(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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(fantastic food) Whatever your weekend agenda or budget, add delicious gourmet food to your plans care of TASTE MTL, on until November 11. Restaurants around the city take part by offering gourmet prix-fixe menus at great deals: from $19 to $39. Narrow your choices down by perusing our restaurant reviews, 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. And if you’re a night owl, fuel up for fun with TASTE MTL’s late night menus.

(film fests) Some of the best documentary films of the last year – and of all time – are being shown at documentary film festival RIDM, to November 18. The “15 Years, 15 All-Time Favourites” program features films chosen by famous filmmakers and others with direct links to the doc world (like Lou Reed, Gael Garcia Bernal and Philip Falardeau), such as Megacities, Man with a Movie Camera and more. In the fest’s official selection this week, see Peter Mettler’s The End of Time, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mekong Hotel, Far From Afghanistan, Montreal filmmaker Yung Chang’s The Fruit Hunters, Velcro Ripper’s Occupy Love, and many more. Also continuing this week, to November 11, is Cinémania, Montreal’s French-language film fest, though English subtitles are usually included – see features, shorts, retrospectives (including on Sandrine Bonnaire’s films), presentations and Q&A sessions from directors and actors, and more.

(music worlds) Music festival M for Montreal rocks with local and international bands, beginning with free daytime shows at Café Campus/Petit Campus: on November 15, see Honheehonhee, Ain’t No Love, The Balconnies, Kandle, Whitehorse, Maïa, and Folly and The Hunter, and on November 16, see Plaster, Rah Rah, Young Rival, Chic Gamine, Greg Macpherson, Yan Wagner, and Twin Twin. Mundial Montreal is also underway, with a free opening night party on November 13 at the SAT, World 2.0: Heavy Soundz and Dehli 2 Dublin on November 14 at Club Lambi and Club Balattou, and more to November 16. And this weekend, Arab and Western cultures come together at The Arab World Festival of Montreal through music, performance, film, art and talks, to November 10 – on Friday see Kamel El Harrachi’s Tribute to his Algerian blues musician father Dahman El Harrachi, and on Saturday, the God in 3D concert closes the festival.

(opera & theatre) Opéra de Montréal begins its season with Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, the age-old tale of a young woman who dreams of love with a legendary seaman who’s made a pact with the devil. The production stars Germany’s bass-baritone Thomas Gazheli and soprano Maida Hundeling and is on November 10, 13, 15 and 17 at Place des Arts. Elsewhere on stage: The Centaur Theatre puts on Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People, a story set in Boston’s working-class Irish “Southie” neighbourhood, to December 6. An appropriate experience as we approach Remembrance Day, Infinithéâtre’s Trench Patterns delves into the long-term emotional and physical impacts of Canadian military troops in Afghanistan, at Bain St-Michel, to November 18. And Persephone Productions presents Shakespeare’s classic of classics Hamlet at the Calixa Lavallée Théâtre in Parc Lafontaine, November 1-10.

(circus & comedy) Everyone of any age will love the impressive acrobatics, storytelling and humour in Séquence 8, the newest show from inventive, talented and hip Montreal-based international circus troupe 7 Doigts de la Main, at La Tohu circus centre to November 17. Science (including experiments!), comedy and improv collide in Gone Wild: A Science Spectacular, at Mainline Theatre on November 9. And if you’re in the mood for stand-up comedy, head to The Comedy Nest on Saturday, November 10, for headlining comedian Tom Clark and more funny people.

(dance talent) Live rock music meets dance as Montreal choreographer Frédérick Gravel debuts his Usually Beauty Fails, an exploration of what beauty, love and relationships really stand for in these crazy times – on November 7-10 and 14-17 at Cinquième Salle in Place des Arts. On November 9, see creative choreographer and dancer Anne Plamondon’s poetic solo dance work Les mêmes yeux que toi, at Agora De La Danse. And Tangente produces two new shows: Isabelle Boulanger’s handball-inspired Fente-toi! and Sarah-Ève Grant’s Dans le cercle, November 9-11 at Monument-National.

