Here I am sitting at Montreal’s International airport, totally stoked to be on my way to Austin to cover Montreal artists showcasing their talents and creativity – such as Quebec’s darling Karim Ouellet, rock band Suuns, and a personal favorite of mine, singer-songwriter Peter Peter – at SXSW, one of the world’s biggest and most important festivals dedicated to music, film and technology…

The fact that music has long been one of Montreal’s most beloved exports is in full evidence at SXSW, so much so that Planet Québec puts on one the most popular showcases of the festival. Since Tourisme Montreal is giving them a hand this year, someone had to head down there to report back how great everything was!

I’ll be helping Tourisme Montreal with their Twitter (using the hashtag #sxswqc) Facebook, Instagram and Vine to help cover all the action in real time, from stirring performances, to poutine parties all the way to cool fashion and bad dance moves.

Don’t be shy to reach out to me up with any recommendations or comments!

Guest Blogger Tamy Emma Pepin is a content creator and curator. She works as a media personality online and on air and is currently the Director of Content at marketing agency N/A.

The post MONTREAL BUZZ HEADS SOUTH TO COVER SXSW appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.

A bike can be whatever you want it to be:  An Individualistic statement, environmental activism, sightseeing method, or simply a tool for getting from point A to point B. In Montreal, tens of thousands of us think of our bikes as all of those things and more, which is why we throw a big party about bikes every year. So in the spirit of a spectacular two-wheeled summer, hope to see you all at the Montreal Bike Fest and Le Tour de L’ile…

[A Mighty Wind]

According to the folks at Velo Quebec (motto: “Free as the wind”), who organize the Montreal Bike Fest, the end of May and beginning of June is the perfect time to “ride, see, taste, feel and hear Montreal’s Bike Capital”.

Velo-Quebec which is an organization devoted to bike tourism of all stripes, offers several packages for travelers who want to be part of the fun, starting at 155$ for three days and two nights. There’s also the luxurious full-comfort package where the amenities are more in line with a hotel-style vacation.

Montreal Cycling Classic “Tour de l’Ile de Montreal”, on June 5, is what  Velo-Quebec quite rightly calls “one of the finest human processions on the planet”. The 27^th edition of the will see more than 30, 000 people roll along a 52-km route, from a start on Parc Avenue all the way south, along the Lachine Canal bike path, and finally a stopping point downtown, where free cartons of milk, transit passes and more await you!

[You bike the nightlife]

Those who  like the nightlife can come out and bike the Tour La Nuit, which starts out at the Maison des Cyclistes, the  lovely headquarters of Velo Quebec at the axis of Montreal’s two main bike paths and across the street from Parc Lafontaine. Check out the webcam out front of the Maison before hopping on to tour the city by night, when it shines with a duskier kind of light. Another cool thing is that this year, there will be a ferris wheel in Jeanne-Mance Park, at the foot of Mount Royal, for another expansive view of our beautiful city by night. It’s going to be a feria, check it out!

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DETAILS

Montreal Bike Festival

TOUR DE NUIT: Friday June 3rd, 2011

TOUR DE L’ILE: Sunday June, 5th, 2011

Register here

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Guest Blogger: Melora Koepke

photo credit: Gaétan Fontaine

The post MONTREAL BIKE FEST 2011 appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.