28 things to do in Montreal this weekend: September 21 to 23

As we officially bid ‘au revoir’ to summer on Saturday, we welcome in the fall season. So, enjoy this weekend from September 21 to 23 as it’s a celebration of both.

With that said, there’s a bunch of great events happening in and around Montreal all weekend. From good food, to plenty of music (a lot of retro tunes too), here are 28 things to keep you busy.

Friday, September 21

Nuit Blanche at La Ronde

As if amusement parks aren’t scary enough, La Ronde is hosting an all-night after-hours party, marking the return of the park’s ‘Nuit Blanche’ for the first time in 10 years.

Instead of its usual daytime hours, La Ronde will be open from 9 pm to 5 am so you can scream, ride and party without that pesky sun.

La Ronde’s concession stands will remain open and the site will host a variety of DJs that include: Karim Ouellet, Alaclair Ensemble, ShortCut DJ, Larry Kidd, High Klassified, Mike Shabb and Planet Giza, all of whom will be spinning beats throughout the amusement park.

When: Friday, September 21
Time: 9 pm – 5 am
Where: La Ronde
Price:  $44.99

“The Room” Screening

“Oh, hi Cinema Parc.” Everybody’s favourite unintentionally funny movie will be screening at the quaint Cinema du Parc on Friday.

Experience the wonderful oddities of Tommy Wiseau, Lisa, Denny and the spiral staircase in the funniest unfunny movie you’ll ever watch.

When: Friday, September 21
Time: 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm
Where: Cinema du Parc – 3575 Avenue du Parc
Price: $21

Gardens of Light

Montreal’s botanical gardens has finally lit up the magical Gardens of Light Festival for the season.

The lantern festival includes a lighted path through the Botanical Garden’s three cultural gardens, The Chinese, Japanese and First Nations Gardens, all looking at nature from a different perspective.

When: From now until October 31
Time: 6 pm – 9 pm (until 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays)
Where: Montreal’s Botanical Gardens
Price: $10.25 – $20.50

Haunted Red Light Ghost Walk

Local tour company, Secret Montreal, is giving guests a chance to learn about the city’s indecent past.

The tour is led by a professional actor and storyteller and the path leads to tales about the dark and lewd history of Montreal’s old Red Light District. Many of the sites are even said to be haunted.

When: Friday, September 21
Time: 8:30 pm – 10 pm
Where: 1219 Boulevard Saint Laurent
Price: $26.50, available online

Red Bull Music Festival

Continuing their tradition from New York, Paris and Tokyo, coupled with the success of last year’s music school, the Red Bull Music Festival is coming to Montreal this weekend.

The festival will offer diverse programming, unique shows and live performances in unconventional venues and tonight’s headlining show is ’10 Years of Arbutus Records.

When: From now until September 27
Time: Various times
Where: Various venues around Montreal
Price: $10-$25

Tarot Reading Marathon

Enlighten yourself in the realm of fortune telling, personal development and spiritual growth as this year’s Tarot Reading Marathon.

Guests of honour include American science fiction author, Rachel Pollack and grandmaster Mary K Greer.

When: Friday, September 21
Time: 1 pm – 11:30 pm
Where: Crowley Centre – 5325 Avenue Crowley
Price: $40 – $90

Pizza Fest

Grab a slice of everyone’s favourite comfort food as 50 participating restaurants in Montreal will create their own, unique take on the dish.

At the end of the 13-day festival, one place will be crowned the tasty winner of Montreal’s Pizza Fest.

Visit the Pizza Fest for a full list of participating restaurants.

When: From now until September 24
Time: Varies per location
Where: Spread out throughout Montreal
Price: Varies per selected pizza

Coheed and Cambria Concert

Coheed and Cambria is an American progressive rock band from New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez, Travis Stever, Josh Eppard, and Zach Cooper. The progressive rock group is on their ‘Unheavenly Tour’ and they’ll be performing at Olympia on Friday night.

When: Friday, September 21
Time: Doors at 5:30 pm, show at 7:30 pm – 11 pm
Where: Olympia – 1004 Ste. Catherine Est
Price: $44.50, available online

Clerel and Only the Righteous at Honey Martin Pub

Clerel and Only the Righteous are local musicians who know how to bring it. They play a Motown style of music – very unique and mellow vibes. The group will be playing at Honey Martin Pub on Friday, which is a perfect, intimate setting for the type of tunes Clerel and Co. bring.

