Wednesday was the kick-off day for the very first workshop in the new Maison de la Famille Vaudreuil-Soulanges program, L'éveil à la culture chez les tout-petits.

This first session, focusing on the arts, was led by Chantale Lavallée, also known as Madame Brico from 123 GoBrico. During the workshop, families had the opportunity to create a pumpkin using the techniques presented by Madame Brico.

The project came to life this summer when the Maison de la Famille submitted its proposal to the call for projects of the Programme d'innovation culturelle et numérique 2023 of the Conseil des arts et de la culture de Vaudreuil-Soulanges (CACVS), and had the great honour of being selected. The realization of this program was made possible thanks to the financial support of the CACVS.

"The CACVS complements other players in cultural development, enriching the existing cultural offering and diversifying the sources of funding available to the community. In so doing, we are proud to contribute to the vitality of the community by supporting projects such as this one. Supporting innovative and coherent cultural action is important, and that's why we're delighted to have awarded a $4,095 grant to the Maison de la famille Vaudreuil-Soulanges for its Éveil à la culture des tout-petits program," said Julie Lemieux, Chair of the CACVS Board and Mayor of Très-Saint-Rédempteur.

The year-long program includes nine artistic and cultural workshops open to all families of Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

The Maison's objective is to promote the culture and artists of Vaudreuil-Soulanges, while engaging families in the creative process during these workshops.

In order to support the project and welcome as many families as possible, the Maison de la Famille has also requested the support of five towns for the rental of rooms, including Saint-Zotique, Pincourt, Rigaud, Vaudreuil-Dorion and Coteau-du-Lac.

A start for cultural awareness

A promising start to cultural awakening was made in autumn 2021, with the vernissage of Valérie Langlais' superb works at the Maison de la Famille. As quoted by Diane Lyonnais, President of the Maison de la Famille Board of Directors.

"At the Maison de la Famille, we promote reading and writing, but cultural awareness is just as important for children and their families, and we intend to continue in this vein. We want to integrate the arts more into our workshops and encourage the development of projects with the Conseil des Arts et de la Culture de Vaudreuil-Soulanges," she declared.