(light up the town) The Telus Fire on Ice fireworks go off with a bang on Saturday night in the Old Port, while Noël sur l’avenue makes shopping and dining along Mont Royal Avenue all the more festive with concerts, family friendly activities and more all weekend. Downtown at the Quartier des Spectacles, play with outdoor interactive musical installation Iceberg, part of Luminothérapie exhibition. And the Olympic Parc celebrates the grand opening of their winter site on December 15: from 11:30-8 p.m., help decorate their 15-metre Christmas tree, visit with Santa, and partake of gourmet treats from some of the city’s best food trucks.

(circus lights) Cirque du Soleil’s colourful, musical Saltimbanco fits right in with the festive season and delights with all kinds of acrobatics, juggling, feats of strength and stamina, and, of course, tension-diffusing clowns. Cirque returns home this month to mark the final run for the company’s longest-running show – 20 years! – see it December 19-30 at the Bell Centre, with behind-the-scenes packages available for some shows. On another musical circus note, Cirque Alphonse’s Timber! takes place in a forest full of lumberjack acrobats, clowns and family-friendly comedy – December 18-31 at Montreal’s one-and-only circus centre, Tohu.

(gift giving) Sometimes it’s just easier to shop in a town that isn’t your own. Take some of the pressure off gift buying by stopping in at some of Montreal’s hot, variety-packed craft and artisanal fairs. The Pop Montreal music festival puts on hip and super cute Puces Pop DIY & Craft Fair December 14-16 with an opening party on Friday evening, at Église Saint-Enfant-Jésus (5035 St-Dominique). The biggest fair of its kind in Canada, Salon des métiers d’art continues to December 22 with over 400 Quebec artists and artisans selling clothing, toys, food and much more at Place Bonaventure – see Santa every Saturday afternoon. And the smaller Old Skool Crafts Holiday Fair sees local craftspeople bringing their quality handmade goods to L’Église St-Michel (105 St-Viateur W.) on Saturday and Sunday.

(sounds of Christmas) Classical music and traditional Christmas songs fill December’s days and nights. Notre-Dame Basilica hosts the Montreal Symphony Orchestra performing Hector Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ with Kent Nagano conducting, December 19-20, and on December 14-15 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., eight Quebecois singers sing traditional Christmas songs for the Les Stars chantent Noël. On December 16 at the Gesù hear the French 18th century organ music of Les douze Noëls pour orgue de Louis-Claude Daquin. Québec writer Bryan Perro tells a magical, Christmassy tale of two villages as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra accompanies, December 14-15 at Maison symphonique de Montréal. And at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Bourgie Hall, soprano Suzie LeBlanc sings a traditional concert of Advent music, with violinist, organist and conductor on December 16 at 3 p.m.

(sights on stage) The traditional December run of Les Grands Ballets’ The Nutcracker continues to December 30 at Place des Arts, while there are only a few days left to catch Robin Hood, as staged by children’s theatre experts Geordie Productions, at the Centaur Theatre in Old Montreal (453 St-Francois-Xavier). If you’ve been waiting years for Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to be turned into a 14-song musical, well, that dream is now a reality, at Theatre Rialto on December 14. And critically lauded play Red , about the life and art of Mark Rothko, continues at the Segal Centre to December 16.

(sports on ice) Get your hockey fix at CWHL fundraiser game Les Boys (NHL alumni and stars of the Les Boys television series) vs. Les Girls (Montreal’s national championship team The Stars, featuring Olympic players) on Saturday, December 15, 1 p.m. at Etienne Desmarteau arena (3430 Bellechasse). Canada’s other official sport takes over the Bell Centre this Saturday: National Lacrosse League teams Toronto Rock and Rochester Knighthawks face off. And ski and snowboard freestylers literally take to the street for Amnesia Shack Attack on December 15 starting at 7 p.m. – see tricks, jumps and more on St-Denis between Sherbrooke and Ontario.