(art happenings) Media art, digital culture and progressive feminism combine in the HTMlles 10: Risky Affairs festival, November 10-18. On November 12, see Standing Still, a video and sound installation with performance at 7 p.m. at the Darling Foundry, on the border between Old Montreal and the neighbourhood of Griffintown. At gallery La Centrale, see artist Nikki Forrest’s show Flip/Bend, at Oboro see Alexis O’Hara’s La Couvée installation-performance on November 15, and more throughout the week. Over at the SAT’s Satosphere, a high-tech domed venue equipped with a 360-degree screen and surround sound, see and hear French composer and musician Jean-Jacques Lemêtre’s immersive The Babel Orchestra. If you’re staying at a hotel in the Old Port, like the quaint yet modern Auberge du Vieux Port, walk over to the PHI Centre for Perte de Signal 15.0 on November 15 at 7 p.m., a free evening of performances and audio visual experimentation, partly in collaboration with the Ryoji Ikeda exhibition at nearby DHC/Art. And multi-gallery art show and city-bridging concept Montreal-Brooklyn continues to November 17 at Centre Clark, the Contempory Art Museum of Montreal, Articule and other cutting-edge galleries.

(more live music) New supergroup of sorts RNDM sees Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament teaming up with singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur and drummer Richard Stuverud – they’re at Theatre Corona on Friday, November 9. Meanwhile, James Murphy, of LCD Soundsystem fame, plays a body-shaking DJ set at the SAT, Montreal multi-instrumentalist Ben Wilkins plays Petit Campus, and ensemble Constantinople returns to their Persian roots with guest musicians from Iran, at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. On November 10, get a dose of pop-punk with Sum 41 at Metropolis, while Dan Deacon and Height With Friends, Chester Endersby Gwazda and Alan Resnick, get the SAT bumping. On November 11, California electronic musician/DJ Bassnectar sets phasers to heavy, with openers Gramatik and Gladkill at Metropolis. Monday night brings San Francisco’s The Fresh and Onlys to Casa del Popolo. November 13 sees lovely Montreal band The Luyas debuting their new album at Cabaret Mile End. And on November 15, David Usher plays songs from his new album Songs From The Last Day On Earth, at Club Soda, or for mellow, heartfelt tunes, check out Allen Stone at Cabaret Mile End, while jangling guitars and love-like-lust-wrought lyrics take over at Il Motore, with Brooklyn’s The Babies, Always and Silver Dapple. Or make your own kind of music at the return of Hip Hop Karaoke at Le Belmont.

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(pop music city) Pop Montreal takes over many of the city’s music venues until the wee hours of Sunday night, with bands that both exemplify and defy the modern definition of pop. Among the many, many shows to see this weekend: on September 21, see David Byrne and St. Vincent, Tim Hecker, Yamantaka//Sonic Titan, free afternoon shows at Parc Petite-Italie and at Divan Orange; on September 22, hear the piano stylings of Chilly Gonzales, the hip hop of Big K.R.I.T. and Slim Thug, and more frees shows; and on September 23, check out Purity Ring, Grizzly Bear, Patrick Wolf and stay out late at the fest’s closing party with Nicky Da B. Plus, September 22-23, peruse the creative output of artsty-crafty Montrealers at the Puces Pop Craft Fair, at St-Michel Church.

(life on film) The 8th edition of the Montreal International Black Film Festival runs to September 30 on screens around town, featuring a program of documentaries, feature films and shorts from around the world, including an Homage to Harry Belafonte, winner of the festival’s Humanitarian Prize this year, a talk by Stedman Graham, screenings of new film Winnie, about the life of Winnie Mandela starring Jennifer Hudson, jazz-singer doc Girls in the Band, Luv starring Common, and much more. And dance enthusiasts can see performances and discussions on film at the first Cinédanse Montréal film festival, September 20-23.

