Program
of activities

Benefit dinner Art de vivre – to benefit Les Amis des Jardins de Métis  

6 pm, Estevan Lodge  

Art de vivre  

Elsie Reford created and maintained a code of conduct that shaped her life and how she has been regarded over time. Her gardens are the most visible example. Cultured and structured, but also wild and innovative, they were fashioned in her image. They still surprise us today. This summer’s temporary exhibition has taken inspiration from her art de vivre.   

The benefit dinner in aid of Les Amis des Jardins de Métis offers a unique opportunity to experience a culinary event inspired by the art de vivre that Elsie Reford imagined. Featuring a menu of 4 courses, where food and wine are in tune, the dinner is also an opportunity for you to exchange with the gardens’ director, Alexander Reford, who is replacing his great grandmother as the host of this event in Estevan Lodge. Chef Frédérick Boucher is preparing a four-course meal, with wine pairings, featuring scallops, garden peas, Luceville strawberries, local lamb, zucchini and a delicious dessert.  

You are invited to reserve a table for two or four or be part of a group of four large tables with eight guests. At the centre of each table, a unique object will be on display, drawn from our collection of artefacts associated with the site’s history, George Stephen, Elsie Reford, Robert W. Reford and Bruce Reford. These objects are today conserved by les Amis des Jardins de Métis. They will be on display under a glass dome for the evening. The objects will be presented by Alexander Reford in a series of historical interludes.  

A silent auction will allow you to bid a selection of unique items throughout the evening, such as :  

• Original pieces by designer Antonio Ortega (220 to 750 $);  
• Books signed by their authors (70 $); 
• Artist Stéphanie Béliveau's lot: artist's book Le soin des choses autographed, the From the Shore exhibition booklet and a block of La Mitis clay ($100); 
• Framed Louise Tanguay photograph (579 $); 
• Portrait photo ferrotype studio En Cavale (350 $); 
• A weekend at the ERE132 Eco Home (3 x 250 $ = 750 $); 
• A weekend at the Résidence des stagiaires (3 x 250 $ = 750 $); 
• A stay at the Lighthouse keeper’s house in Métis-sur-Mer  ; 
• Replicas of Elsie Reford’s earrings by Flamme en rose (2395 $); 
• a work by the artist Alexis Aubin-Laperrière, gyotaku of a salmon (1250$) 

Other lots will be added to this list. 

The funds generated by this event for Les Amis des Jardins de Métis will allow the organization to pursue its many museum, garden and conservation projects. Tickets are $200 each; a donation receipt will be issued for $75. Please pass on this invitation to others interesting in supporting Les Jardins de Métis. 

To purchase tickets, please call 418 775 2221, x 221 or e-mail direction@jardinsdemetis.com