Spring is here, and as the cobwebs of winter get dusted away, doors are flinging open to let in the sunshine. Both Design Montréal Open House, running in various locations across town on May 4 and 5, and the Virée des ateliers, which runs from downtown to Hochelaga-Maisonneuve along Parthenais street from May 9 to 12, invite art and design fans into the interior sanctums of Montreal’s creative geniuses. Both provide an amazing opportunity not only to get a sense of how people work, but to pick up the most unique souvenirs imaginable.Over 100 addresses all over the city are yours to discover on the Design Montréal Open House trajectory, designed to familiarize you with the astounding star power that lives in Montreal, a Unesco City of Design. Among them you can visit the studio and store of Montreal fashion maven Mariouche Gagné, the mind behind the label Harricana, in St-Henri; the workspace and store of Aquaovo (pictured at top of page), on Saint-Laurent, who designed of the world’s most handsome water purifier (no wonder it won awards); the workspace of stuffed toys Raplapla, where designers Anne Chalifoux, Dominique Dansereau and Erica Perrot will give family-friendly workshops on how their funky characters are made; and Espace Verre, a glass-blowing studio and gallery in Old Montreal where not only will you able to snag unique pieces, you’ll see professional glass artisans create on the spot.The Virée des ateliers, in the city’s east end, is an event spread over three massive art buildings, each of which houses dozens of creative minds – think of the whole area as an enormous think-tank. Among the 100-plus studios you can visit – including so many by visual artists that you’ll get your fill of eye candy – are those of Atelier Cocotte, makers of beautiful woven wooden lamps; Velvet Moustache, which design hilarious cushions in the shape of animals; fashion accessory and textile designers Infuse, who make the most evanescent batik scarves; and women’s wear designers Grob, where you can pick up that perfect lacey blouse for all those upcoming summer picnics.

THE DETAILS

Design Montréal Open House, May 4-5, 2013

Virée des ateliers, May 9-12, 2013

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(go green) Whether you’re here this week to relax, party or keep the kids entertained at the tail end of March Break, Montreal’s Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations have something for everyone. The massive parade begins on Sunday, March 17, at noon and moves east for blocks but throughout the weekend many pubs, bars and restaurants, whether they’re officially Irish or not, offer up special St-Patty’s drinks and dishes.

(sugar shack fun) Sugaring-off season is upon us and with it the return of fatty, syrupy sugar shack fare, done in traditional and gourmet styles or a mix of the two, such as at La Cabane, conveniently located in the Old Port, where you’ll also find outdoor activities like ice skating and ice fishing. Or get the real maple-syrup deal at the Montreal Botanical Gardens, where families can sample syrup on snow and find out where the sugary stuff comes from.

(on-stage spectacle) While March 16 brings UFC welterweight champion and local legend Georges St-Pierre to the Bell Centre along with six other UFC welterweight fighters in what’s sure to be one kind of grand spectacle, there’s also Rabbit in a Hat Productions’ boxing-centric Cornered, on at Bain St-Michel to March 17. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens presents Danz + Toot, a high-energy, highly contemporary program, March 14-23, the true story of Dead Man Walking is put into song by Opera de Montreal on March 16, and the true story of the “Queen of Gospel” is told in The Mahalia Jackson Musical, starring Montreal sensation Ranee Lee, at the Segal, to March 24. See contemporary dance Montreal-style at Agora de la Danse March 15-16 as choreographer Isabelle Van Grimde works with dancers, composers and musicians in Les Gestes. And lovely, luscious ladies from Montreal and across North America perform sexy, funny, circus-y burlesque of all sorts at cabaret Le Grand Burlesque Show, March 21-23 at Club Soda.

(film & art) The International Festival of Films on Art, March 14-24, screens documentaries, shorts and experimental films that focus on all forms of the arts: painting, sculpture, architecture, writing, dancing, music and more. Also check out free events such as the Zon’Arts exhibition at Place des Arts, where Diane Obomsawin’s animated films Fleur (2012) and Machine (2012) are being projected. For the full FIFA schedule and to buy tickets online, see the FIFA site. It’s also the last weekend to wander through Montreal’s underground city, connecting metro stations, office buildings and malls, to see the corridors adorned with intriguing art for Art Souterrain.

