Goodbye June, hello July! Hard to believe we’re already gearing up for our third month of the 10^th season, but that’s exactly where we’re at. After a memorable reconstruction of our very first Piknic event last weekend, this coming Sunday we jump right back into 2012 with a rush of our fan favourite, electro swing!

Presented by Camuz, this monster mash of two styles that span a century to meet begins at 2pm sharp with melodically deep local DJ Pierre de Lux, who helms the deck for 2-and-a-half hours before handing over the Calder to the Speakeasy Electro Swing crew. To say that you’re not familiar with DJ Eliazar, Don Mescal, and Khalil would be like admitting you didn't attend their Igloofest 2012 event – in itself social suicide. These three local DJs blend innovation and populism in a way that has thrilled our followers, not to mention the many droves who catch their gigs across the city. The marathon electro swing party goes right through 8pm, when Parisian producers Smokey Joe & The Kid inject their own blend of swing, hip-hop, and electro into the mix, showcasing just what international talents are doing with this vibrant sound.

Over at the GURU stage, we get going at 3pm as usual with the minimal and ambient sounds of local producer Daoust, before German producer Hubble sets up shop at 5pm for his brand of “long, hypnotic journeys”.

See you on the island!

On Sunday, we had plenty of photographer friends there to help us document our 10th anniversary. Take a look!

Piknic official album
Photographers: Miguel Legault, François Rousseau, Mustafa Unsal et Arthur Jarreau

Le Pikniqueur et cie 2012 album
Photographer: Jasmin Le Blanc

Nightlife album
Photographer: Nadèje Taront

Urbania album #1 / Urbania album #2
Photographer: Hannah Palmer

Photomaton Matonvu album
Tag yourself and you could win a trip to Barcelona for the last Piknic of the season in Spain!

Photo credit : Miguel Legault

This summer, Piknic turned 10, so we thought that the occasion called for a BIG celebration…THUS, we’re gonna blow off some steam and let loose with four special “PIKNIC 10” evenings!

The anniversary events will take place outdoors in the usual spot, but in the evenings, and will feature a set design to take your Piknic experience to another level. The crowd pleasing music will kick off this Friday, June 29th as of 6 PM with MAJOR LAZER, POIRIER and A TRIBE CALLED RED. It’s gonna get HOT! For all the details on the artists (bios, photos, links to sound bites) and the complete schedule for all four evenings click here!

Admission for the June 29th evening is $30 (all included)
- Bell Center box office: by telephone at 514 790-2525 / 1-877-668-8269 or through www.evenko.ca
- Rogers clients have the privilege of bypassing service charges so their tickets come to $22.50 all in. Visit Rogers.com/BSF to get your tickets or text “BILLETS” to 4849!

*** IMPORTANT *** The four Piknic 10 evenings are not part of the regular Piknic Électronik season, therefore SEASON PIKNIC PASSES DO NOT GRANT ACCESS TO THIS EVENT. To attend you must have an admission ticket in hand.

This may be the landmark 10^th season of our fair Piknic, but next Sunday is actually THE weekend when it all began in 2003. Hop into the time capsule with us old timers and let’s take a magic carpet ride back to that fateful summer. Disco punk was the music du jour, an iPod was still the size of a Gameboy, we all fell in love with mash-ups, and the average person still watched television through a big heavy cube. How the times change!

As the story goes, a couple hundreds pilgrims, disillusioned with club culture on Montreal’s main island, took the rarely traversed yellow line to Ile Ste. Helene, cut a narrow path through the brush, and set up a modest pair of turntables under a vine-covered Aztec-like monument we promptly renamed the Calder. That first summer was unforgiving, and they wouldn’t have survived had it not been for the help of indigenous islanders who came with offers of electrical cables for the pilgrim’s gear and hot dogs for hungry dancers.

The DJs in the booth that first Sunday was none other than Montreal techno pioneer Soundshaper and his Pocahontas of choice, Maus. Given that it’s only been 10 years and everyone involved is still alive and well, we concluded that the best way to celebrate the Sunday of our birth is to recreate it. Why wait for the 100^th season and the prospect of having to cryogenically freeze Soundshaper and Maus? Even at 10 years older, the DJ duo still has it in them to tagteam back to back for seven hours without a nap, and they may even use this relic called vinyl for parts of their set, as they did back in 2003. (...)

The complete program is here! In just over a week Piknic 10, four exceptional nocturnal adventures celebrating Piknic Électronik’s 10^th anniversary, will welcome the talents of Squarepusher (GB), Josh Wink (US), Azari III (CA), Sébastien Léger (FR) and Riva Starr (IT). As announced, Major Lazer will do the honours for the first dance of 9 days – or more like 9 nights...

Guests are like family
Experiencing Piknic by night will be new, but insiders will recognize the guests who have marked this event with their own personal stamp to create magical memories over the years.