(more music) Montreal’s live music scene is feeling the holiday party vibe this weekend. Get along with the locals on Friday night with Mac Demarco, Each Other, Freelove Fenner and DJ Cadence Weapon At Il Motore (179 Jean-Talon W.). On Saturday night, Swiss folk-metal band Eluveitie loudly zooms into town with Wintersun and Varg at Club Soda,  and rock-dance it up with Mark Sultan and Lunar Exile, at Casa Del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent). On December 16, get closer with indie-pop cool kids Tegan & Sara at Metropolis, while American hip hop artist Machine Gun Kelly brings his rapid-fire vocal ways to Club Soda. Artist centre Easter Bloc brings together international sound artists and experimental musicians to perform, record and discuss their work in Object Inusité, December 19-22, with opening night performances December 19 at 7 p.m. And on December 20, get into a little American country music with Drew Womack and his band Sons of the Desert at Sala Rossa.

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TASTE MTL, aka MTL à TABLE, aka Montreal’s first ever Restaurant Week, is all wrapped up and it was, by all accounts, a great success. From Europea to Laloux (check out all of the coverage in the Montreal Buzz gastronomy section), we did our best to show you how Montreal restaurants let you take a culinary trip around the world. We hope you enjoyed it, and judging from the 10 Best Instagram photos from Taste MTL it sure seems like you did. See you all next year!

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Whether you are a professional or an amateur, this unique event allows you access to 200 wine producers and brewers from 20 different countries. On the agenda for the 3-day gathering are theme-based activities, compelling conferences and much more. You will be able to meet the producers in one-on-one encounters, sample some of the 1,200 products available (including many exclusive ones), brush up on some of the latest tools of the trade and stock up for the year!

Each year, La Grande Dégustation showcases a country or region. For the 2012 edition, Portugal is in the spotlight. Forty Portuguese producers will be on hand for you to meet; pick their brains, ask questions, discuss grape varieties and soil conditions and sample some of their best offerings. Cabernet Sauvignon and rums of the world will also be honoured in this 2012 edition.

La Grande Dégustation is the perfect complementary event (and main sponsor) of Montreal’s first ever restaurant week, TASTE MTL, taking place November 1-11. You can purchase individual tickets or a 3-day passport at any SAQ store or at SAQ.com. No need to bring your glass with you, a tasting glass is included in the price of the ticket.

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THE DETAILS

La Grande Dégustation de Montréal, 1001 place Jean-Paul Riopelle

Opening Hours:
Reserved sessions (Holders of 3-day passports, media representatives, licensees (hoteliers & restaurateurs) and SAQ wine consultants. Credentials required)
November 8: Noon – 4pm

General public:
November 8: 4pm – 9pm
November 9th and 10th: Noon – 9pm

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The family that scares together, um, swears together? Cornball adages notwithstanding, the good folks at La Ronde will have your whole clan clinging to each other as they promise to turn the world-class theme park into a world-class “scream park” at this year’s edition of Fright Fest. On Saturdays and Sundays until October 28, starting at 5 pm, La Ronde will throw open the doors on no less than three haunted houses – District 510, Death Row and the brand new Massacre Museum – and other shows while letting loose a whole range of freaky costumed creatures that promise to be frightening with a smile when it comes to the kids. Speaking of which, step into the park’s Zombithèque and have the wee ones done up undead-style from 6-9 pm.

While Charlie Brown may have found waiting for The Great Pumpkin fruitless, there is no such disappointment in the Montreal Botanical Garden’s yearly presentation of the already-underway Great Pumpkin Ball. The Great Pumpkin Ball is a big orange bounty of family friendly activities, from the riotous variety of decorated pumpkins in the Main Exhibition Greenhouse, to the Little Monsters Courtyard (promising “pumpkin-aroos, battling monsters, Insect Soup, a hungry frog toss and a squash hunt” as well as other Halloween-themed activities), to the home of “friendly witch Esmeralda and her funny magic formulas,” to Halloween origami and much more. Open every day during operating hours until October 31.