(music for march) The weekend opens with Montreal favourites Stars playing two magical nights at the Corona Theatre, March 15 and 16. Also on Friday, another Montreal favourite, Jerusalem in My Heart brings their unique, dramatic sound to Le National, and dance the night away to electro-beat of Mr. Oizo, A-Rock and Cherry Cola, at SAT. Saturday night is all disco all the time with the legendary Village People at L’Olympia. On Sunday night, mega-star Rihanna visits the Bell Centre on her Diamonds World Tour, with A$AP Rocky. On Tuesday, March 19, see Randy Bachman on his Vinyl Tap Tour, playing music and telling stories about the Guess Who and BTO, at Theatre Corona. Canadian rocker Matt Mays comes to Cabaret Mile End with with openers July Talk on March 20, while New York prog-rock-punk band Coheed & Cambria  and A Place To Bury Strangers are at Club Soda.

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(happy outdoors) Bundle up the whole family for Fête des Neiges, a weekend of outdoor activities and entertainment – including tube sliding, a zip-line, ice skating, snow-shoeing and dog sledding – at Parc Jean-Drapeau. While at the park, visit Montreal’s one-of-a-kind Snow Village, featuring heated igloos, a hotel, restaurant and bar, and more. Or go rustic and sporty at the Old Port’s Ice Fishing Village, with genuine ice fishing shacks (heated!) and a well-stocked river.

(ice dancing) Pull your warmest toque on, lace up your snowboots, zip into that neon one-piece snowsuit (or not…) and join thousands of electronic music fans for the fun and spectacle that is Igloofest, a four-weekend-long outdoor electronic music festival unique to Montreal, happening at Jacques-Cartier Quay in the Old Port. This Friday night, groove to Berlin-based duo Pan-Pot, Russia’s Nina Kraviz and Pierre De Lux. Follow that up on Saturday night with Germany’s Schlachthofbronx, TNGHT, Tronald Trump and Kaytranada.

(stage & scene) Art, theatre and circus acts come together in La Verità, a talent-packed show created by Daniele Finzi Pasca based on a captivating original Dali backdrop painting, which often features in the forefront of the show, along with trapeze artists, dancers, jugglers and more – at Place des Arts to February 3. Opéra de Montreal Johann Strauss II’s lively Die Fledermaus, featuring tenor Marc Hervieux, January 26, 29 and 31. Fall under the rock-music-inspired-by-parables spell of Beautiful City Theatre’s production of Godspell, The Musical, January 25-26 and 31 at Centaur Theatre in Old Montreal. See flamenco done in new, often experimental ways in La Otra Orilla from dancer/choreographer Myriam Allard and singer Hedi Graja, at Cinquième Salle to January 26.

(movie magic) Cozy up to some great films this week at the PHI Centre. The Old Montreal-based arts and cultural hub welcomes the public to free screenings of Peter Mettler’s The End of Time on January 25 at 5 p.m. and Michael McGowan’s Still at 7 p.m. The Centre also presents a series of films selected by Quebec filmmaker Denis Côté, with Antoine Boutet’s Le plein pays screening on January 30, along with a special screening on January 30 of György Pálfi’s Final Cut Ladies & Gentlemen, a Cannes 2012 selection.

(art inspiration) The MMFA is warm and admission to its permanent collections is free! See new acquisitions of Quebec and Canadian art from 1980-2010 (such as Kim Dorland’s Nature Painting #2, above) work by Taiwan-born Montreal photographer and video artist Chih-Chien Wang, and Iranian photographer Aydin Matlabi’s Landscape, Revolution, People. Go to DHC/ART in Old Montreal for a heady trip into German artist Thomas Demand’s multi-layered recreations of reality in still images and carefully animated film installations. See images Montreal’s past at Pointe-à-Callière – and save money on admission whenever the temperature drops below zero degrees celsius: visitors get an equal percentage off the admission price throughout January and February. Head outside again to play with colourful, illuminated outdoor music installation Iceberg, located at Place des Arts.

