In Lennoxville, a former town turned borough of Sherbrooke in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, there is no official celebration for Canada Day nor for Fête Nationale, also known as St-Jean-Baptiste Day.
Decades ago, when the bilingual enclave was still a town, it came up with an alternative to avoid alienating French or English speakers: Friendship Day, or Journée de l’amitié.
On the second Saturday of nearly every June since, practically everything in the community of 5,500 people revolves around its very own holiday. There are fireworks and a parade (although not since the pandemic), and an artisan fair inside the French-language elementary school,