Not all of the colourful characters who inhabit Montreal are of the flesh and blood variety, and the good folks at Montreal Ghosts (“In Strange Company Since 1999”) have dedicated themselves to sharing the stories of some of the city’s more fleeting and ephemeral denizens. Montreal Ghosts, which offer both ghost tours and ghost hunts in Old Montreal – the centuries-old home of many of la belle ville’s most illustrious historical spectres – promises its guests a one-of-a-kind evening street theatre experience courtesy of the many professional actors they employ. This year participants can take advantage of a special ghost hunt on Oct. 26 & 27 as well as Oct. 30 & 31. The 90-minute, interactive, all-ages tours depart at 6:30 pm (and also 8:30 pm on Oct. 27).

Montreal’s fascinating Pointe-à-Callière historical museum – which kind of has a permanent, built-in Halloween feel… complete with a real, exposed graveyard on one of its subterranean levels – reprises its Jack O’Lantern tour for kids again this year. Kids of all ages are invited to accompany Jack (“a young Irishman wandering in the world of the dead, looking for a lantern to light his way”) as he wends his way through the museum telling stories and teaching his companions how to talk to ghosts. These tours take place during the afternoon on Oct. 20 & 21 as well as Oct. 27 & 28.

Zombie walks are a recent phenomenon that’s enjoying increased popularity the around the world and which involves little more than putting on some ratty clothing, ruffling the hair, applying ghastly-looking facial makeup and walking around like you’ve been up partying for three days. Like just about anything that involves a large grouping of people these days, even the undead are being drawn into the ever-livelier Place des Festivals in the Quartier des Spectacles. The bigger, better, deader annual Montreal Zombie Walk kicks off there on October 20, and this year boasts an expanded itinerary.

The Zombie Walk starts at noon and a tent will be provided where participants can get their zombie on with a makeup artist for only ten bones. The St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival has organized a zombie dance crew that will perform Time Warp and Thriller before the walk departs at 3 pm for a two-hour stumble through downtown and Old Montreal. The zombie apocalypse concludes at Katacombes where there will be an after-walk party featuring a costume contest and live band performances by Chahut d’ruelle, Jimmy Target & the Triggers and Misfits tribute band Bloodfeast. The Zombie Walk itself is open to corpses of all ages.

And now that the kids have wandered off to bed, Halloween nightmares dancing in their heads, the adults can get down to the business of having some frightful fun themselves at the following +18 events…

Bolder and brasher with each subsequent edition, the Spasm film festival is the hub for all things horror and hilarious for nine days in October (namely 11-13, 18-20 and 25-27), with several special events and screenings at various locations throughout Montreal. It all culminates with an Old School Halloween Party at the Plaza Theatre featuring music from the 60s (starting at 10 pm), 70s (11 pm), 80s (midnight), 90s (1 am) and 2000s (2 am). Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door, and note that costumes are mandatory.

It’s Christmas at Halloween for Rocky Horror fans (and for reasons best explained by someone who knows more about campy, glammy, gender-scrambly rock musicals than yours truly, there never ever seems to be any shortage of Rocky Horror fans) this year. Mainline Theatre – famous for its always edgy and entertaining brand of resident theatrical evil – presents Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, based on the original 1973 British stage production from which the movie was adapted. Mainline’s version features an expansive cast, a live six-piece band and original choreography, but no projection of the film (Oct. 17-20, and tix are $23). If you want to see the original 1975 film on the big screen with a live cast acting it out onstage below, then this perennially popular phenomenon is yours to be had at The Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball 2012, held again this at the gorgeously renovated Imperial Cinema in downtown Montreal. There are two shows a night– hosted by incomparable tranny master of ceremonies Plastik Patrik – on Oct. 26, 27 and 31 ($17.95 in advance, and $19.95 at the door).

