The man behind the dream
Although he only became a collector in the 1980s, Michel has always been what one could call a “collector”. From the toys of his childhood, through his father’s tools, to the toys of his children, Michel kept throughout his life a lot of things throughout his life that were dear to him and reminded him of fond memories. He had the soul of a collector.
These gatherings are somewhat the ancestors of the Salon; the spark that ignited in Michel the dream of such an event.
It was at the beginning of the 1980s that his wife, Denise, gave Michel a scale model of a 1957 Corvette. It was the first piece in a collection which, twenty years later, would number more than two thousand miniature cars. A passion was born.
What Michel loved most about collecting was the meetings he had with other collectors (who quickly became good friends) to discuss and exchange small cars. Almost every weekend, Michel’s basement, which looked like a museum, was transformed for an evening into a meeting café, where a few collectors and family friends gathered to share their common passion. These meetings are in a way the ancestor of the Salon; the spark that ignited in Michel the dream of such an event.
The realization of the dream
During 1994, Michel Laliberté began the necessary steps to create a show that would bring together dozens of collectors of all kinds with the aim of exhibiting, selling, buying and exchanging their items. collection. After several months of recruiting collectors and negotiations with different convention centers, Michel finally saw his project come to fruition. Indeed, on March 30, 1996, at the Thematic Pavilion of the Village Québécois d’Antan in Drummondville (which will be the official residence of the Salon until 2002), the first Salon National des Collectionneurs de Drummondville opened.
This first edition, which had around 75 exhibitors, attracted 1000 visitors. Since then, the Salon has never stopped growing. In 2002, Michel ended 7 years of collaboration with the Pavillon Thématique de Drummondville to install his Salon at the Pavillon des Pionniers in Saint-Hyacinthe. Unfortunately, he will never have the chance to see his Salon in this new city.
Michel Laliberté died on November 19, 2002 after several years of fighting cancer. He passed the torch to his wife Denise Laliberté and to François Bellerose, collector and friend. In 2003, for its first year in Saint-Hyacinthe, the Salon National des Collectionneurs of Drummondville changed its name to become Salon National des Collectionneurs Michel Laliberté. Subsequently, Raymond Tessier will join Denise Boisvert as co-organizer.
In 2023, after several years at the helm of the event, Denise Boisvert and Raymond Tessier decided to transfer the rights to the Salon National des Collectionneurs to Antique Promotion Inc / Sébastien Cauchy. The latter has exhibited at the show since the beginning. Sébastien Cauchy has also exhibited in numerous antique and collectible exhibitions in Quebec and Ontario. With its experience, the new organization wants to bring the Salon National des Collectionneurs to a new level, making it a great celebration for all collectors.
Today, with its some 170 exhibitor booths from the four corners of the province and its 45 collectors’ tables, the Salon National des Collectionneurs Michel Laliberté is by far the largest event of its kind in Quebec.
… the Salon National des Collectionneurs de Drummondville changed its name to become Salon National des Collectionneurs -Michel Laliberté
