Artists aged 18 or more are invited to apply now for the 27th annual Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée, which will take place June 26 to July 4, 2009, in Quebec’s Gaspé region. Registration will close on March 1, 2009, for the competition’s three categories, and candidates may use the online application form available on the Festival website. They may also e-mail the festival, or call (418) 393-2394.

Although Petite-Vallée started as a song competition, its success over the years has been such that it’s now considered a place where the artists of tomorrow are discovered. This year, eight songwriters, two music composers and two lyricists will lead all contestants through a number of workshops, coaching sessions and concerts while challenging and sharing ideas with them.

The winners will share cash prizes totalling $30,000, and will benefit from an additional week-long professional development session taught by four well-established SOCAN members – Marie-Claire Séguin, Edgar Bori, Martin Léon and Michel Faubert. Michel Rivard, the festival’s first "ferryman," handed the symbolic "ferryman’s baton" to Paul Piché, the spokesperson for the upcoming edition of the event. At the official launching ceremony of the festival, on Dec. 2, 2008, Piché said he was greatly looking forward to being part of the Petite-Vallée experience for the first time, and congratulated the organization for the resounding success of its work and mission.