In other anticipatory pre-Halloween activities, Theatre Ste-Catherine once again plays host to their annual, and very popular, shock’n’awesome Haunted House party tour, this year titled “No!”. As in “No! promises to pluck you from your happy place and set you in a darkness you never wanted to imagine. Sound fun? No!” Billed as the only haunted theatrical experience in the city, No! runs from Oct. 25- 31, from 8 pm until late, and as usual it’s only “$20 to get out!”

Utterly unique, multidimensional and multidisciplinary arts space The Darling Foundry – housed in a former ironworks, built in the 1800s, and located just a few short blocks from Old Montreal – lends its industrial expanse again this year to the Cirque de Boudoir Halloween extravaganza “A Night to Dismember” on Oct. 27 (and which last year sold out with more than 650 petrifying partygoers). This year’s theme is iconic villains and victims from classic horror flicks – think Friday the 13^th’s Jason Voorhees (yup, he has a last name), Damien Thorn (the Omen series), Marion Crane and/or Norman Bates from Hitchcock’s Psycho, Chucky, The Crypt-Keeper, Honey Boo Boo, all of The Golden Girls, whatever strikes your Hollywood horror fancy. (Non-theme costumes are perfectly hunky dory as well.) Terrifically terrifying décor will be provided by Remy Couture, providing a backdrop for performance pieces and a host of DJs. It’s $20 in advance, $30 at the door.

Montreal’s dance clubs never fail to get creepy on Halloween, and this year is no exception as Circus celebrates its “Dark Knights” event with U.K. breaks/house DJ James Zabiela, Tallahasee’s DJ Camo, and Montreal-based progressive house DJ Scott James on Oct. 27 from 2 am to 10 am… St-Laurent Blvd.’s exclusive BLVD44 is throwing a “High School of the Dead” mashup party on Oct. 27, the principle theme being, it would appear, survival… Downtown’s Club 1234 kicks it with their “Mad House” monster mash event featuring MC Mario and DJ Ludo in the main room, a high-paying costume contest, and “Vampire,” “Devil” and “Insane Frankenstein” bottle service packages… And Arena, located in the former Montreal Forum (the old home of the Habs, and which has a few hockey ghosts of its own) rolls out its Vampire’s Ball on Oct. 27 starting at 8 pm. R&B, hip-hop and house music by DJ Payce and VJ Hypnotica, and lofty cash prizes for best costume. Tricks and treats, indeed!

The post WHAT TO DO IN MONTREAL FOR HALLOWEEN appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.

(movie magic) Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, October 10-21, rolls out the red carpet for new feature films, shorts and experimental media from around the world. See Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, based on Montreal author Yann Martel’s novel, Simon Galiero’s La Mise à l’aveugle, Martin Villeneuve’s sci-fi Mars et Avril, screenings of work by French singer Albin de la Simone, Sarah Polley’s new doc Stories We Tell, plus kid-friendly fare in the Little wolves (Les P’tits loups) section, experimental media art in the FNC Lab and a “waterfalls” exhibition at Place des Spectacles, free music shows (like The Hallicrafters and Ben Shemie on October 13 at Agora Hydro-Quebec), parties, and much more.

(high art renewed) Ballet isn’t what it used to be in choreographer Jiří Kylián’s Kaguyahime, The Moon, based on a culturally influential 10th-century Japanese folk tale of beauty, violence and worlds colliding, performed by dancers of Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, October 11-27. The Orchestre Métropolitain adds volume to great moments in cinematic history, from Psycho to Star Wars, playing works by several film composers, conducted by Simon Leclerc, on October 18 at the Maison symphonique de Montréal. Meanwhile, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra welcomes mezzo-soprano Susan Graham to sing Ernest Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et de la mer, on October 16 and 17.

