F1 week

The first week of June is also the last week of spring. It’s almost summer. There is one “festival” that kicks off all the other festivals in Montréal. That is Formula one week. Some call it a circus because it travels from city to city. One thing is for sure, it’s a week for celebrating together. There are 5@7 everywhere and all restaurants and clubs are filled with a mixed crowd of tourists and locals enjoying themselves. The whole city is alive and every one feels the happy vibe. Famously, the Cirque du Soleil founder, Guy Laliberté, hosts a lavish party on the Saturday before the race. The stories from those partiees are legendary in the Quebec nightlife vernacular.

Crescent street is the center of attention during the week that leads to the weekend races. It’s closed to traffic and becomes a pedestrian fan fair.  My favorite part was never looking at parked cars. It was the changing the tires! There’s an event where a replica F1 car is set up for a makeshift pit crew to change a tire. The hydraulic tools make incredible sounds. It’s surprising how those tires are huge and heavy. The rush of trying to beat the best time. I never came even close. But the fun, as a teenager,  was in trying it out for myself. Getting a feel of what the professionals have to do.

On the Sunday morning of the F1 race in Montréal, my father would cut the grass in his yellow rain boots. But then he would leave the electrical cord extension of the lawnmower out on the grass. But why? Because he used it to plug the TV that he brought outside. A few moments later, he would set up a card table with four chairs. And lastly, the scrabble game. It was our annual spring game with 80 year old aunt Helen and her friend in the backyard. We sipped clamato juice while playing. We listened to the race in the background for any developments. Sometimes we would turn down the sound of the TV to hear the actual cars accelerating, echoing in the city. That was seizing the joy of spring. 

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