To get the party started, Piknic 10 will begin in 9 nights with a bang on Friday, June 29 with Major Lazer whose last appearance at Piknic @ Osheaga inspired a collective madness unlike any seen before.

Piknic 10, in association with evenko, will welcome Squarepusher (GB) on Saturday, July 28. Produced by Piknic Électronik, presented as part of Osheaga and driven by Chevrolet Spark, Squarepusher’s scenography demonstrates a visual power rarely equalled and promises to be a sublime sensory experience.

Josh Wink (US), practically an adopted Montrealer as he has been hanging around the electronic scene for so long, will come greet his friends and wish Piknic a happy birthday on Saturday, August 25. He will be joined by Toronto’s Azari & III, nominees for this year’s prestigious Polaris prize.

The series will culminate on Saturday, September 8 with Riva Starr (IT) and Sébastien Léger (FR), another favourite who, after electrifying the crowd at Piknic last summer and Igloofest this winter, will be back by popular demand for another blistering night.

Piknic 10 – complete program at a glance:

• Friday, June 29 : Major Lazer - A Tribe Called Red - Poirier
• Saturday, July 28 : Squarepusher - Ikonika - DJ Kobal
• Saturday, August 25 : Josh Wink - Azari & III - Thomas Von Party
• Saturday, September 8 : Sébastien Léger - Riva Starr - Forrest

For the complete schedule and infos about the artists, click here!

An impressive show for four exceptional evenings
Each evening will present a completely different ambiance with updated visuals. While Mother Nature usually decorates its Sundays at will, Piknic will pull out all the stops for these special events to prepare shows whose scenography is a team trade secret. It is well known that Piknic is a Sunday afternoon staple. But for its 10^th anniversary, it will take over the night shift on Fridays and Saturdays and make its famous rendezvous point come alive well beyond its usual curfew. Nothing could say it better: a day and night of Piknic in one!

“Come for the weekend!”
The Piknic 10 series is part of sustained efforts by Piknic founders looking to develop its concept and reach a larger public with the electronic music experience. Thanks to support from Tourisme Québec, Piknic is able to offer these four excellent reasons to come to Montreal and savour a unique summer weekend.

Ticket Information : coming soon on the Piknic 10 website.

Visit the Piknic 10 website and follow us on social networks (piknic@facebook, piknic@twitter) to know all about the new Piknic 10 series!


___

Last Sunday we invited Josiane Stratis – fashion blogger for Ton petit look, to compile her favourite looks from Piknic. Here is her selection!

As girls, but also as members of the tonpetitlook.com blog team, we were happy to take part in last week’s Piknic, to observe the fashion diversity at this happening spot.

In our expert opinion, Piknic is one of those events where we can draw inspiration on how to wear the most current trends as applied in “real life”.

Here are our favourite 8 looks!

Photo 1. Here is a trio of blossoming young ladies, each of them are wearing winning elements! (...)

Piknic is wandering!
This Saturday, we’re going on an escapade to Parc des Amériques (corner St-Laurent / Rachel) for Piknic @ Fringe. And it’s free!

Piknic @ Fringe - Samedi 23 juin
Parc des Amériques (corner Saint-Laurent & Rachel)
1pm Maxime Robin (CA)
2pm MLS (CA)
4pm B&K (CA)

If you’re on the West Coast and want a little dose of Piknic, come to Malkin Bowl (Stanley Park - Vancouver) this Saturday to celebrate Saint-Jean with local artists along with a couple of Montreal envoys. It’s the 3^rd edition of Piknic @ Vancouver!

Piknic @ Vancouver - Samedi 23 juin
Malkin Bowl - Stanley Park - Vancouver
2pm Siavash (CA)
3:30pm Vincent Parker (CA)
4:30pm Bowly (CA)
6:30pm Shaydakiss & A-Rock (CA)
8:30pm Hakim Guelmi (CA)

As for the old capitol, three Piknic dates have been set to take place at the Baie-de-Beauport of Québec on the Sundays of July 22nd, August 19th and September 9th. For the program and all the details on these three events, presented in collaboration with Productions Limoilou en Vrac, click here!

Photo: Miguel Legault

Barefoot is on the hunt for the best summer cocktail!

What is your favourite recipe using Barefoot products? Share it on the Piknic Électronik Facebook site and you could win a gift certificate for DJ courses at the Montreal DJ School.

To give you some ideas (and make you thirsty), check out this video clip!

Final date to participate: August 1st.

June 17^th delivers our final Piknic before summer officially begins, but you wouldn’t know it here in Montreal, where we’ve been basking in the sun and heat for almost every weekend since our 10^th season began!

