Ottawa couple who met at Festival du Voyageur return 9 years later
Valerie Bohemier and Mario Poulin met by chance at Winnipeg celebration of French-Canadian history
A chance meeting at Festival du Voyageur nine years ago brought Valerie Bohemier and Mario Poulin together.
Poulin was playing with his band at the Winnipeg festival in 2007 when he met Bohemier at an afterparty. Mutual friends introduced them and soon after, they became a couple.
Fast forward to 2016, and the couple are married with two young children.
Bohemier, who has family in Lorette, Man., and Poulin, who is from Saskatchewan, have returned almost every year to experience the celebration of Franco-Manitoban culture in St. Boniface.
"We don't even come for Christmas. We come for Festival," said Bohemier.
Both Bohemier and Poulin are French Canadian and the festival helps them celebrate their heritage, they said.
"It's something that's special for us," said Poulin. "The values and the culture, everything's kind of mixed together."
Since the couple had children, Festival's role has become even more important, Poulin said.
"It's more special now, with the kids to share this," he said.
There are not many opportunities like Festival to experience and celebrate French Canadian culture, he said.
Wedding photos taken at Fort Gibraltar hang in the couple's home in Ottawa to remind them of their roots and where they met.
"They're in our living room. We see them every day as a reminder of who we are, where we come from and where we want to come back every year," said Bohemier.