Earth Day and some shots around downtown

Thousands of people gathered at Quartier des Spectacles this afternoon for the annual Earth Day Walk for the Earth event. Although I didn’t attend the walk itself I did pass by prior to the start and grabbed a few shots.

According to reports, there were in the region of 30,000 – 50,000 in attendance today, somewhat less than the 200,000 that participated last year – but that was exceptional due to a large proportion of demonstrators being student’s campaigning against the tuition fee hikes.

Earth Day march at Quarter des Spectacles
ISO 100 – 70mm – f7.1 – 1/320 sec

Earth Day march at Quarter des Spectacles
ISO 100 – 18mm – f10 – 1/125 sec

For the last few weeks there has been a polar bear skeleton sculpture on display at the Quartier des Spectacles. Initially the bear sculpture was covered in ice and carved to represent a polar bear. Over time the ice melted exposing the skeleton – a great concept to get the attention of the risk facing the polar bear today.

Polar bear skeleton sculpture
ISO 100 – 85mm – f10 – 1/80 sec

Polar bear skeleton sculpture
ISO 100 – 18mm – f10 – 1/160 sec

rue Sainte-Catherine
ISO 100 – 105mm – f10 – 1/200 sec

Leaving the Quartier des Spectacles, I took a short walk up rue Sainte-Catherine…

rue Sainte-Catherine
ISO 100 – 38mm – f10 – 1/160 sec

Tour KPMG
ISO 100 – 70mm – f10 – 1/160 sec

Behind Christ Church Cathedral there’s a small square and it was nice to see that the fountain has been filled – a sign that summer is around the corner 🙂

Square behind Christ Church Cathedral
ISO 100 – 22mm – f6.3 – 1/320 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

In the square is a bust of Raoul Wallenberg – the Swedish architect, businessman and diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust in Hungary during WWII.

Raoul Wallenberg statue
ISO 100 – 24mm – f4 – 1/640 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Another sign that (hopefully) winter is now behind us is that the Bixi public bike system is back up and running across Montreal.

Bike Path on Blvd de Maisonneuve
ISO 100 – 25mm – f6.3 – 1/400 sec

The musical swings (21 Balançoires) have returned to the Promenade des Artistes for a 3rd edition on avenue du Président Kennedy. The interactive art installation is running until June 2.

Working with animal behaviourist Luc-Alain Giraldeau, the artists Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat designed the installation whereby each swing triggers a musical note, and together they create a melody. The music score was provided by Radwan Ghazi-Moumneh.

On the evenings of Thursday through Sunday, the 21 swings are accompanied by an interactive video projection inspired by legendary pinball machines, 21 Obstacles, on the façade of UQAM’s pavillon Président-Kennedy.