21 things to do in Montreal this weekend: February 7 to 9

While Montreal can expect big time snow, there’s a nice mix of indoor and outdoor activities happening around town all weekend, February 7 to 9.

Friday, February 7

Igloofest

It’s already the last weekend of Igloofest, the most entertaining way to endure Montreal’s winter.

Thousands of partiers flock to the Old Port to brave the cold with wild music, costumes, dancing, and booze.

This weekend’s lineup includes Zeds Dead, Eprom, Michael Spark, The Holy
Matador, Kris Tin, Yanneek, Nap, and Myriam Boucher, among others.

When: February 7 and 8
Time: 7:30 to 11 pm on Friday, until 12:30 am on Saturday
Where: Quai Jacques Cartier
Price: $20.50 – $89, available online

• See also:
  • A free maple syrup festival is on its way to Montreal next month
  • This tropical indoor water park outside Montreal is worth the road trip (PHOTOS)
  • Quebec City’s giant indoor amusement park should be on your radar (PHOTOS)

Free Brownie Giveaway – Juliette & Chocolat

Before you satisfy your sweet tooth with some lovely goodness for Valentine’s Day, why not… you know, shove your face with some treats?

For three days this weekend, two Juliette & Chocolat locations will be dishing out free brownies.

But not just any brownies — their brand new creme brulée brownie, dark chocolate topped with caramelized custard.

When: February 7 to 9
Time: 11 am to 11 pm
Where: Outremont; 377 Avenue Laurier Ouest, Le Plateau; 3600 St-Laurent Boulevard

Charles Brunet – Comedy at the Art Loft

Comedy at the Art Loft is one of the hottest underground comedy show in Montreal. It’s the city’s only weekly bilingual show and is run out of a private loft on rue Saint-Laurent and tends to get packed.

It feels like a college part, except a comedian is slinging jokes into a microphone.

Hosted by Quinn McMorrow, this week’s lineup includes Amer Rez, Edworld B. Kim, Marianne Mandrusiak, Jason Beaulieu, and Zackary Kik.

The venue features a DJ and snacks. BYOB and it’s 420 friendly. Very 420 friendly.

When: Friday, February 7
Time: Doors open at 9 pm, show starts at 10:30 pm
Where: 4152 Boulevard Saint Laurent
Price: $10 at the door (cash only)

Imagine Van Gogh

Montreal has been coated with an exhibition of the works of Vincent Van Gogh, the Dutch post-impressionist painter who is among the most famous figures in the history of the art world.

The exhibition, Imagine Van Gogh, which opened in December, takes guests through the world of colours and emotions of Van Gogh’s works through gigantic murals and an immersive soundtrack.

When: February 7 to 9
Time: 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Arsenal art contemporain — 2020 rue William
Price: $16 to $26, available online

La Poutine Week Montreal

Hopefully that 2020 diet is working out because the world’s largest poutine festival has kicked off and you might want to find the stretchiest pants you have.

The eighth edition of La Poutine Week returned to Montreal on February 1 and it sums up today.

A variety of Montreal restaurants will create their own signature poutine-dish, vying to become the city-wide champion, voted by restaurant patrons.

So yes, things are about to get greasy. Ranging from $7 to $25.95, check out this list of all of this year’s greasy pooters and the restaurants that are dishing them out.

When: Friday, February 7
Time: Varying hours per location
Where: Various locations around Montreal

Saturday, February 8

Titanic in Concert- Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier

The 1997 blockbuster film, written and directed by James Cameron, one of the most prolific movies of all time, is coming to Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier this weekend, offering the iconic film to the background of James Horner’s epic score.

Conductor John Jesensky leads the musicians of the Orchestre FILMharmonique, the exceptional choir “Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal” and Celtic musicians.

The music extravaganza will feature 130 musicians.

When: February 8 and 9
Time: Saturday, 7:30 pm; Sunday, 2 pm
Where: Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
Price: $59.95 – $136.95, available online

Les Jardineries

Head over the Olympic Stadium every weekend in February for some free outdoor fun including bowling, skating, sledding, sliding, hot drinks, and a heated chalet.

When: Saturday, February 8
Time: 10:30 am to 4:30 pm
Where: Les Jardineries, L’Esplanade du Parc Olympique
Price: Free admission

The Montreal Canadiens vs the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Canadiens welcome the high-octane Toronto Maple Leafs to the Bell Centre on Saturday for a classic tilt against two of the NHL’s oldest rivals

When: Saturday, February 8
Time: 7 pm
Where: Bell Centre — 1909 avenue des Canadiens de Montreal
Price: Varies per date and seat selection, available online

SkyVenutre

If you’ve ever wanted to be like Charlie Bucker from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, now is your chance (to fly at least, not the whole candy eating thing.)

SkyVenture in Laval offers guests the first recirculating indoor freefall simulator in Canada. Dive in solo or with a group and you actually fly.

“Anyone who is in good health can fly in the wind tunnel,” reads the SkyVenture terms and conditions. “After just a few minutes, you will finally understand why birds sing!”

Guests are lifted into the air through the flight chamber’s airflow and an instructor is on-site to ensure 100% safety.

When: Saturday, February 8
Time: 9 am to 8 pm
Where: Centropolis, 2700 avenue du Cosmodôme, Laval
Price: $58 – $93.93, available online

Je t’aime en chocolat

After a two year absence, the seventh edition of the ‘Je t’aime en chocolat’ festival returns to Old Montreal featuring a slew of – you guessed it – chocolate.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day too…

Visit the website for a full list of eateries and bakeries.

When: February 8 and 9
Time: 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Marché Bonsecours — 350 Saint-Paul Est

Natrel Skating Rink

A skating rink with Old Montreal as the backdrop – talk about picturesque.