When: Friday, September 21
Time: Honey Martin is open from 3 pm – 3 am, the band starts at 10 pm – 2:30 am
Where: 5916 Sherbrooke Ouest
Price: Free admission

Saturday, September 22

Oktoberfest Montreal

A traditional Oktoberfest evening is coming to the Old Port on Saturday. The evening will be set in a giant tent that will include Schuhplattler dancers, a Bavarian band, authentic German grub, dancing and oh right, beer.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

When: Saturday, September 22
Time: 6 pm – 1 am
Where: Old Port – Jetée Alexandra
Price: $35

World Press Photo Exhibition

The 13th annual World Press Photo Exhibition in Montreal showcases some of the most prestigious photographs from around the world. This year, 73,500 photos from 125 different countries will headline the exhibition.

When: Saturday, September 22
Time: 10 am – 12 am
Where: Marché Bonsecours – 325 de la Commune East
Price: $11 for students, $14 general admission, free for kids under 12

Oasis International Marathon

Why not burn off some of this summer’s unwanted burgers?

The Oasis International Marathon is the largest running event in Quebec. Registration is open for a marathon, a half marathon, and the 1 km, 5 km and 10km races. A little something for everyone.

When: September 22 and 23
Time: Varies per course
Where: Varies per course
Price: $33.99 – $143.99 depending on selected course

Streetlight Manifesto Concert

Streetlight Manifesto is an American Brass Rock band from  New Jersey formed in 2002. They released their first album, Everything Goes Numb in 2003.

Streetlight is a reiteration of the 90s ska band, Catch 22 and they will be bringing the punk, ska and rock to Olympia on Saturday.

When: Saturday, September 22
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Where: Olympia – 1004 Ste. Catherine Est
Price: $32.75 online or $35.25 at the door

Haunted Mountain

Haunted Montreal conducts Ghost Walks and carries out research into ghost sightings, paranormal activities, historic hauntings, unexplained mysteries, and strange legends from Mont Royal.

Join a tour conducted by professional actors and storytellers and learn about the mountain’s frightening past.

When: Saturday, September 22
Time: 8:30 pm
Where: Fletcher’s Field – Jeanne Mance Park
Price: $23

Shuttle Bus to Yamaska National Park

Parkbus is offering free shuttle services from downtown Montreal to Yamaska National Park on Saturday.

Yamaska is located in La Haute in the Montérégie region of Quebec, northeast of Granby. Its hilly landscape hosts creeks, mountain trails, and breathtaking open spaces. The majority of the land is forested and boasts over 40 tree species including maple, fir, eastern hemlock, grey birch, and basswood. Not to mention a library of wildlife and birds.

The shuttle will depart every Saturday from the Montreal Tourism Info Centre on Rue Metcalfe. It leaves twice in the morning with two returns in the afternoon.

When: Saturday, September 22
Time: 8 am and 6 pm
Where: Montreal Tourism Info Centre
Price: Free

What the Pop!

What the Pop! is a festival that spotlights over 50 emerging artists from all over Quebec from a variety of different art forms.

Along with live musical performances, the festival hosts original art pieces, dance troops, ceramics, jewellery, clothing shops and writing and painting workshops.

Visit What the Pop! website for a full list of scheduled events.

When: September 22 and 23
Time: 6 pm – 10 pm
Where: Eastern Bloc – 7240 Rue Clark
Price: Varies per artist

SERVE Beach Volleyball Tournament

McGill Students for DueNORTH are hosting their second annual SERVE Volleyball Tournament on Saturday.

Jeanne-Mance Park will feature music, food, refreshments, frisbee, football and the big tournament.

A maximum of 16 teams are registered for the tournament, all games are 6 versus 6 in a round robin format.

Prizes will be rewarded to winning teams as well as random guests. The event is to raise money to provide hot breakfast for hundreds of students in Nunavut.

Hopeful teams can sign up here and free agents, here.