(live music) On Saturday night, get your ska-punk on with Reel Big Fish at the Corona Theatre, melt away to the electro-pop sounds of Ellie Goulding at Metropolis, and The Harley Show revs its engines with motorcycles and rock n’ roll at the Bell Centre. On January 27, California psych-rockers The Growlers play La Sala Rossa. On January 28, Marilyn Manson does his thing at Metropolis, punk-hardcore Hot Water Music maybe mess up L’Olympia, and Montreal musicians get together for Lettingo: The Music and Influence of Ornette Coleman at Sala Rossa. On January 29, a whole bunch of great Montreal musicians, like Plants & Animals, Galaxie and The Barr Brothers, play benefit concert Unis Contre at Cabaret du Mile End. And on January 30, The Queen Extravaganza belts its drama-rock way into the Bell Centre.

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The Christmas spirit is truly in the air at another big fair, Le Marché Casse Noisette, known in English as the Nutcracker Market. More Montreal and Quebec creations are around every corner at this fair, where gourmet food, jewelry, clothing, bath and beauty products and much more abound among the Christmas trees and tinsel, November 29-December 9 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

Hip, cutting-edge design is what the annual souk @ sat is all about, with over 100 professional artists and designers selling unique, often made-in-Montreal clothing, jewellery, handbags, furniture, home accessories, toys, art and more. The sale happens November 30 to December 2 at the Société des Arts Technologiques (1201 St-Laurent), a high-tech education centre, music and entertainment venue, and also home to the inventive FoodLab restaurant.

With a pro style similar to souk’s, Smart Design Mart lets vendors set up approachable mini-boutiques in a huge industrial loft space, where everything from locally designed clothing to home decor to food can be found in a range of prices. The Mart is open on the evening of December 7 and during the day December 8-9 at 5505 Casgrain, in the bagels-and-coffee-and-cool neighbourhood of Mile End.

Also in Mile End is the holiday version of Pop Montreal’s Puces Pop Craft & DIY Fair, an always-lively mix of hip, quality hand-made items for winter and beyond, all infused with plenty of love and care – happening the evening of December 14 and during the day December 15-16 at Saint-Enfant-Jesus Church (5035 Ste-Dominique). For those looking for more traditional craft-fair fare, stop by the Old Skool Crafts Holiday Fair, December 8-9 and 15-16 at L’Église St.Michel (105 St-Viateur W.). And if you’re in town November 17-18, check out the creative goods at Expozine, one of the largest small press fairs in North America, where authors, artists and zine makers impress live and on paper – also held at the Saint-Enfant-Jesus Church.

Explore more of the city by heading south-east to the Haut & Fort Noël Market, dedicated to Quebecois designers and creators of “ideas, objects and furniture made here”– happening December 6-9 and 13-16 at Marché St-Jacques (2nd floor, 1125 Ontario E.). As with all the craft fairs in Montreal, the artists are right there to talk about their work and answer any questions – there’s something special about this kind of face-to-face meeting, and so often we get a good story to go with our purchase, not to mention a warm, fuzzy holiday feeling.

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Take a break in Montreal this week with days dedicated to amazingly affordable fine food, high-flying and inspiring on-stage entertainment, international film and art, family-friendly sounds of science, and lots of great live music…

(fantastic food) The food-centric week begins on Friday with an array of gourmet food trucks – from tacos to crepes to hamburgers – set up for your culinary pleasure at Montreal’s Olympic Park. For sit-down meals, check out Montreal’s TASTE MTL Restaurant Week, ongoing to November 11, with gourmet prix-fixe menus – from $19 to $39 – at some of Montreal’s best fine-dining restaurants. Choose by cuisine or discover new parts of the city by choosing by neighbourhood: spend an evening in Old Montreal, the next one at a restaurant downtown, in the Plateau or Mile End, Outremont, the Village or Griffintown.

(life on film) Film festival season continues in Montreal with the French-language – English subtitles usually included – Cinémania, to November 11, with features, shorts, retrospectives (including an extensive one on Sandrine Bonnaire’s films), presentations and Q&A sessions, and more. Among the many films, see Cinémania’s opener, an official Cannes competitor, Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts in a story of a former boxer, his son and a woman coming to terms with a life-altering disability. And on November 7, doc film fest RIDM begins its reign of real life representations, with films from around the world, including Peter Mettler’s The End of Time, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mekong Hotel, a series of 15 favourite docs chosen by 15 members of the film community, and much more.

