(discover downtown) There’s always something happening for free at the Quartier des Spectacles in the downtown core. Outside, make some music with the illuminated outdoor installation Iceberg and watch for video-projection art on the sides of buildings, part of the high-tech Luminothérapie art exhibition. Inside in the centre of the Place des Arts complex until February 3, see photography exhibition Finzi Pasca, Dali & La Verità, of and inspired by the Salvador-Dali-focused stage show La Verità, opening at Place des Arts in January.

(cool outside) Outdoor enthusiasts love Montreal in winter – when you’re cross-country skiing, playing hockey, skating or into any winter sports, the cold just doesn’t seem to matter as much – and if you’ve got your own equipment, much of it doesn’t cost a thing. Skating in Parc Lafontaine, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing on the Mountain, or simply walking through the city are all free all the time, and there’s plenty to see too. Walk around Old Montreal and be sure to look into the sky on New Year’s Eve at midnight and on January 5 at 8 p.m. to see the Telus Fire on Ice fireworks. And the all-new Olympic Park Winter Village is free for everyone, with a skating and hockey rink, a toboggan run, activities for kids, a snowy tennis tournament on January 5, a “Funky Karnaval” music and dance performance January 5-6, and more – and while not free, on Saturday, January 5, several of Montreal’s food trucks will serve up delicious food, from burgers to gourmet dishes.

(art activities) Admission is always free to the permanent collections at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, where new exhibitions open this January: see an array of works by Impressionist artists, Taiwanese artist Chih-Chien Wang’s As Far As We Were, As Close As I Can, Iranian photographer Aydin Matlabi’s Landscape, Revolution, People, as well as paintings, sculpture, new media art and more from famed Quebecois, Canadian and international artists. On January 19, DHC/ART foundation in Old Montreal unveils Thomas Demand: Animations, an exhibition of the German artist’s films and videos, interlacing photography, architecture, sculpture and media images. Outside the downtown core, climb inside SQUEEEEQUE the Improbable Igloo, artist Alexis O’Hara’s large speakerbox igloo, where she and other artists will be performing and welcoming the public to play too from January 10 to February 17 at Maison de la culture NDG. And for a taste of what Montreal artists are up to, visit smaller galleries and artist-run centres in the five-storey Belgo Building (372 Ste-Catherine W.)

(moving images) Escape the cold throughout January at the state-of-the-art PHI Centre, a multidisciplinary arts and cultural hub in beautiful Old Montreal, where free screenings of top Canadian films such as Xavier Dolan’s Lawrence Anyways, Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, Midnight’s Children, The End of Time, and more will be shown on select evenings – admission is on a first-come, first-serve basis!

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Photo credit: © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / SODRAC, Ottawa
Rolltreppe / Escalator, 2000, 35 mm Film Loop, 2,00 min

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The Olympic Park’s Winter Village‘s grand opening is on December 15 but he fun continues well into the New Year and, on December 31, the park will be hosting a New Year’s Eve celebration and bonfire. Revellers can enjoy the fireworks while ice skating around the beautiful park.
If you are looking for new ways to enjoy the winter, why not take up snow tennis? It’s tennis, but in the snow. Sounds reasonable and it’s probably a really good workout. Instructors with equipment will be waiting to give you a tutorial from January 5 until March 9 at the Olympic Park. Then, on February 15-16 look out for Barbegazi, the Extreme Sports Winter Festival. The festival will feature activities for everyone like freestyle snowmobiling, snowboard competitions, free skiing, snow skating, and a good old fashioned lumberjack challenge.

The Winter Village at the Olympic Park is going to be full of life all winter long, from festive events in December to spring break fun scheduled for March like the superhero-themed celebration for Nuit Blanche and the Montreal High Lights Festival. And, if that’s not enough, thanks to the success of the Park Olympic’s First Fridays food truck event, they’ve decided to introduce a winter version called First Saturdays where you can delight in a variety of festive foods from food trucks all winter long.

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THE DETAILS

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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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“Le Monstre” is a true landmark of the city of Montreal. Build 25 years ago, the famous roller coaster of La Ronde amusement park is not only the largest wooden roller coaster in Canada but also the tallest two-track wooden roller coaster in the world. Just last year, “Le Monstre” beat out Magic Mountain’s “X2″ to win the Six Flags Tournament of Thrills.

Such achievements certainly deserve highlighting, so to celebrate 25 years of screams and sensations,  I headed to Parc Jean-Drapeau with my girlfriend Marie-Anne for a perfect girlfriend getaway! Take a look!

LA RONDE

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