GAY MONTREAL: APRIL

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April is essentially the summer’s pre-drink. The snow has officially melted and chances of a winter relapse are relatively slim. This time of year has the gays scrambling to the gym, in preparation for another scorching summer, but the fun has already begun! Montreal has oodles of gay or gay-friendly things to do in April and beyond…

ON THE STAGE

If you like seeing groups of gay men performing on stage, then you’re in luck because Montreal can offer this not once, not twice, but almost too many times in April. On Sunday, April 17, the all-gay chorus Ganymède will be celebrating 20 years with a performance of Cherubini’s Requiem. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, fresh from Spain is the world-famous Matinée Group that will be taking their legendary party to Club Parking on Saturday April 23. This will be the first time Matinée has ever been hosted in Canada! Dancing her way into Montreal for her debut will be gay icon Kylie Minogue. Along with her (most likely gay) dancers she’ll be blowing the roof off the Bell Center on Thursday, April 28th. Ticket prices have even been slashed so if you’re looking for cheaper tickets, Montreal is definitely the place to see her. The “K for Kylie” after-party is happening a few blocks away at Newtown on Crescent. Tickets are only $10 so worth it to keep to energy alive!

On April 12 at the Bell Center, Ricky Martin will be shaking his Latino stud muffin buns for scores of middle-aged mothers and their gay sons. Gay reaches a climax though when Lady GaGa rolls into town again with her Monster Ball tour on April 25. Montreal has always been close to Gaga’s heart because Just Dance went to #1 in Montreal first. One year before it topped the charts south of the border!

ON THE DANCEFLOOR

April will offer up many opportunities to get your daily cardio in on the floors of Montreal’s legendary club nights in and outside the village. Inside the village there are the weekly club routines: Stereo consistently brings top DJ’s, SKY complex on a Saturday for straight up dancing, and top it off with Drugstore on a Sunday. Outside the village there’s the regular dose of monthly parties. Mec Plus Ultra on April 16th, POMPe on April 21 and Faggity Ass Friday on April 29.

Bal en Blanc, the dance floor king (queen?), will be dominating April. For the entire Easter weekend, clubs around Montreal will be hosting Bal en Blanc associated events that are too countless to all name here. Check out the Montreal Buzz preview for Bal en Blanc here.

ON THE STREETS

With spring, comes walking, sitting, and playing outside for leisure. The temperature is climbing along with our desire for the outdoors. Thankfully the terraces are opening up, BIXI is rolling out for its third season, and the streets have some nice foliage blooming. Gays & Lesbians especially love to sit on Montreal’s famed terraces. Check out some early ones at Croissanterie Figaro (pictured above), and Les Folies! Sainte-Catherine street in the Gay Village doesn’t convert to a pedestrian walkway until late May, so until then explore some of the surrounding streets with plenty of little parks. On a Sunday morning, these parks are filled with gays and lesbians with their dogs. Seriously, there are more dogs than gays!

With Bixi making its triumphant return on April 15, a spring bike ride around the Village would be in order. Stations are located throughout the village, but the big ones are at Berri UQAM, Beaudry Metro and the Ontario–Panet intersection. Exploring the little streets of the Village, or jetting down the Rene-Levesque bike path to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, this is just how spring should be…

Guest Blogger: Alex Dunphy

Photo Credit: MEC Plus Ultra- Julien De Repentigny

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