(theatre scene) The play’s the thing this fall as Montreal theatres open the season with as much drama as fun. Old Montreal’s Centaur Theatre features two shows this month: Scapegoat Theatre’s version of Euripedes’ psycho-sexual, metaphysical tragedy The Bacchae, to October 20, and Quebecois playwright Jean Marc Dalpé’s family drama August, An Afternoon in the Country. Another Quebecois playwright Suzie Bastien dives deep with The Medea Effect, exploring universal fears and existential questions about the archetypal – and personal – role of the mother, at Theatre La Chapelle,  October 11-20. Meanwhile, it’s all song and dance with Broadway musical Guys and Dolls at the Segal Centre, to October 31, and, not quite theatre, but comedian Russell Peters is at the Bell Centre on October 15.

(art and history) The beauty and the history of art come together at the MMFA this fall in their exhibition A History of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Clark, featuring Impressionist masterpieces by Renoir, Bonnard, Corot, Cassatt, Degas, Gauguin, Manet, Millet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley and Toulouse-Lautrec. Down the street at the McCord Museum, see the city of Montreal and other cities around the world through the eyes of Italian photographer Mimmo Jodice, in his solo exhibition Sublime Cities. And the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal recently opened an amazing retrospective of the work of Montreal painter Pierre Dorion, along with high-Arctic video work by Brooklyn-based artist Janet Biggs.

(ska-tastic sounds) The Montreal Ska Fest packs a lot of punch into its fourth year, with horn-blowing, toe-tapping, body-skanking shows October 11-14, including a massive “All-Skanadian” (get it?) show at Club Soda on Saturday, October 13 with The Planet Smashers, The Johnstones, Illscarlett and more. On Friday night, it’s the New York City Showcase, with Victor Rice vs The M7, The Forthrights and more at Petit Campus, while Sunday morning closes the festival with a good greasy breakfast of eggs, toast, coffee and ska with Mitch Girio, at Ye Olde Orchard.

(more music) The OFF Jazz Festival comes to a close Friday, October 12 with bassist-composer William Parker conducting Fragrances of Compassion for Lawrence D. Butch Morris, a piece for 15 musicians, at La Sala Rossa. Also on Friday, LA-based electronic music producer Flying Lotus gets our bodies moving at SAT. On Saturday night, enjoy the sweet singer-songwriter sounds of Montreal talents Mark Berube and Katie Moore at Cabaret du Mile End, while blues-rock rocks on with Colin James at Metropolis. Monday night is one big party with rumba-rooted Congolese band Staff Benda Bilili at the Rialto Theatre. On October 16, none other than Barbra Streisand is at the Bell Centre, or if Babs isn’t your thing, maybe Alanis Morissette is – she’s at Metropolis, or get down and dance at OohLaLA! Festival, at the SAT. Public Image Limited rocks the Corona Theatre on October 17 and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion follows  the next night. Also on October 18, the three great men of might Rush bring their Clockwork Angels Tour to the Bell Centre.

The post THINGS TO DO IN MONTREAL: October 12-18 appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.

Bingo Night at Royal Phoenix: Located in the hip and very Queer Mile End, Royal Phoenix has become an institution of LGBT activity in Montreal since it opened in June 2011. There’s something to do there every night of the week, but Monday night is Bingo night hosted by Burlesque Star “Matante Julie.” For $5 you get three bingo squares and a Pabst, plus all the funds go to supporting the ACCM! After a few rounds, try out the Royal Phoenix Cantine’s tempura-covered deep fried chocolate bars.

The Edwards Twins: The Edwards Twin brothers have been delighting audiences for years with their uncanny impersonations of over 100 stars. You can see them do everything from Bette Midler, Cher and even Kermit the Frog in Montreal at Theatre St. Denis, September 14-16.

Montreal AIDS Walk: The Farha Foundation has raised more than $8.7 million for AIDS foundations across Quebec since 1992. Their annual AIDS walk “Ca Marche” takes place at 9AM on Sunday, September 30 starting at Parc Emilie Gamelin.

