This week’s Throwback Thursday image is of EC Montreal’s annul corn festival. August is corn season in the province of Quebec. Quebec has many local farms located close to the city center, a short 30 minute drive. Corn grows really well in Quebec and when you drive from one town to another, you are surrounded by the most beautiful corn fields. Quebec corn is different from corn you are used to eating. It has white and yellow kernels and the whiter the corn, the sweeter it is!
Every August our center director, Elisa, takes a drive to a local farm to purchase corn for our annual corn festival. There is something very special about bringing freshly picked produce to the table.
The corn festival consists of a corn roast as well as tables and tables of corn products like chips, popcorn and Elisa’s delicious corn salad, which is made from corn, red bell peppers, green onion, cilantro and lime juice. It is such a fresh and yummy treat!
EC Montreal decorates the tables in the student lounge with corn husks and baskets of corn goodness.
These types of activities really bring our students together, giving them an opportunity to interact with one another, practice their language skills and have fun. Giving our students a taste of Montreal is really important to us. We want them to experience all the local flavors and traditional dishes. We also like to give students information on local farms they can visit during their stay. It is nice to escape the busy city and enjoy the tranquillity of the countryside. One of our favourite farms is Quinn Farms which is located in the West Island of Montreal and is accessible by public transportation. Depending on the season, you can pick your own produce like berries, green beans, corn, pumpkins, apples and even wild flowers. They picnic tables and a food stand as well as hay rides to enjoy.
We look forward to resuming these types of events with our students, when the time is right. Until then, we are happy to offer virtual activities on Microsoft Teams where you can access your English and French online classes.
