The International Garden Festival, presented at the Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens in the Gaspésie region of Québec, Canada is preparing its 20th edition and is issuing an international call for proposals to select designers who will create the new temporary gardens that will be presented from June 22, 2019. For its 20th anniversary edition, the Festival is seeking to explore new directions and continue our exploration of play. “Terrains de jeu” is fertile ground for creativity, encompassing both the notion of compact space and play. The Festival is encouraging designers to imagine spaces that work within the confines of modest parcels all the while offering a big punch. Confronting the planetary challenges of needing to limit growth, developing sustainably and minimizing our ecological impact, the 2019 Festival is a venue where designers will explore the principals of voluntary simplicity all the while offering a footprint for fun. The interactive spaces chosen through this competition will excite, enthrall or envelop visitors. They will be child-friendly without being childish, adventurous without being unsafe. Explore, experiment and celebrate – this is the effect we want the 2019 Festival to have on every one of our 60,000 visitors. This call for proposals is open to all landscape architects, architects, artists and multidisciplinary teams from Canada and abroad. Applicants are limited to one proposal, either as individuals or multidisciplinary teams. The Festival encourages participants to form multidisciplinary teams to include a landscape architect, architect, artist, designer, engineer, horticulturist, botanist, teacher, scientist, etc. The objective is to favour an approach that encompasses various design disciplines and expertise from various quarters. For the 20th edition of the Festival, we will be launching a parallel program for young designers in their twenties (“la vingtaine”) to curate and create a series of experimental landscapes that will be built and developed over the summer months as part of a creative camp. This competition will also be open to students studying in design, environment or other fields. Details on this initiative will be distributed in November. For complete information on this call for proposals, those interested should consult the web site: www.projects.internationalgardenfestival.ca. The deadline for the submission of entries is THURSDAY DECEMBER 20, 2018 at 5 pm EST. The International Garden Festival is recognized as one of the most important events of its kind in North America and one of the leading annual garden festivals in the world. Since 2000, more than one million visitors have discovered over 180 contemporary and ephemeral gardens created by designers from 15 countries. This artistic and tourism event also gives visitors a chance to discover inspiring spaces bringing together the visual arts, architecture, design, landscape and the environment. The Festival is an annual rendez-vous for admirers of contemporary gardens and design as well as offering a unique creative space for those involved in the renewal of this art form. Les Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens are located on the shores of the St. Lawrence and Mitis rivers in Québec, Canada. Created from 1926 to 1958 by avid gardener and plant collector, Elsie Reford, the gardens are a national historic site designated. Les Jardins de Métis are considered one of the premier gardens in North America. They are an obligatory stop for all those visiting eastern Québec and the Gaspésie region. Hydro-Québec has been a major partner of the Reford Gardens since 1999. Visit the www.refordgardens.com for more details.