(circus & theatre) Circus shows in Montreal are always an adventure of some kind, but that adventure is guaranteed to be thrilling and heartfelt with inventive and talented Montreal-based international circus troupe 7 Doigts de la Main – their latest show, Séquence 8, is chock full of stunning acrobatics and ensemble work, big laughs, great music and a love of circus arts and audience connection, at La Tohu circus centre to November 17. In theatre, Black Theatre Workshop extends its successful run of Harlem Duet, an award-winning play that spans Shakespeare’s Othello and the sentiments of Martin Luther King in a story of the struggle to gain true equality in North America. And Persephone Productions presents Shakespeare’s classic of classics Hamlet at the Calixa Lavallée Théâtre in Parc Lafontaine, November 1-10.

(beautiful bodies) International rock star choreographer Hofesh Shechter’s Political Mother is powerful, beautiful and moving – for dance fans or simply for anyone looking for a great show. With 10 extremely talented dancers and 7 musicians live on stage, Political Mother tells a story of hope in the face of tyranny – at Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts, November 1-3. In the same performative vein of dance-meets-music-meets-storytelling, Montreal choreographer Frédérick Gravel debuts his Usually Beauty Fails, November 7-10 and 14-17 at Cinquième Salle.

(east & west) The 13th Arab World Festival of Montreal entertains and informs, highlighting links between Arabic and Western cultures through music, performance, film, art and talks, to November 10. On Friday November 3, hear famed pianist Abdel Rahman El Bacha play works from Bach to Prokofiev and more, at Cinquième Salle. On November 4, hear the music of Algeria’s Hamdi Benani, at the Corona Theatre, while Zohreh Jooya and her Afghan dance ensemble captivate in a North American premier at Cinquième Salle at Place Des Arts, and up in the neighbourhood of Mile End at the beautiful Rialto Theatre, spend the evening at Goodbye To The Duels, Hello To The Duets, a concert for peace, featuring Moroccan singers Abderahim Souiri and Laila Gouchi. See the festival’s program online for full details and more.

(educational entertainment) The Montreal Science Centre gets kids and adults really listening with new exhibition Musik: From Sound to Emotion, a zone where science, creativity and entertainment meet. Learn how music affects different parts of the brain, how we experience music physically and emotionally, and get a chance to make music of your very own in the exhibition’s high-tech music lab. The exhibition is based on input from numerous scientists at Montreal universities as well as from musicians, including  Montreal-based pop-punk band Simple Plan.

(joys of music) Friday night begins a week of great music with Montreal’s Esmerine, celebrating 15 years of Constellation Records, at the Musee d’art contemporain. On the other end of the show spectrum is the laser-light-show spectacular The Australian Pink Floyd Show at the Bell Centre, while Designer Drugs and Beat Market electro-rock the SAT. Saturday night cranks the decibel level with Sonar Festival on Tour, featuring Die Antwoord, Azari & III, Seth Troxler, and  more dance-worthy acts, at Metropolis. Monday night sees Martha Wainwright pouring her heart out at the Corona Theatre, the sweet west-coast pop-rock sounds of Grass Widow at Il Motore, and a late night of dancing to the great Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice and more at the SAT. The week turns rock retro with Journey on November 5 and ZZ Top November 7, both at the Bell Centre. And Thursday night rules as Howl! Arts brings the great D’bi Young and Kalmunity Vibe Collective to Sala Rossa and NYC’s Yeasayer rocks Cabaret du Mile End.

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(arty open house) Three days of free arts and culture happenings are in store at the 16th edition of Journées de la Culture, September 28-30, at museums, galleries, performance venues and even out in the streets. Roam the Quartiers des Spectacles to see art in action at Saturday afternoon’s Marathon of Arts, and catch performances, go on guided tours, participate in workshops, learn to dance or sing throughout the weekend. Search the full schedule for family activities, visual art, dance, circus, theatre and more downtown and in neighhourhoods around the city.

(worldly art) Two new shows open at the MACM on October 4: a retrospective of famed Montreal painter Pierre Dorion, whose photorealist paintings beg for close viewing, and video work by great Brooklyn-based artist Janet Biggs, in collaboration with Centre Clark’s Montréal/Brooklyn art exchange project. Tesla coils and electric sparks are the exciting stuff of artist Alexandre Burton’s Impacts, at the PHI Centre, which also screening skateboarding film Waiting for Lightning on October 2. September 30 marks the last day to see the fabulous World Press Photo Exhibition, while over at the SAT, DJ Food’s immersive film-and-music experience The Search Engine starts up again, along with Maurice Benayoun’s interactive art installation Tunnel under the Atlantique.

