Once again in 2009, SOCAN participated in Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée, which took place June 26 to July 4 in Quebec's Gaspé region. The SOCAN-sponsored $1,000 Best Song Award was presented to Stéphane Robitaille for "Vas-tu m’aimer?"

A number of SOCAN members performed as part of the festival and participated in the training workshops provided to this year’s 12 competing songwriters (selected from 326 entries). Returning mentors included Marie-Claire Séguin, Edgar Bori and Pierre Flynn, while Michel Faubert made his debut in that capacity.

Hosted by Paul Piché, the awards presentation ceremony included performances by Michel Rivard, Laurence Jalbert, Luce Dufault, Daniel Boucher, Pierre Verville and Pierre Flynn. A special tribute to Paul Piché, the 2009 festival "ferryman," included performances by many of his peers, and the 27th annual Petite-Vallée competition ended on July 4 with La Fête à Tibasse, a celebration of conductor Jean-Sébastien Fournier's 25 years of service to the festival.

Due to bad weather conditions, Joanne Pouliot, Member Service Manager, Quebec Region, was unable to attend the festival as planned.

For more information on the festival's programming and a winners' list, please visit the festival website.