Shows at New City Gas: Do you love dancing and light shows with the best DJs in the world? New City Gas (a mid 1800s Industrial complex turned multi-functional event space) has an impressive line up for the fall: AN21 & Max Vangeli on September 15, Thomas Gold on September 22, Joachim Garraud on September 29, Armin van Buuren on October 5, and Calvin Harris on October 19. Tickets available here.

Festival Black & Blue: Evolution 2012: The 22nd edition of Black & Blue will be held on Sunday, October 7 and feature DJs like David Morales, Gareth Emery, and Sander van Doorn (to name a few.) The theme this year is “Evolution” with emphasis on inclusion, respect, open-mindedness, peace, equality, altruism and love! Reserve your tickets here, it’s for a great cause!

PitBull Montreal: The 2nd Edition of Pitbull takes place September 29th at Underworld. The event is in association with Gay Village fetish store Fetish Armada and features DJ Dwayne Minard from Toronto.

Catch a Music Show: Lesbian Canadian crooner and music icon k.d lang brings her band “The Siss Boom Bang” to Montreal at the Corona Theater on September 28 and 29. Fresh off his amazing show during Montreal Jazz Fest, Rufus Wainwright will be returning for a more intimate show at Eglise St-Jean Baptiste on October 26.

Date Night in the Village: Visiting Montreal with your lover? A cute date night in the Village will have you seeing rainbow hearts. Try some of the fine dining options in the Village like Kitchenette, or the more casual Lallouz for some kebobs! After a stroll up through the adorable back streets of the village surrounding amherst and ontario will bring you right up to the bottom of Parc Lafountaine.

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DID I MISS ANYTHING? IF SO, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST WITH ALL THE INFO!

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Each year our friends over at tripoutgaytravel.com hold a little awards contest that celebrates the best in the glamorous/scandalous world of gay travel.

Montreal has been nominate for “Best Global Destination” – which makes sense for a variety of reasons: stellar gay village, delicious food, accessibility to Americans, cute accents and salacious nightlife. We’re kinda also awesome for hosting the world’s first international “Queer of the Year” contest.

I thought I’d make a little video that highlights the ‘gayness’ of Montreal.

We promise to keep on rockin’ it if you show us some voting love. You can vote with your Facebook or Twitter accounts, or you can keep it anonymous.

But whatever you do, just get out there and vote now… for Montreal!

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The Gorillaz story starts with Damon Albarn and his group Blur, who were one of the big names in the Britpop invasion of the 1990s…

Towards the end of that decade he teamed up with the cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, perhaps best known for his comic book, Tank Girl. With Albarn as the group’s only permanent musical member, they created a cartoon band: 2D on vocals and keyboard, Murdoc Niccals on bass, Noodle on guitar and Russel Hobbs on percussion. The music that this motley cast of cartoons created on their wildly successful self-titled debut ran the gamut from alt rock to hip hop, dub to pop music. The success continued with 2005’s Demon Days and their most recent album, Plastic Beach, was an album filled with so many great songs that it was clear that this was no novelty group…

But even so, when pondering whether or not you should get a ticket to see Gorillaz on October 3rd in Montreal at the Bell Centre, you might wonder how a good a show this could possibly be? Well, let me give you a couple reasons why it will probably be one of the must-see shows of the year. First off, Montreal is the first show in their massive world tour, which is always a good thing. Second, though the group may be made up of cartoons, the Albarn and Hewlett connection has proved to be one of the most innovative partnerships in music and art performance- be it just the super cool videos (honestly, take a Youtube stroll through their amazing catalogue) or when the groups appear on stage in pretty convincing 3D or in the form of the totally awesome, time-wasting video games.