(song and dance) Montreal’s BJM – Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal celebrates 40 years of dance with a show featuring gorgeous, emotional (and even funny at times) pieces by Cayetano Soto, Benjamin Millepied and Barak Marshall, September 28-29 – see Danse Danse for tickets. Tony-award winning musical Guys and Dolls starts up September 30 at  The Segal Centre, while Metachroma Theatre sticks to classic Shakespeare with Richard III, to September 30. And Montreal-based circus Cirque Éloize blends circus arts with hip hop and breakdance in all-ages show iD, featuring 14 high-energy performers,  at Montreal circus centre La Tohu, to October 6, while acrobatics and music astound in Pfffffff, from French circus troupe Akoreacro.

(film fest) The 8th edition of the Montreal International Black Film Festival closes on September 30 with Ken Burns’ documentary The Central Park Five, a investigation into the racial tensions surrounding the 1989 arrest and conviction of five Black and Latino teenagers accused of rape, who spent years in jail before the conviction was overturned. There’s also still time this weekend to see docs, feature films and shorts from around the world, including Alaskaland, about a Nigerian man who grew up in Alaska (September 28), documentary feature The Carrier, about a young woman living with HIV in Zambia (September 29), Harry Belafonte documentary Sing Your Song (September 29), and more.

(babes on stage) The Montreal Burlesque Festival returns September 28-29 with sexy, silly and scandalous shows at Club Soda. Friday’s show is Universal Dream Night, featuring lovely ladies from around the world dancing and theatrically cavorting in their own special ways, while Saturday’s fab Crystal Gala is a cabaret of big burlesque names and surprises, followed by the fest’s very first super sexy Midnight Show, with live classic rock band.

(party times) The 22nd Black and Blue Festival launches on October 3, beckoning queer and queer-friendly party lovers to town. On October 4, there’s the Guess Who? Hommage to the drag queens of Cabaret Mado, plus an all-night party at Circus on October 4. But rest up: the main event, an all-night, all-morning dance party at  Palais des Congrès, happens on October 7. Unrelated, on September 29, there’s a free outdoor Coca-Cola Block Party, with live music from none other than Sean Paul, Down with Webster, M.T.L., Mugz and more, at Jacques-Quartier Quay in the Old Port. And though it’s not officially a party, there will actually be as much dancing and music in the streets as there will be good ol’ walking at the massive Ça Marche fundraiser walk for HIV/AIDS, in the downtown core on Sunday, September 30.

(live music) Friday night is the first of two nights with KD Lang and the Siss Boom Bang at Theatre Corona, while British psych-rock band Django Django and Montreal’s own Mozart’s Sister play Petit Campus. On September 29, Beth Orton is at the lovely L’Astral. On September 30, Gossip get down and dirty at Olympia, while hip-hop artist A$AP Rocky takes the Metropolis stage – earlier in the day at Parc Jean-Drapeau, it’s the last Piknic Electronik of the year! A star-studded benefit concert on October 1 is sold out, but October 2 is a hot, hot night with metal maniacs Anthrax at Metropolis, Jack White’s unique blues-rock-country at L’Olympia, John Hiatt at Club Soda playing songs from his new album Mystic Pinball, British singer-songwriter Fink at Sala Rossa and Swedish-Canadian pop duo Thus: Owls at Lion d’Or. On October 3, groove with Lee Fields and the Expressions at Cabaret du Mile End and listen to the synth-pop sounds of The Raveonettes at Theatre Corona.

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Divers/Cité is one of those play on words that I, as a writer, could only dream of being smart enough to coin. Divers/Cité. It’s like “Diverse” “City”, which is a Montreal claim to fame. And “Diversity” is what the festival celebrates. Get it? You get it. So what about diversity is there to celebrate? That’s the beauty of this festival, it celebrates literally anything. Divers/Cité is a multidisciplinary art and music festival whose programming is well.. Diverse!