(circus & burlesque) Creative Montreal-based circus Cirque Éloize blends circus arts with hip hop, breakdance and stories of identity in their new, all-ages show iD , featuring 14 high-energy performers,  at Montreal circus centre La Tohu, September 20-October 6. Acrobatics and music astound in Pfffffff, a show by French circus troupe Akoreacro, running September 25-October 6 at La Tohu. And on a smaller scale and more adult-oriented, on September 21, see the Candyass Club burlesque-meets-subversive-vaudevillian-cabaret show, downtown at Café Cléopatra (1230 St-Laurent, 2nd floor), 10 p.m.

(dance days) The dance season officially opens this week with Danse Danse celebrating the 40th anniversary of BJM – Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, a show featuring pieces by Cayetano Soto, Benjamin Millepied and Barak Marshall, September 27-29 at Place des Arts. The Quartiers Danses festival comes to a close September 22 with a performance by Manuel Roque at Tangente at 6:30 p.m. and with dance performances and a roster of great DJs at the Darling Foundry (745 Ottawa) in Old Montreal, starting at 8 p.m. Twenty-one dancers take the stage in Cas Public’s Duels September 20-22 at Agora de la Danse, and Danse-Cité presents Ta Douleur by choreographer Brigitte Haentjens at Théâtre La Chapelle.

(theatrical times) Verdi’s La Traviata opens the 33rd season of L’Opéra de Montréal, featuring Greek soprano Myrto Papatanasiu, Italian tenor Roberto De Biasio and baritone Luca Grassi, to September 22 at Place des Arts. Metachroma Theatre sticks to the classics while still taking chances with Shakespeare’s Richard III, at The Segal Centre, to September 30, and Theatre Teesri Duniya put on Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Kevin Loring’s Where the Blood Mixes, about the life-long effects of Aboriginal residential school experience – at Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée (3819 Calixa-Lavallée) in Parc Lafontaine to September 30.

(art of performance) Art, music and dance converge this weekend, partly due to Pop Montreal. On September 23, see a show by Los Angeles-based performance duo Lucky Dragons, who mix synthesizer sounds, video projections and movement, some of it involving the audience, at the PHI Centre in Old Montreal, 5 p.m. Also on September 23, see dance performance Where the River Gets the Water Remix, with live music by Katie Moore and Matthew Woodley, at the Ukrainian Federation (5213 Hutchison), 4 p.m.. And on September 27, get lost in audiovisual performances from German producer-artist Byetone, co-found of electronic music label Raster-Noton, and French producer and video artist Nohista at the PHI Centre, 9 p.m.

(fresh air) The weather is still warm enough to spend a few hours outside this weekend. Take a walk around the Botanical Gardens and stay until the sun goes down to see the amazing lanterns at the Chinese and Japanese gardens. On September 22, from 10 am to noon, explore one of Montreal’s neighbourhoods by foot at Heritage Montreal’s family workshop on Little Burgundy. Down at the Old Port, check out the Clock Tower Beach, complete with food and full bar, before it closes for the season on September 23. And over at Parc Jean-Drapeau on September 23, daytime dance party Piknic Electronik parties in Pop Montreal style with Pierre Babin, EZLV, J.A.S.S. , PillowTalk and Catz N’ Dogz.

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(art) The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts wraps up the fantastic Tom Wesselman pop-art exhibition on October 7, Dominique Blain’s army boot-populated Missa is in the Contemporary Art Square, and the Museum’s permanent collection, including new show Once Upon a Time… Impressionism, as well as a concert program and new activities for kids. Beginning October 4, The Musee d’art contemporain showcases over 60 pieces by contemporary Canadian painter Pierre Dorion and amazing video, photography and performance work by artist Janet Biggs.

At Old Montreal’s DHC/Art, Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda stimulates eyes, ears and minds until November 18, while at the PHI Centre see live shows that combine art and music and well as an ongoing program of skateboarding films and electric art by Alexandre Burton. Mind-expanding art abounds in the multi-storey Belgo building downtown, and venture over to the Darling Foundry, celebrating its 10th anniversary, and to Parisian Laundry in St-Henri to see work by Rick Leong, Dean Baldwin and more great locals.

