This week’s Throwback Thursday image is of our annual apple picking activity and apple festival at EC Montreal. It is the beginning of apple season in Quebec. We have many apple orchards located very close to Montreal. You can drive for approximately thirty minutes north of Montreal to reach the countryside. There you will find many different types of farms. There are fruit orchards, vegetable fields, animal farms and the most beautiful acres of fertile land. It is so nice to get away from the busy city to experience a different part of Quebec. Quebec is a very large province that is made up of the most beautiful hills, mountains, lakes as well as vibrant cities.
At EC Montreal, we want our students to experience as much as possible during their Canadian experience. For this reason, EC Montreal organizes many activities and excursions for our students. This time of year, it is the beginning of apple season. Many farms are getting ready for their harvest and invite the public to come and enjoy an outdoor activity of picking fruit right off the trees. Many of these farms have many other activities for people to enjoy. When EC Montreal organizes this apple picking activity for our students we include a visit to a local vineyard and winery as well as a trip to Mont-Tremblant; a ski resort village located at the foot of the tallest mountain in the province of Quebec. You can take a gondola ride to the top, or if you dare, you can hike up to the top to get the most majestic view of the countryside and all the lakes surrounding the mountain. The village also has many restaurants, shops and other fun activities to enjoy.
The vineyards offer a tour of the winery as well as wine tasting. Many are surprised to learn that Quebec produces very good wines. We are also known for our ice wines that is made from grapes that are just about to freeze. The ice wine is very sweet and served best cold and with dessert or sharp cheeses.
To celebrate apple season, EC Montreal hosts an annual apple festival at the school. Each table in the lounge has a variety of Quebec apples on display for tasting. In addition, we serve freshly baked goodies made from apples. We offer pies, cakes, cupcakes, cookies, apple juice and even apple cider.
In addition, we host an apple trivia game that lasts the entire month. We call it “an apple a day”. We hide a paper apple around the school with a trivia question on it. The person who finds the apple needs to rush to the office and answer the question correctly to win a prize. All the questions are apple related like “how do you say apple in French?” or “name two varieties of apples”, “who is one of the founders of the apple company”? These type of events ensure our students are staying engaged, practicing their English skills and having a really good time. We look forward to this game every September.
EC Montreal will be reopening next week. Unfortunately, given the current situation with the covid-19 virus, we will not be able to offer these types of social activities. We will, however, be offering suggested activities as well as virtual events. We look forward to resuming all the wonderful events we plan for our students every season. Until then, we will see you on Microsoft Teams where you can access your Online English Courses or Online French Courses.
