Gobble gobble: 21 things to do this Thanksgiving long weekend in Montreal
You better believe that Montreal is bustling with plenty of things to do all Thanksgiving long weekend.
This weekend, be thankful for living in an amazing city that always has plenty to offer.
From live music to food, comedy, pumpkin patches, and everything in between, here are a bunch of things to do in Montreal all weekend.
- You might also like:
- Here is what's open and closed in Montreal on Thanksgiving
- Fall foliage map shows when and where the leaves will peak throughout Quebec
- Leaves are already beautifully changing colours just outside of Montreal (PHOTOS)
- SNOWctober: Quebec's first snowfall is forecast for next week
Gorillaz
Evenko
“Feel good, sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good.”
Gorillaz will be rockin’ out at the Bell Centre in early October as part of their North American tour.
When: Saturday, October 8
Where: Bell Centre
Price: $81, available online
First Friday
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It’s the last of the first.
Canada’s largest street food festival is concluding its 10th edition this weekend in the form of a massive “special BBQ” fiesta.
Expect food trucks, music galore, and about 60 total vendors.
When: Friday, October 7
Time: 4 – 10 pm
Where: Olympic Park
Price: Free admission, food ranges from $8 – $25
Fright Fest
If you’re looking for thrills and frills this October, look no further than La Ronde’s Halloween events calendar. This year’s edition of Fright Fest, which kicks off on October 8, will feature fan-favourite haunted attractions with some new spooky surprises sprinkled in.
When: October 8 to 30
Time: 1 to 10 pm
Where: La Ronde
Price: All-day passes begin at $39.99
Montreal Grand – Prelims
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Montreal’s biggest comedy competition returns this weekend where 100 comedians vie to compete for a $1,000 grand prize.
A bunch of comics will be competing this weekend for their spot in the semi-finals.
Nine comics. One winner. The audience decides.
This weekend’s comedians include Pablo M. Sandoval, Andrew Campbell, Alvaro Salvagno, Zachary Burke, Kyra Carleton, Ahmed Rachedi, Oumer Teyeb, John Cotrocois, and Daniel Belkin, hosted by the very funny Troy Stark.
When: Sunday, October 9
Time: 7:30 pm
Where: The Diving Bell Social Club, 3956 Saint-Laurent
Price: $12.78, available online
Tam-Tams
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Tam-Tams is quintessential Montreal. A bunch of people drinking, dancing, and smoking the funky stuff at the base of our namesake mountain. What more could you want?
Especially with Monday being a holiday. It’s an absolute Montreal summer must-do.
When: Sunday, October
Time: Noon until sunset
Where: Sir George-Etienne Cartier Monument
Price: Free admission
Gardens of Light — Jardin botanique de Montréal
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There’s no denying Montreal is gorgeous during the fall and the city’s Gardens of Light help to amplify its beauty ten-fold.
Espace pour la vie is celebrating its 30th year of the magical Gardens of Light and this time around, the venue is hosting Ode to the Moon, transforming the site’s Japanese Garden into a mesmerizing spot to soak up the fall’s natural colours and the event’s setup array of different lights and hues.
The First Nations Garden takes guests into the “seasons of life,” highlighting the spirits of our planet’s elements.
The Chinese Garden also shines bright with hundreds of lanterns telling the story of Pangu, a primordial figure known for separating heaven and Earth in Chinese mythology.
All in all, the one-stop venue offers three magical gardens that are oozing with photo opportunities and spectacular sights until the end of October. If it’s not yet on your must-do radar for the fall, you might want to make it so.
When: Every day until October 31
Time: Sunday to Thursday, 9 am to 9 pm; Friday and Saturday, 9 am to 10 pm
Where: 4101 Sherbrooke Est
Price: $11 to $22
Montreal Vegan Festival
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The Montreal Vegan Festival is kicking off its weekend stay in the city, offering lectures, cooking demos, workshops, and vendors for all foodies.
When: October 8 – 9
Time: 12 – 6 pm
Where: Palais des congrès 1001 Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Price: Free admission
Petch Orchards
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Who’s up for some pumpkin patchin’ on Thanksgiving weekend?
Located just 45 minutes from the city, Petch Orchards gives Montrealers the chance to pick pumpkins, pears, and plums at their quaint farm in Hemmingford.