(dance) One of Montreal’s premier dance promotors, Danse Danse, offers an astounding program in the fall 2012 season, beginning with BJM – Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal’s captivating 40th anniversary show, September 27-29, followed by Hofesh Shechter Company’s Political Mother, November 1-3, and later in November, Usually beauty fails, a show from Montreal’s Frédérick Gravel and GAG, José Navas’ Diptych, and new work by choreographer Aszure Barton.

Les Grands Ballets Canadiennes goes big with Jiří Kylián’s Japanese folk-tale-inspired Kaguyahime: The Moon Princess, October 11-27. Over at Agora de la danse, the amazing choreographer Crystal Pite captures the spirit of Shakespeare in The Tempest Replica, Sarah Bertrand-Hamel’s La récurrence dans les suites, Paul-André Fortier’s Vertiges, and more at Agora, Tangente, the MAI, Cinquieme Salle and beyond.

(theatre) English and French-language theatre abounds in Montreal, but if Italian’s your thing, take in Verdi’s La Traviata at L’Opéra de Montréal, September 15-22. The Segal Centre puts on song-and-dance classic Guys and Dolls, September 30-October 28, and in November, RED, a theatrical take of the work of painter Mark Rothko, as well as smaller shows like Metachroma Theatre’s Richard III, September 19-30, and Black Theatre Workshop’s Harlem Duet, October. 24-November 11.

At Centaur Theatre in the heart of Old Montreal, see the English-language premier of Jeans Marc Dalpé’s family-reunion drama, August, An Afternoon in the Country, October 2-28, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People, November 6-December 9, and Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre stages Euripides’ Greek tragedy of Dionysian revenge, The Bacchae, in a new translation and with an new original score, October 12-20. French-language theatre can be found at Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Espace Go and many more venues, and for more English-language theatre at Mainline Theatre, Theatre Ste-Catherine and elsewhere see the comprehensive Quebec Drama Federation’s fall calendar.

(circus) Circus is a big deal in Montreal, and not only because of Cirque du Soleil – the city even has a fully dedicated circus centre, La Tohu, where performers and companies from around the world take up residence throughout the year. This fall, see Cirque Éloize fly high in dramatic tale iD, September 20-October 6. Quebec-based circus Les 7 doigts de la main performs their spectacular, 8-acrobat-strong Sequence 8, October 30-November 10, and Cirque Alfonse takes over October 18-December 31, turning La Tohu into a bustling logging camp, compete with fresh-cut fir trees and a festive, family-friendly New Year’s Eve party.

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(hot wheels) World champion cyclists wend their way to Montreal this weekend for the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal , like a (very) mini Tour de France at and around Mont Royal Park on Sunday, September 9. The Grand Prix Cycliste sees 18 UCI ProTeams of 168 riders from across Europe, Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia, come to Montreal to race over 200 kilometres – 17 times up, down and around the 12.1 kilometre course. It all begins at 11 a.m. at Parc Jeanne-Mance, where spectators can see the teams check in, peruse hot cycling merchandise (not entirely a euphemism!), and watch top athletes do what they do best: race!

(world-wide photos) News of the world has never looked so stunning, in all senses of the word, as it does at the annual World Press Photo exhibition, installed at Montreal’s Marché Bonsecours September 7-30. The World Press Photo show gathers juried work by 54 international photographers whose images tell recent news stories in emotional, captivating ways, from the devastation of the Japanese tsunami to protests in Cairo, war zones to wild animals, fashion in Senegal to feminism in Ukraine, and much more.

(port performance) Montreal’s Old Port teems with art and performance this week as the annual public festival Escales Improbables unveils new and exciting works from Montreal artists. During the day September 7-9, see performances of public dance piece Trajets de ville, marionette show la Famille Sombre, urban bee hives and honey tasting, music by The Unsettlers, and much more, including the relaxing afternoon Siestes Musicales. And over at the Quartier des Spectacles see parkour-inspired dance work Intersection and Forêt, an installation by Montreal artist Phil Allard and architect Justin Duchesneau.