The thing I love most about Divers/Cité is that the festival isn’t for anyone specific. It’s a festival where the LGBT community can showcase the best and brightest with the whole world. The audience can be anyone with an open mind who loves to have a good time. So what can we expect from the most fabulous week of the year?

[CINEMA DANS LE PARC]

On Monday, July 25, at Théatre de Verdure in Parc Lafontaine staring at 9PM there will be a screening of Francois Ozon’s Potiche. Oh la la, a nighttime movie in a park? How romantic! Find someone to cuddle up with and enjoy one of the most acclaimed French movies of the year. It will be presented in the original French version with English subtitles.

[FLEXX] 7 long years with no Flexx has been torture for most Divers/Cité fans. However, finally it makes a triumphant return to Places de Arts on Tuesday July 26. Flexx is a dance night featuring two exceptional choreographers. Daniel Léveillé will present Amor, Acide et Noix starting at 7PM, followed by the incomparable Dave St. Pierre with his Un Peu de Tendresse, Bordel de Merde! at 9:30 PM. Dave St-Pierre is known as the enfant terrible of dance and is famous for his bold approach to sexuality and gender. Tickets are $30 for Léveillé and $50 for St-Pierre or $75 for a combo ticket. Should be one provocative night!

[1, BOULEVARD DES REVES]

1, Boulevard des Reves finds a new home this year on Rue Berri! 1, Boulevard des Reves is Quebec’s longest running variety show and promises to keep on topping itself as it has been doing for the past 18 years! This year will include a massive screen and 16 artists artists old and new performing. Mistress Barbara, living legend Joey Arias, and Marie Carmen! Sounds like the boulevard to my reves!

[NEW SOCIETY] If you like supporting friends, and dancing to world class DJs then NEW SOCIETY (Friday, July 29) is for you. Located on the Scene Loto-Quebec Stage on Rue Berri, NEW SOCIETY will start when the 400 participants of the Friends for Life Bike Rally enter Montreal after their 600 KM trek from Toronto- come and cheer them at the finish line for all the money they raised for HIV/AIDS. Then the party starts when Omar El Gamal starts DJing. Followed by Marcel Woods, Bobina and Mischa Daniels. Dancing outdoors is something I do anyways, so the fact I finally have an official place for this to happen legally makes me very happy.

[MASCARA, LA NUIT DES DRAGES]

Trivia: Where is the biggest, most extravagant annual drag spectacular held every year? If you fail this question, go sit in a corner for 14 years. Because that’s how long MASCARA has been dazzling Montreal’s Divers/Cité. Like always this is Mado‘s gift to the city she loves and calls home. This year you can expect: Glee and So You Think You Can Dance, Kylie and Gaga, plus Divas, Egos and lots of tucking! The biggest Drag blow-out of the year is at Scene Telus on Rue Berri on Saturday, July 30 at 8 PM. This ain’t no amateur night, these Queens are professional and they will (in the wise words of RuPaul) LIPSYNC FOR THEIR LIVES!

[LE GRAND DANSE & GRAND BAL]

Ok, so basically the entire week is going to be jam-packed with “spectaculars” but the final GRAND DANSE and the GRAND BAL is the most spectacular of all the spectaculars. LE GRAND DANSE starts at 2PM on The Telus Stage on Berri. Le Grand Danse is the big big event, attracting 25000 partiers!At Parc Emilie-Gamlein on the Loto-Quebec Stage at 3 PM will be Le Grand Bal featuring DJ Frigid, Beat the Drum (variety show of drag queens, singers, and dancers) the Boogie Wonder Band, and many more. Culminating at 9:30PM when world  famous drag queen and celebrity impersonator Jimmy Moore does Lady GaGa! For a 5 dollar donation, you can experience the final fabulous evening of one fabulous festival.