In addition to the fruit and veg, the farm produces some of the best apple cider and apple juice in the province.
Be warned: their donuts are as delicious as they are addictive.
When: October 6 – early November
Time: Every day from 10 am to 5 pm (until October 31)
Where: 431 Route 202, Hemmingford
Price: Varying prices (per selection)
iFLY Indoor Skydiving
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If you’ve longed to cross skydiving off your bucket list but the thought of jumping out of an airline at 15,000 feet is too daunting, there’s still hope.
iFLY Montréal Chute Libre Intérieur at the Cosmodôme in Laval, just outside of Montreal, offers high-flying exhilarating activity without the need for an airplane.
The indoor skydiving spot is open to first-time flyers, groups, children, seniors, and people looking to turn the hovering experience into a full-time hobby.
When: Every day
Time: Monday to Friday, 4 to 9 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 9 pm
Where: 700 Ave du Cosmodôme, Laval
Price: Starts at $84.95, available online
Dinosaurs Around the World
Centre des sciences de Montréal / Submitted to Daily Hive
A new exhibition called “Dinosaurs Around the World” is taking over the Montreal
Science Centre this weekend and throughout the winter.
From October 9 to March 12 both kids and adults will have the chance to release their inner paleontologists as they explore the vast world of dinosaurs. From building your own dino to unearthing fossils, there is a ton to do at the immersive Old Port exhibit.
According to a press release, 20 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs that move and roar will be roaming the grounds. There’s also an immersive dinosaur IMAX experience at the IMAX TELUS theatre with the film Dinosaurs of Antarctica 3D.
When: October 9 – March 12
Time: 9 am – 4 pm
Where: 2 de la Commune Ouest
Price: Various prices, available online
VéloVolant
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman people biking through the forest!
If you want to soak up Quebec’s fall foliage from a different vantage point this season, Au Diable Vert offers the world’s highest suspended bicycle ride, the VéloVolant.
Outdoor enthusiasts can peddle off an elevated platform and cycle over one kilometre of the suspended trail at Station de Montagne — an award-winning four-season outdoor venue, over 30 metres feet above the peaks of Jay Peak and Mont Sutton.
When; Every day until October 15
Time: 10 am to 4 pm
Where: 169 chemin Staines, Glen Sutton
Price: $35 – $50
Find the Key
‘Tis the season of good frights and cheap thrills, and what better way to celebrate that than going to one of Montreal’s premier escape rooms?
Find the Key is the perfect spot for a one-of-a-kind group activity and can be found in the downtown area. The facility contains four unique escape rooms and experiences that you and your group can participate in: The Unknown, Insomnium, The Cabin in the Woods, and Haunted Pirate Ship.
Of all the rooms, only The Unknown comes with an age warning and disclaimer. The experience has been described as “an escape room that turns into a nightmare.” It also holds the smallest guest capacity (2 to 4).
Find the Key has been internationally praised for its difficulty and originality on sites like Tripadvisor, World of Escapes, and Room Escape.
When: Every day in October
Time: Tuesday to Thursday, 4 pm to midnight; Friday to Saturday, 10 to 1 am; Sunday, 10 am to 10:30 pm
Where: 1000 Atateken Street #101
Price: $20 to $25 per person
La Cuisine Privée
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When it comes to autumn dining, can you really do better than being surrounded by lush maple syrup forests in the Montreal area countryside?
Come on, a full stomach AND endless photo opportunities…
La Cuisine Privée has reopened its seasonal dining room, offering brunch and dinner service from Friday to Sunday during the autumn harvest seasons.
The bring-your-own wine restaurant is located inside a rustic chalet-style venue just outside the countryside town of Ormstown — just over an hour outside of Montreal.
When: Now until October 30
Time: Friday & Saturday, 5 to 11 pm; Sunday, 11 am to 2 pm
Where: 3240 chemin Erskin, Hinchinbrooke
Price: $40 to $54
Concerts Candlelight
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Iconic music, full-band concerts, flickering candlelight, and historic Montreal churches — what else could you want?
Appropriately named Candlelight Concerts, the magical musical events take place in over 85 cities worldwide at more than 1,000 timeless venues, including historic churches here in Montreal.