This weekend ought to be a big one too, as UK mega-DJ Lee Burridge arrives under The Calder for “All Day I Dream of Piknic Electronik”, a special variation requested by the man himself on the party sessions he’s become known for. The “All Day I Dream” events are typically New York City roof parties, brimming with lanterns, bamboo and tons of colour (look at a video here). The one-time founding resident at London’s famed Fabric shows up at the MOOG stage for a marathon 7-hour tagteam set, alongside San Francisco house producer Hoj. Expect flip-flops, BPM’s and daydreams!

Over at the GURU stage, Montreal’s Pronto Musique is in the house, for an extra-special afternoon courtesy of label heads Miguel Graça and MightyKat, who will be celebrating the first time they met at Piknic ten years ago. A year later, a love child called Pronto was born, and the rest – as they say – is Montreal house history.

See you under the Calder!

The sale of season Piknic passes came to a close on June 1st. I’ve heard several of you say, “NNNNNOOOOOOOO! I forgot to get mine!” For whatever it’s worth, you may still have a chance... ??

Piknic and Vie Urbaine invite you to participate in a “summertime in Montreal” themed contest. WIN: 6 passes for the Piknic 2012 season! 10 tickets will also be drawn at random among remaining participants.

Click here to participate!

Do you recall a few weeks ago, when we appealed to photographers and videographers for our “Through the lens… “ project? Not only did we receive TONS of projects, but submissions were suited to every style and taste. We would like to present you with successful submissions that will have you appreciating Piknic through images and videos! I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to see what they’ve come up with!

Photographers :
Karel Chladek // Jamie Coveny
Jean-Samuel Gauthier // Saël Simard
Jeff St-Aubin // Simran Dewan

Videographers :
Jeremy Rubier // Jean-Samuel Gauthier
Anouk Vallières // Lou-Andréa Fière
Saël Simard // Junia J. & David Nuff

Photo credit : Sandrick Mathurin

The F1 Grand Prix took place last Sunday and with the security measures surrounding this high-profile event, Jean-Drapeau park was a besieged destination. We didn’t want to take any chances so the first artists of the day, Tazz and Creator, made their way down by ferry. All in all, things went down pretty smoothly and 4300 of you found your way to the Calder. MAJOR success!

The highlights? Creator, iconic figure of Montreal’s afterhour scene, delivered his last ever live set. And yes, he did cry, despite what he had thought:

“I’m sensitive, but I’ll try not to cry:-)” - On Facebook, June 7th.

All the loyal RaveMontréal fans were chocked up with emotion, especially those that were there from its beginnings. It’s not every day that we say farewell to an illustrious DJ career! Bravo, Martin, we wish you lots of success in your non-DJ future!

A few meters to the west, a joyful setting reigned supreme as a good crowd took advantage of Gabo’s presence (and music) on Montreal soil. Clearly, more and more of you are taking to the GURU stage where the party is ON every weekend! (...)

Photo credits : Jamie Coveny

A last dive into the universe that is the grass carpet of Piknic. After you've danced your fill, picnicked your heart out and chilled out to the nth degree, it's time to bronze up!

Thanks to the Écorce Atelier Créatif for this crazy concept!

Directed by: Jean Malek
Concept: Écorce Atelier Créatif
Music: Jean-Sébastien Roux

Have you perused the collection at Boutik Piknic?
Check out this segment: it’ll get you craving alcoholic lemonade (or not) and wanting a plastic pale – oh, yes.

You want the girl’s tank top? The guy’s viser? Here is a price list of items available at the Boutik durant event days!

- Tank Top (20$)
- T-shirt (20$)
- T-shirt, 10th Anniversary Edition with 2012 line-up on back (25$)
- Vest (40$)
- Fanny Pack (10$)
- Viser (10$)
- Bucket (5$)
- Can Cooler (5$)

Happy Shopping!

Credits - Video
Concept : Martin C. Pariseau
Production: Hutchison / Van Horne
Music : Pillow Talk :: Street Walker
Camera: Xavier Lévesque & Sandrick Mathurin
Editing: Xavier Lévesque

As many of you may recall from Piknics past, every year around this time we share Ile Ste Helene with the loud engines, burning diesel, and macho bravado of the F1 Grand Prix and their significant fan base. This year is no different. For our fifth weekend of this 10^th season, the Piknic is once again a go at Parc Jean-Drapeau even though the big race is on. The only difference is that we begin at 4pm instead of 2pm. We suggest you take public transit to get there.

Presented by MOJO, the June 10^th edition pairs up yet another heavy hitter from the international scene with a handful of our very own. Leading off the MOOG stage at 4pm is Montreal deep-house producer Tazz, who’s riding high after two singles out on Jus Ed’s Underground Quality imprint. Come 6pm, we bid a heartfelt adieu to one of the longstanding members of this city’s afterhours scene, Circus resident Creator, who has stated that this Piknic performance will be his last. At 8pm, Polish minimal techno producer Margaret Dygas sets up at the Calder for one of his much-heralded DJ sets. Trust us, this is one lady you don’t want to miss! (...)