The Heart of the Festival: The Volunteers

Color photography, Volunteer answering a question during the 2018 edition

Volunteer, Scène Montel, 2018

The Carrefour mondial de l’accordéon depends on its team of dedicated volunteers. Many of them have a special relationship with the event, based on countless fond memories. Let’s take a look at their stories and their memories.

Key Volunteers

Lise Levasseur is one of those volunteers who have been with the festival since it began in 1989. She knew the members of the founding committee and became involved quite naturally. Over the years, she has taken pleasure in preforming a range of tasks to help ensure the event runs smoothly. She comes back year after year for the joy of rubbing shoulders with members of the organization, other volunteers and participating artists.

I really enjoy interacting with the public. People are friendly and happy to be there!

Lise Levasseur

Her most vivid memory of the festival is Alistair Anderson’s masterful performance on the concertina, the smallest of the accordions, in 1989.

Black and white photography, Alistair Anderson concertina in his hand, plays on an indoor stage.

Alistair Anderson at the Carrefour mondial de l’accordéon in 1989

Alistair Anderson, Ten Years On- To know more

An Unexpected Request

Julie Rousseau has been volunteering with the festival for two decades, including several years on the Board of Directors. Her duties at the Carrefour mondial de l’accordéon have included ticket sales, stage management and hosting. Among her many memories of the festival, one behind-the-scenes moment stands out:

Account by Julie Rousseau—(captions available in both FR and EN) View the video with a description

A Surprising Host

Black and white photograph of Gregory Charles sitting on a chair in front of a stage curtain, holding a diatonic accordion on his knee.

Gregory Charles at the Carrefour mondial de l’accordéon in 1991

Rémi Biron is another volunteer who has been with the festival since the very start. He initially got involved out of curiosity, but the excitement and pleasure of helping produce the event have kept him coming back for more than 30 years. As a stage technician, he interacts directly with the performers and hosts. Without a doubt, his most cherished memory is watching an energetic Grégory Charles host performances during the early years of the Carrefour mondial de l’accordéon.

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