ZAT! Boutonnet/Beaux-Arts (Une Zone Artistique Temporaire)

My lovely prof Caroline told us about this week-end event which was going to held in the quartiers of Boutennet and Les Beaux-Arts. Shortly thereafter, I read a short article about it in one of the daily rags. I didn't have anything special planned today, so I decided to take in a bit of ZAT. 

Even though I went for a few hours, I'm still not sure what it was all about. I followed a crowd of people into one venue filled with odd looking mechanical machines and men wearing blue overalls. Perhaps I didn't stay long enough because I think it was supposed to be musical theatre in the style of an industrial cabaret. Being unable to speak, understand or read the language with any real skill leaves me  at a real disadvantage. Even the program left me bewildered. However, here are a couple of pictures of the sets in the venue.

From there, I headed over to another venue. The performance was called "We Can Be Heroes".

About 30 people of all ages danced and lip-synced/synched (I'm not sure of the spelling) to songs by Eminem, MGMT, Shirley Bassey etc. They performed with such fervor that despite the cold, they worked up quite a sweat. 

It was really windy and pretty cold so I decided to make my way back to the tram. As I did so, I came across a couple of these heaters with people standing around to warm up. They are hanging metal structures filled with burning wood and seem to be very effective.

I also came across what I would call a beer garden - Bouchon des Beaux-Arts. It was too cold for me to stop and have a beer, but it certainly didn't deter the masses.

However, I did stumble upon a small wine shop en route that just happened to be offering a wine tasting. Naturally, I was curious to try a few local varieties and landed up buying a couple of bottles for the house.

I couldn't resist taking this picture of an apartment building in Beaux-Arts with flowers and vines especially after hearing from Keith that it has snowed non-stop for the last day in Edmonton. I guess I can't complain about the cooler temperatures and wind here.

Stay warm! Until next time...