Hélie wins SOCAN-sponsored award at 2011 St-Tite fest

David Jalbert presented Laurence Hélie with the SOCAN Best Song Award for her song “Plus je reste” (co-written with Dave Richard) at the 2011 Festival Western de St-Tite. (Photo: Alexandre Bédard)

Singer-songwriter Laurence Hélie won the SOCAN Best Song Award as part of the Prix Étoiles Galaxie competition of the 2011 Festival Western de St-Tite, held in Quebec’s Mauricie region. She received the $1,000 prize for her song "Plus je reste” (“The Longer I Stay,” co-written with Dave Richard) from the Festival’s 2010 spokesperson, SOCAN member David Jalbert.

SOCAN Education & Outreach Manager Stéphanie Falco also attended the event. The festival, which attracts more tha 100,000 country music fans each year to this small Quebec town of a few thousand, ran from Sept. 9-18. Featuring local superstars such as Roch Voisine and Georges Hamel, it presents a varied program of rodeos, country dancing, open-air film screenings, fairs, karaoke evenings and more.

For full details, visit the festival site.