).

The Task Force on Linguistic Policy has filed an interlocutory injunction against Quebec’s language law Bill 96.

Andrew Caddell, president of the Task Force, told CIDI that the recent injunction “deals with the future effects of the law.” Other measures are expected to be implemented over the next couple of years, he explained, which will have even more “significant, negative, and damaging effects” on Quebecers, including English-speaking Townshippers.

The Knowlton Players are celebrating over one hundred theatrical productions with their upcoming murder-mystery musical Drama at the Museum, which will serve as a fundraiser for the Lac-Brome Museum.

Drama at the Museum director Darleen Bell explained that the story line follows a theatre troupe rehearsing to do a fundraiser for a museum, making it a play within a play.

Espace Diffusion has launched a new project entitled Connexion Culture with the goal of making cultural experiences more accessible to citizens in Brome-Missisquoi.

Espace Diffusion is a concert venue space in Cowansville that produces concerts, stand-up comedy shows, and more.

The warming centres in Farnham and Cowansville will now serve the population of Brome-Missisquoi seven days a week after receiving emergency funding from the federal government’s Reaching Home program.

The warming centres were launched as a pilot project in 2022 to provide a safe space for individuals who are unhoused to warm-up during the winter.

The Corporation de développement économique de Sutton (CDES) has received a $250,000 grant from the Fonds d’action québécois pour le développement durable that will provide citizens and stakeholders with the opportunity to get involved in developing and planning a future vision for sustainable and slow tourism in Sutton.

Sustainable tourism takes into account “its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts,” while slow tourism invites the population to “connect with places and people in a meaningful way,” explained Janna Hubacek, project manager with CDES.