The Natrel Skating Rink in Old Montreal is open to the public every day this month, offering some really nice ice.

Known for its outstanding quality of ice, excellent facilities, and breathtaking views of the city and the Saint Lawrence River, this is the place to go skating in Montreal.

When: Saturday, February 8
Time: 10 am to 10 pm
Where: Natrel Skating Rink, Bonsecours Basin
Price: $5.22 for kids six – 12; $7.83 general admission, free for kids under six.

Fest-Hiver

From heated tents, fire-pits, dogsledding, tubing, concerts, and plenty of outdoor activities and treats, check out Brossard’s free two-day winter festival this weekend.

When: February 8 and 9
Time: Saturday, 5 pm to 10 pm; Sunday, noon to 4
Where: Parc Sorbonne, Brossard

Honesca Ice Bike Race

The fourth annual race combines two well known Montreal activities: biking and trying not to skid on ice.

The one-day event will host three ice bike contests (fork, studded and fat tire bikes), bike limbo (roll under a bar on your bike), a pick-up challenge and the “slowest race without falling over” contest.

There will also be a DJ on site, demonstrations, time trials, local merchants selling winter gear and accessories and of course, food trucks.

It’s too late to register for the event but admission is free.

When: Saturday, February 8
Time: 9:30 am to 6 pm
Where: Parc Maisonneuve — 4581 rue Sherbrooke Est
Price: Free admission

Fête des neiges

The 37th edition of the Fête des neiges concludes its month-long run this weekend.

Outdoor activities include snow tubing, cross-country skiing, dog sledding, snow archery, an icy pirate ship, ice skating, ice sculptures, ziplining, a Ferris wheel, Tour de Lévis, axe throwing, a penguin village, a Polar Circus, snow scooters, an inflatable bouncy castle, a snow castle competition, and a mini igloo play area.

When: February 8 and 9
Time: 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Espace 67 — Parc Jean-Drapeau
Tickets: $8 – $38, available online

Sunday, February 9

Montreal Canadiens Skill Competition

Even if where they’re sitting in the standings isn’t pretty, the skills competition is. The team gathers for a variety of different skills tests and you can check it all out for under $40 at the Bell Centre.

When: Sunday, February 9
Time: 10 am
Where: Bell Centre
Price:$35, available online

POP Yoga Neige

Montreal-based fitness company POP Spirit is hosting another edition of outdoor snow yoga on Sunday.

Aptly titled POP Yoga Neige, classes will take place from 10:30 am to 11:15 am every Sunday all month.

All classes are free to the public and boast top-notch, professional instructors. All you have to do is bring your own mat and dress warmly (and we mean, really warm).

When: Sunday, February 9
Time: 10:30 to 11:15 am
Where: Parcours Gouin

Happening Gourmand

Whether you’re into pizza, steak, eggs benedict, or burgers, Happening Gourmand offers gourmet meals and a vibrant atmosphere for every food lover. Plus, the meals won’t set you back too much (we’re dreading the post-holiday credit card statements too).

Check out a full list of participating restaurants online.

When: Sunday, February 9
Time: Varying times per restaurant
Where: Nine participating Old Port locations
Price: $17 brunch, $25-$35 dinner

Zero Latency VR Games

Put on a VR headset, strap into a backpack, pickup a controller and dive into the VR world.

Once inside, guests can move around just like you do in the real world without any wires or walls to get in the way of your virtual reality adventures.

From preventing a zombie outbreak, to saving humanity from a deadly disease, and getting launched into space, each game takes 45 min and can feature one to eight players.

When: Sunday, February 9
Time: 5 to 9 pm
Where: 910 Jean Talon Street East
Price: $44.99, available online

Bleu, Blanc et Bouge

The Montreal Canadiens foundation has six outdoor, refrigerated rinks around the island. The professional-level rinks provide the opportunity for hockey players to develop their skating skills on exceptional quality ice.

The program is divided into six sessions of approximately 45 minutes each.

The rink is free to use but has rather strict schedules so the shinny hockey players don’t hit the ice at the same time as the little skaters.

Rinks can be found at the following spots around Montreal:

• Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension: François-Perrault Park
• Montréal Nord: Carignan Park
• Verdun: Willibrord Park
• LaSalle: Hayward Park
• Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce: Confederation Park
• Ahuntsic-Cartierville: Mésy Park

When: Sunday, February 9
Time: Varies per rink
Where: Various locations around Montreal

Pente à Neige

@andrewbohz/Instagram

No offence Mont Tremblant, but we might hit the slopes a bit closer to home this weekend as La Pente à Neige has constructed a man-made ski hill at Parc Ignace-Bourget.

The third edition of the urban hill is big enough for up to 250 people along with a mini slope that can accommodate up to 50 mini-skiers.

The hill welcomes skiers, snowboarders, tubers, and sledders of any age and features a cozy heated yurt, mulled wine, hot chocolate, and music. Guests can bring their own equipment or it can be rented on site.

The slope is 300 metres long and has professionals on site to teach people proper skiing/snowboarding/falling down techniques.

When: Sunday, February 9
Time: 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Parc Ignace-Bourget — 6101 Avenue de Montmagny
Price: Various pricing, details available online

Barbie Exhibition

@joshuajacobs81/Instagram

The world’s largest permanent exhibit of Barbies is happening at Montreal’s Cours Mont-Royal. The upscale mall hosts over 1,000 entertainment industry Barbie dolls, all dressed by leading fashion houses.

When: Sunday, February 9
Time: 10 am to 7 pm
Where: Cours Mont-Royal — 1445 Rue Peel
Price: Free admission