I’ve only barely scraped the surface of all the programming, concerts, and events happening at D/C 2011. Make sure to check out the website to explore all the amazing options. From free to family-friendly, there really is something to enjoy for every walk of life. Hope to see you all at Divers/Cité celebrating all the diversity that this diverse city has to offer!

a

THE DETAILS

Divers/Cité 2011, July 25-31, 2011

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The Summer Literary Seminars are in Montreal for the second year. Now, before you all stop reading, you should know that this is one of the best festivals of its kind. Not saying much, you think? Well, you’d be wrong. The two week long seminar brings together world-class authors, up-and-coming writers and literary enthusiasts for workshops, readings and panel discussions in the heart of downtown Montreal…

Past faculty and students include George Saunders, Chuck Klosterman, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Ames, Padgett Powell and Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners, poet laureates and best-selling authors. The Summer Literary Seminars have already been established as an institution in St. Petersburg, Kenya and Lithuania and finally here in Montreal.

This year’s faculty includes Christian Bök, Terry Hoagland and Mary Gaitskill, who has been nominated for several awards and is one of America’s greatest contemporary writers. Because the workshops are all full by this point, you should try to take advantage of the panel discussions and readings that will be taking place at Concordia University for the entire month of June.

On June 14, check out a panel called “On Montreal” featuring Montreal writer David McGimpsey who is a professor at Concordia University, contributor to the Globe and Mail and writes the “Sandwich of the Month” column for EnRoute magazine, Carolyn Marie Souaid, a three-time nominee for the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry and Jason Camlot, the Chair of English at Concordia University and the poetry editor of the Punchy Writers Series for DC Books. The panel is an overview of Montreal literature and a discussion about the current Anglo-Quebec literary community. Following the panel is a reading starting at 7:30 featuring Camlot, Saskia Hamilton, a writer and professor at Barnard College in New York, and Johanna Skibsrud who won the 2010 Giller Prize. The reading will showcase some of Montreal’s best contemporary English writers.

Then, on June 15 at 11am, there’s a panel examining “The Online Journal” with Gillian Size, Jared Bland and Dawn Raffel. Starting at 12:15 and going until 1:15, check out another panel discussion called “Creative Non- Fiction Craft Talk” with Michael Weinreb and Rachel Resnick. Then at 7:30, there’s a reading with the hilarious and talented McGimpsey, Nancy Mauro and panelist Michael Weinreb, winner of the Quill Award and regular contributor to ESPN and The New York Times. This should be a very informative panel with a guy who knows what he’s talking about.

On June 17, Chicago writer Adam Levin who won the 2003 Summer Literary Seminars Fiction Contest and the 2004 Joyce Carol Oates Fiction Prize will be reading from his latest work. His writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, Tin House and several other publications. If you do one thing during SLS, see him read from his book The Instructions. Levin reads with Steve Almond and Francine Prose, who was a finalist for the National Book Award and the president of the PEN American Center. Lastly, on June 23, go see a reading with Vancouver writer Lee Henderson, Miguel Syjuco and the extraordinary Mary Gaitskill.

So for a whole month, downtown Montreal will host events with some of contemporary writing’s best and brightest. Check out videos of the panels and readings the Summer Literary Seminars have scheduled. If you don’t like reading, then you should especially go because this is one of the rare instances where someone else will do the reading for you, and this “someone” will likely be among the best writers in North America.

A

THE DETAILS

Summer Literary Seminars, June 12-25, 2011

Concordia University Library Building, deSeve Cinema, 1455 de Maisonneuve West

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Here are five of my favourites. The best part? You can learn as you look- friendly gallerists will give you insider tips and explanations.

[DARLING FOUNDRY]: A ‘must-see’ for art lovers, this former foundry (pictured above) shows the most cutting edge art in town. Kelly Mark’s video, Public Disturbances: take 1/ take 2/ take 3, 2010, seems innocuous enough when you enter the massive room where the film is playing: then you hear the shouting. A couple, played by professional actors, acts out a conversation from a popular film. It is totally hypnotic, like watching a soap opera – but better!

In the other rooms at the Darling, I loved L’espace au mileu/ The Space Between by the Ælab collective. The “space between” is the zone between us and the cosmos. The first room shows an image taken from a NASA space craft. This colour photo is the source for the theme. It shows earth and the cosmos – and the zone in between. The next 3 rooms carry out this motif. Semi-darkness is all around, so your senses are heightened. It is totally worth the trip to this out-of-the-way innovative centre.

INSIDER TIP: Ask the receptionist for a free tour of the Ælab show.

FREE: On Thursday nights, entrance is free until 10 p.m.

