Changes to entrance policies at the Camping des Chutes de la Rouge have meant the annual Nature et Tradition Sentier des Arts de la Rivière Rouge outdoor art exhibit has been cancelled for 2022.
The board of the not-for-profit organization that operates the campground and beach area for the municipality has voted to begin requiring a $6.50 daily parking fee for Grenville-sur-la-Rouge residents and $9 for non-residents at both parts of the campground, located north and south of Route 148. The campground will also charge $8 per person for to non-residents of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge for park area and beach access in 2022. Parking on both sides of the campground will be free for residents of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge from Monday to Thursday.
Since its first season in 2020, Nature et Tradition – held beside the lower rapids of Rivière Rouge in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge – has featured a series of displays by artists from the surrounding region and across Quebec amid the rugged landscape beside the river. The art exhibit is usually located along a trail accessible from the north campground, but organizers say the new parking fees have forced them to cancel this year’s exhibit.
“Free admission is an essential condition for promoting and popularizing the activities of the Sentier des Arts de la Rivière Rouge with residents, families of GSLR, the MRC d’Argenteuil, and Laurentians,” said Nature et Tradition President Jacques Charbonneau, who also stated the cancellation of the exhibit will be a loss to efforts to promote culture and tourism in the region.
Charbonneau said Nature et Tradition is in favour of charging for parking on the north side of the campground but disagrees with charging an additional $8 to each vehicle passenger wanting to visit the outdoor exhibition.
“It would be an aberration to charge an additional $8 for each car passenger to visit the Sentier des Arts de la Rivière Rouge exhibit and benefit from nature,” he said.
In 2021, the municipality of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge took over Camping des Chutes de la Rouge, however operation of the facility is the responsibility of the not-for-profit organization. Since taking over the campground, the municipality has planned to invest $2.1 million in upgrades to the facility, including new campsites and yurts being added in 2022.