But since it is still a concert, perhaps the biggest selling point is that, this time around, it won’t just be holograms on stage. Alongside Albarn, the new album features Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Mos Def and more, and given that Montreal is the first stop on the tour, there’s a very good chance you’ll get to see an entire festival of music packed into one show…

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Well, there we were. Neatly lined up behind media stanchions. Tennis legend, the ever-elegant lady of the courts, Chris Evert, (fabulous in fuchsia) was guest of honour at the red carpet event hosted by Tennis Canada and the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank. Chris, a three-time champion of the Rogers Cup, was inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame on Monday August 16 during a centre court presentation at Uniprix Stadium.

Jostling paparazzi caught photos of arriving players, including Quebecer Aleksandra Wozniak, (‘’I love fashion and tennis!’’), who wore a black and white short dress, with a wide bling belt and dangling earrings. Each lovely lass posed with Eugène Lapierre, director of the Rogers Cup, as did local wit Jean-René Dufort, who was slated to model later in the evening. At the fund-raising event, a fashion show featured Quebec designers Nadya Toto, Eve Gravel, Denis Gagnon and Rudsak, with accessories by Charlotte Hosten. The event ($350 a ticket) attracted athletes (such as Kovalev) and luminaries from Montreal’s corporate community: I chatted with Francis Fox and his political son Jonathan, as well as Leonard Schlemm, who will cycle with Lance Armstrong in a fund-raiser this fall. The evening raised funds for community tennis to be promoted in Montreal schools. The mystery of the night? Who was the neatly-chignoned tall young lady in a short purple dress? On arrival, she adroitly avoided the Rogers Cup signage-wall (a must for all photo ops), scooted totally behind it – and was secreted in a side door.

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Montreal’s Italian Week takes place this week, until August 15th, which the more observant of you will notice is actually more than a week. But given the range of activities it boasts- art exhibits, food, music, cars, bocce tournaments and much more- it’s pretty evident that a week would not have been enough…

Before we go any further, I have to mention Little Italy’s Milano Supermarket, one of my favourite places for food in the city. Fresh pasta, an incredible selection of cheeses, a great butcher and products from Italy that you won’t find anywhere else in the city. Make sure to pop in.

Where was I? (Honestly, all I can think about is their gnocchi now). Right, Italian Week. The first thing I should highlight is that though the event’s big weekend (August 13^th-15^th) is, for obvious reasons, located in Little Italy, there are actually events held all over the city leading up to it. And as I mentioned before, Italian Week boasts a pretty impressive range of activities, so let’s break it down:

Music: A real feast for the ears. There’s The Barber of Seville, featuring Italian opera singers Marco Camastra and Alessandro Luciano alongside the Orchestre symphonique des Musiciens du Monde. There’s also the Sardinian jazz outfit Enzo Favata and the Tenores di Bitti Jazz Group playing two shows, as well as Italian-Quebecois folk singer Marco Calliari and many more.

Arts and Culture: As this year’s theme is “Sardinia”, consider checking out Frank Sanna’s photo exhibit called “Les Deux Sardaignes” . Antonio Andreoli’s poems about his experience as an Italian immigrant “Piccone & Poems” sound really interesting, though it should be noted that they’re all in Italian. There’s also a children’s art contest, a whole series of literary events and a fashion show.

Cars and Sports: Yes, I realize that this is a somewhat ridiculous section title, but that doesn’t mean it’s not accurate. Cars are always a huge part of Italian week, whether it’s a chance to work on Indy driver Alex Tagliani’s pit crew or the Ferrari Dream Drive , which would seem a bit like showing off if it weren’t for the fact that the 75 or so cars that take part actually drive kids from the Montreal Children’s Hospital and raise tons of money. As for sports? How about a Bocce tournament. If you haven’t yet played this incredible outdoor bowling sport-like activity, this is your chance.

Food: Though I couldn’t track down any specific food events held during Italian Week, Little Italy will absolutely take care of you. When it comes to Italian food in Montreal, you will find not anything that beats Café Via Dante or Lucca and there are some coffeeshops, like Café Italia, that are so good that they’ll ruin coffee anywhere else for you.

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