(dance city) Dance festival Quartiers Danses, September 12-23, opening its 10th year on September 12 with performances by Dominique Porte, Manuel Roque, Tentacle Tribe and more, at the Monument National, followed the next night my an Emerging Artist showcase. During the day on September 13, see the six acrobatic dancers and two musicians of Atypique-Le Collectif perform free at the Promenade des Artistes du Quartier des Spectacles (just north of Place des Arts in downtown Montreal), at noon and at 5 p.m. And Agora de la Danse opens its season with Cas Public’s new creation, Duels, choreographed by  Hélène Blackburn and Pierre Lecours, September 12-14.

(farm fresh fun) This weekend sees farms across Quebec opening their gates to the public for the annual Portes Ouvertes sur les Fermes du Québec, now in its 10th year. But you don’t have to leave the city to partake in the agricultural bounty: just hop on the metro or drive or bike over to Parc Jean-Drapeau, where a family-friendly rural-themed party goes on Sunday, September 9, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Farmers and other producers will set up an active agricultural village, complete with animals, a corn roast, farm machinery, fruit and vegetable stands, regional products, a photo exhibition, and plenty of activities for kids.

(early ski season) Ski and snowboard season starts a little early with iF3, the International Free Ski Film Festival, September 12-16 at the Monument National on St-Laurent Boulevard in downtown Montreal. See all manner of ski and outdoor-sport films , meet pro athletes, dance the night away at parties, and check out the iF3 Outdoor Village at at la Place de la Paix, next to the SAT, with a free outdoor film screening September 13, an après ski bar, ski gear and more. Later at the SAT, get down and dancey at the iF3 Alpine Initiative Fundraiser and Launch Party party with A-Rock, DJ Blaster, DJ Johnlee. Also this weekend at the SAT, see surround-sound film Six mil Antennas at the immersive Satosphere dome, to September 14.

(finding fashion) This fall’s Montreal Fashion Week comes to a close on September 7, at Griffontown’s Galerie Arsenal, where Quebec-based and internationally known designers show their high-style, cutting-edge wares, with Hinda A, Rachel Sin and Anomal Couture on Friday. What’s old is new again at Pop Montreal’s Vintage Pop, a pop-up shopping event happening until September 9 at 19 Prince-Arthur W., with a constantly overturning variety of vintage clothes and accessories for men and women, as selected by local vintage hunters – doors open at noon and cash and credit are accepted.

(art of music) The music week starts off on an arty tone with Jazz Amnesty Sound System and Mark Morgenstern exploring the vivid audio-visual world of jazz in a live show at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, September 7, 7 p.m. Also that night, see Sub Pop indie-rock stars Jaill, with Fergus & Geronimo and Reversing Falls, at Il Motore (179 Jean Talon W.), and sound artist/composer Kyle Bobby Dunn and guests at Casa del Popolo. Montreal fave Julie Doiron & The Wrong Guys bring sweet yet rockin’ tunes to Il Motore (179 Jean Talon W.) on September 8, while summer-long outdoor dance party Piknic Electronik celebrates its 10th year with a night show from DJs Sébastien Léger, Riva Starr and Forrest at Parc Jean-Drapeau, while on Sunday, the party goes on with Mosa, Eloi Brunelle and more.

Later on September 9, great musicians Matthew Shipp and Darius Jones play as a duo at La Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent). Amazing Nigeria guitarist and singer-songwriter Bombino, who has been called the Jimi Hendrix of Niger, plays Club Ballatou (4372 St-Laurent) on September 10. On September 11, the Sao Paulo Underground comes to Casa del Popolo and on September 12, Mount Eerie is at Sala Rossa, while popular millennial punk band Rise Against rolls into town with openers The Gaslight Anthem, at the Bell Centre. On September 13, Jacques Lacombe conducts the Montreal Symphony Orchestra with Berstein and Debussy tunes, while over at Le Belmont (4483 St-Laurent), British sensation Lianne La Havas sings her heart and soul out.

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