Held in February, the Québec Winter Carnival (Carnaval de Québec) is the city's most popular major event. The 10-day celebration of winter, with the 2-metre (7-ft.) snowman Bonhomme as master of ceremonies, attracts more than 500,000 people each year and provides plenty of fun things to do with family and friends. Highlights of the event include parades, snow sculpture contests, races, games and fireworks displays. Most of the activities are free.
Book signings and poetry readings take place in April during the Québec International Book Fair (Salon international du livre de Québec).
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If you're looking for more fun things to do, vacation in Québec during the Québec City Summer Festival (Le Festival d'été de Québec), which honors the city's French heritage by presenting more than 300 concerts over 11 days in July. The festival celebrates all types of music, with shows running the gamut from rock to jazz to classical and reggae. International and Canadian stars play before more than a million admirers on outdoor as well as indoor stages and in street performances. And what a deal—a single ticket provides admission to all of the festival's outdoor events and many of the indoor ones as well.
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For the Grands Feux Loto-Québec Festival , in August, professional fireworks teams from around the world travel to city to orchestrate dazzling displays of pyrotechnics set to music.
The New France Festival (Les Fêtes de la Nouvelle France) is a true living-history event and is a must-do for history buffs. For 5 days in early August, participants immerse themselves in provincial history, revisiting the 1608-1760 period when France governed the new colony. Costumed actors and residents dressed as peasants, priests and royalty roam the cobblestone streets of the old walled city where so much of New France's history took place. Street performers, music and parades add to the joie de vivre.
See all the AAA recommended events for this destination.