From 10 am to 6 pm on Sunday Sept. 1, the City of Laval is inviting all moms, dads and kids to come on down to the Centre de la Nature in the district of Duvernay to enjoy Laval’s biggest annual celebration of the family – the Fête de la Famille.
As always, a large number of fun activities are planned, including free stage shows. It’s all to mark the close of another summer before the beginning of autumn and the return to school for children.
“This will be a day overflowing with activities of all kinds for all ages,” says Laval city councillor for the district of Renaud Seta Topouzian, who is responsible on city council for dossiers involving children.
“Everything was carefully designed to encourage participation, laughter and the creation of unforgettable memories,” she adds. “It will be a chance for children and parents to have a great time together. All families are invited to come out and fully enjoy this major celebration.”
The Fête de la Famille site at the Centre de la Nature will be organized into three large zones, each with its own theme.
- Zone Turbulence: This area is for the more adventurous and physically-inclined, with an overhead “zip line,” simulated rock climbing and other exciting pastimes. There’ll also be sports-related activities here, including a multisport caravan, and a special booth sponsored by AHL hockey’s Rocket de Laval.
- Little Geniuses Zone: This area is for the more cerebrally-inclined children. Here they’ll find science workshops, presentations on local wildlife, and a mobile library. There will also be presentations on robotics, musical instruments and computer coding challenges. Everything will be interactive to stimulate the imagination of children.
- Games Zone: This area is almost guaranteed to be popular with the kids. Here they’ll find inflatable games, a mini-zip line, face-painting and a Jurassic Park adventure. They’ll also have an opportunity to meet with real-life firefighters and police officers from the Laval Fire Dept. and Laval Police Dept.
To ensure safety, avenue du Parc on the west side of the Centre de la Nature will be shut to car traffic on the day of the event. Parking on certain nearby streets will also be forbidden to non-area residents at the same time. People living in the area will have to show some I.D. in order to be allowed through.
Laval Fire Dept. tables its latest annual report
In their latest annual report, covering the year 2023, officials with the Laval Fire Dept. say they succeeded last year in integrating several separate divisions dealing with public security in order to improve coordination and preparations by the city for the eventuality of emergencies and crises.
Commenting on the fire department’s report which was tabled in Laval city council on July 9, Sandra Desmeules, the Laval city councillor responsible for public safety dossiers, noted that an increase in recent years in extreme weather phenomena, accentuating the risk of emergency situations, made it necessary to take measures to protect the population of Laval.
The report also said that the fire department had created a new rapid intervention team over the past year. The intervention team’s priority mandate will be to carry out rescue operations for firefighters who find themselves in danger during emergency interventions.
Fire Dept.’s year in numbers:
- 9,220 emergency calls, a 19.3 per cent increase over 2022
- 286 building fires
- 1,507 First Responder interventions, an 18.5 per cent hike
- 13,619 prevention visits to homes
- 60 investigations into the causes of certain fires
- 679 fire code infraction notices sent out
606 emergency evacuation orders, more than four times greater than 2022
