The Applauding Fountain

By chance, Jessica and I happened to walk onto the Place des Festivals at 9:30pm on Friday night. Montreal's newest open square, built to accommodate the many festivals that happen around the Place des Arts and part of the city's greater plan to redevelop this area into a cohesive and hip Quartier des Spectacles, fills me with glee. Just like the communal Bixi program, here is another new initiative that is a roaring success. Immediately, this square has become a gathering spot.



Walking onto the square, Jess and I witnessed the fountains bubbling quietly, lit in red and white. But as the clock struck 9:30, the show began. Jets shot up and the fountain became a feast of lights and sounds. At moments the fountain sounds like the uneven fracas of applause. Once again I got giddy and happy at a Montreal spectacle, a new quirk of the metropolis's burgeoning personality as a place of culture and leisure. Enjoy the show!