The concert will be highlighting covers from trending artists like Adele, Coldplay, Queen, and ABBA along with iconic classics by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven — all of which kick off this weekend.
When: Various dates in October; specifics online
Time: Various dates
Where: Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, l’Église Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, Cathédrale Christ Church, and l’Église St-Jean-Baptiste
Price: $30 to $40, available online
Citrouilleville
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If you want to get in the autumn spirit, there’s a giant pumpkin village just outside Montreal that might need to make it onto your must-do radar.
Citrouilleville in Saint-Zotique is a village devoted to everything pumpkin. It has entire houses made of pumpkins, a corn maze labyrinth, fall-themed photo booths, tractor rides, and pumpkin picking. Plus, the whole site lights up at night, meaning primetime photo ops.
When: Weekends until October 31
Hours: Saturday, 9:30 am to 8:30 pm; Sunday, 9:30 am to 5 pm
Address: 560 avenue 69, Saint-Zotique
Price: $13 to $17, free for children under two
Sentier des cimes
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The term “going up north” has taken on a literal meaning.
Canada’s first-ever Treetop Walk has taken over the Laurentians, giving guests a 40-metre wooden spiral staircase climb that offers breathtaking views of the northern mountain range and nearby landmarks, such as Mont-Tremblant.
The highest point of the tower hike — officially called the Sentier des cimes — is equivalent to that of a 12-storey building.
When: Every day in October
Time: 9:30 am to 7 pm
Where: 737 Rue de la Pisciculture, Saint-Faustin-Lac-Carré
Price: $19 to $29
Mosaïcultures Québec 2022
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If there’s one excursion to add to this fall’s must-do list, Quebec City’s animal kingdom garden might be the king of the jungle.
Until mid-October, the Mosaïcultures Québec 2022 at Parc Bois-de-Coulonge in Quebec City is showcasing a dazzling display of more than six million plants and flowers that pay tribute to the “life that vibrates on our planet.”
The exhibit is marketed as a “hymn to the Earth,” and features works that are “a pleasure for the eyes but also a reminder of the fragility of life.”
When: From now until October 10
Time: Various
Where: Parc Bois-de-Coulonge – 1215 Grande Allée O
Price: $12.50 to $60, available online
Dancing Lights That Flew up to the Universe
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In celebration of its 15th anniversary, the PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art is presenting Dancing Lights That Flew up to the Universe, a new exhibit from acclaimed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
The exhibition introduces visitors to the “spiritual and philosophical depth of the artist’s work,” says the PHI museum, including two striking “infinity mirrored rooms.”
Both mirrored rooms will be filled with hanging light globes that alternate colours before going dark. “The viewer is absorbed into darkness for a moment before the glowing spheres slowly flicker back on, initiating again a cycle akin to life and rebirth,” says PHI.
When: From now until January 15
Time: Various
Where: PHI Centre
Price: Free, reservations required
AURA
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The timeless Notre-Dame Basilica will host another wave of its breathtaking immersive light show, AURA, a sight you really don’t want to miss out on.
It’s seriously breathtaking.
When: Every day in October
Time: 6 to 9 pm (varies per day)
Where: Notre-Dame Basilica — 110 Notre-Dame Street Ouest
Price: Ranges from $21 to $32, available online
VAN GOGH – Distorsion
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Have you wondered what it would be like to walk through a masterpiece?
The wonderfully colourful world of Vincent Van Gogh has been brought to life at OASIS, and visitors can walk freely through animated renderings of classic works like Almond Blossoms, Starry Night, and many more.
When: From now until October 16
Where: OASIS immersion — 301 Saint-Antoine
Price: $24 to $32, available online
Tonga Lumina
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The historic Mont-Tremblant has once again been transformed into a searching ground for giants.
The renowned ski mountain is hosting an enchanted, illuminated hiking trail where participants can embark on a quest to find the last sleeping giant on earth.
The adventure is produced by Moment Factory, the company known for its illuminations of the Jacques-Cartier bridge and the aforementioned AURA.
The hunt, known as Tonga Lumina, is a 1.5 km night walk and sensory experience that takes place on a stone-dusted, illuminated pathway in the heart of nature.
When: Until October 15
Time: 5 to 10 pm
Where: 1000 Chemin des Voyageurs, Mont-Tremblant
Price: $13 to $29, available online and on-site
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