STAY AWHILE: Stay to sup at Cluny Art Bar, right in the gallery. Meet art aficionados, models, art directors and families in this eclectically delicious space.

[RED FLAG - CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART] (FREE!): This is my favourite show in town- amazing and great fun! Contemporary Chinese art is one of the hottest fields in today’s international art market. In the lower level (LS2) at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, you can view some of the best Chinese contemporary artists chosen from private Montreal collections. While you are there, wander around the contemporary art gallery. It’s on the same level. The Earth is Blue Like an Orange features works by artists from all over the world.

INSIDER TIP: LS2 Red Flag and the contemporary art galleries have free admittance at all times.

STAY AWHILE: Grab an expresso in the Museum Boutique or take a lunch break at the Museum’s restos: Bistro or the Collectionneur. (Both open for dinner only on Wednesday nights.)

[BELGO BUILDING]: This is the go-to place for hot, emerging artists as well as established contemporary artists. An old office building, it is now converted into Soho-style galleries. Here are some of my favourites:

Galerie Donald Browne (Suite 528 – 5^th floor): Reduced Performing by artist Suzy Lake (pictured above). Her 6 life-size photos are strangely one-dimensional. They could be atavars, or contemporary Barbies. Each photo is actually a performance. Suzy lies under a scanner, and simply breathes, or blinks: hence the ‘reduced performing’. The digital method for the photo separates her movement into 3 colours, so you can literally ‘see’ the slight motions. Utterly minimal, the photos are fascinating portraits by this artist who has greatly influenced photography in Quebec.

Galerie Pierre François Ouellette (Suite 216 – 2^nd floor): Marie-Chrystine Landry’s show Passages ouverts is the artist’s vision of the land. A sculptor from Sainte-Hélène-de-Kamouraska, she is surrounded by the massive magnificence of Quebec’s landscapes, which she has reduced to little abstract wall-mounted wooden pieces. Her miniatures are minimal post cards from the hedge.

Louis Boudreault (Suite 424 – 4^th floor): Louis Boudreault paints portraits. Ghandi, Picasso, Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe and other famous – and infamous – heads float hauntingly on layers of tightly-bound paper. Each is of a renowned personage. I loved his lyrical celebrity renderings – all in subtle colours. Rush to see his work. His next shows are in Hong Kong and Paris.

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DETAILS

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Closed Mondays), 1380 Sherbrooke Street West

Belgo Building (Galleries open Tuesday through Saturday), 372 Saint-Catherine Street West

Darling Foundry (Open Wednesday through Sunday, Noon – 7 pm), 745 Ottawa Street

Photo Credit: Darling Foundry- Spacing Montreal, The Execution of Christ- Gao Brothers

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Written, composed and performed by John Gray with Eric Peterson, the piece has played to critical acclaim in sold-out houses across the country. The story is classic. This latest revival finds Peterson’s Bishop as an old man rummaging through memories, reflecting on the choices and events that have shaped him. William Avery “Billy” Bishop was a trouble-maker and military academy failure who went on to become a legendary WWI flying ace, darling of the British Empire and colonial hero. Inspired partly by Bishop’s memoir Winged Warfare, John Gray wrote the play as an intimate first-person reflection of Bishop’s wartime rise. Eric Peterson stars as Bishop and over a dozen other characters with Gray as his piano-playing sidekick.

In the 33 years since its premiere, Billy Bishop has played every major theatre in Canada, toured worldwide, including on and off Broadway and London’s West End and won numerous awards, among them the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle award. The play’s poignancy and staying power stems from Gray and Peterson’s heartfelt storytelling, keen exploration of personal and cultural identity and the meaning of survival through the lens of war. Funny and moving, Gray and Peterson’s portrait of Bishop is not simply a story of an unlikely hero in one of the world’s bloodiest wars, but a story of survival in all its forms.

Billy Bishop Goes to War is presented in association with the Montreal High Lights Festival.

(Tip: On Monday nights following the play, some of the actors and designers will remain on stage to take questions from the audience – an intimate opportunity for audiences to engage up close and personal with the professionals.)

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DETAILS

Billy Bishop Goes to War, February 13 – March 6, 2011

Segal Centre

Box Office: (514) 739.7944

5170 Côte-Ste-Catherine Road

Métro: Côte-Ste-Catherine/Snowdon

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