When: Saturday, September 22
Time: 12 pm – 5 pm
Where: Jeanne-Mance Park
Price: Free to watch, $150 per team to play

Dance Party 2000

DJs Thomas Leblanc and David Rancourt are bringing all the best 2000 hits to Bar Le Ritz on Saturday. Expect all the classics from Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Sugar Ray, Dr. Dre, OutKast, Smash Mouth, Avril Lavigne, The Hives, Eminem, Ja Rule, The White Stripes and so many more.

Organizers advise to show up early as their last Dance Party 2000 sold out within an hour. Everybody loves nostalgic dancing.

When: Saturday, September 22
Time: 11 pm – 3 am
Where: Bar Le Ritz PDB
Price: $5 before midnight, $10 after

Sunday, September 23

Piknic Électronik

Piknic is an electronic dance music festival that’s been happening every Sunday on Parc Jean-Drapeau. This weekend’s DJ are Omar-S, Lis Dalton, AKUFEN, Chaos in the CBD, and Ēmikkē

The venue hosts food trucks, bar outlets and rest areas for people to relax after hours of fist pumping.

When: Sunday, September 23
Time: 2 pm – 9:30 pm
Where: Parc Jean-Drapeau
Price: $19

Summer Concert Series

The historic Saint Joseph Oratory is hosting an indoor concert with live projections on a giant screen on Sunday. This weekend features musician Raphael De Castro at one of Montreal’s most viewed buildings.

When: Sunday, September 23
Time: 3:30 pm
Where: Saint Joseph Oratory
Price: Free

The MTL Grand Open Round 3

Round 3 (of 10) features nine of Montreal’s funniest comedians battling out for their chance to win a $1000 grand prize.

Grand… prize… get it?

The 3rd round is hosted by Troy Stark, is headlined by Shirley Whalen and features 9 comedians trying to laugh their way to a grand: Kate Hammer, Rena Taylor, Wardie Leppan, Oren Shbiro, Marko Kulik, Michael Lifshitz, Jason Hatrick, Matt Santos
and Brian Millward

When: Sunday, September 23
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm, show at 8 pm
Where: Mckibbin’s Irish Pub – 1426 Bishop Street
Price: $5

AQUA The Rewind Tour

If we’re talking 90s and 2000s classics, you can’t ever forget AQUA. The Danish and Norwegian Eurodance group is performing their ‘Rewind Tour’ and will be stopping at the MTELUS theatre on Sunday.

If you want to have ‘Barbie Girl’ stuck in your head for the next few decades too, head over to MTELUS. Plus, Prozzak will be opening for them, remember those guys?

When: Sunday, September 23
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Where: MTELUS
Price: $70.25, available online

Tam Tams

Sundays in Montreal in the summer is synonymous with Tam Tams. It’s a giant outdoor party with dancers, sports and drummers all gathered around the Sir George-Etienne Cartier monument.

This is the penultimate Tams of the 2018 season. The mountain’s longstanding tradition should be your go-to Sunday spot. Very 420 friendly.

When: Sunday, September 23
Time: Noon
Where: Mont Royal Park
Price: Free

Nextdoor Pub & Grill

Nextdoor is the place to on Sundays to eat and drink. They offer deals at both ends of their hours – bottomless caesars and mimosas in the afternoon and 29 cent chicken wings at night. Park yourself at the quaint, basement pub and see how many cheap and equally tasty wings you can devour.

When: Sunday, September 23
Time: 8 am – 3 pm caesar/mimosa deal, 4 pm – midnight wing special
Where: 5175A Rue Sherbrooke Ouest

Notre-Dame Basilica

Celebrate Sunday mass at Montreal’s most viewed structure at 11 am and hear a 25-person choir accompanied by the organ. Or, take a walking tour of the basilica which is an absolutely gorgeous spectacle. It is filled with hundreds of wooden carvings, several religious statues, and gigantic stained glass windows.

When: The Notre-Dame Basilica is open year round
Time: 12:30 pm – 4 pm on Sundays (mass starts at 11 am)
Where: 110 Rue Notre Dame Ouest
Price: Free

Barbie Expo

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.

Imagine the Barbie Expo and then some AQUA? It’s almost too perfect of a Sunday.

When: Sunday, September 23
Time: 10 am – 7 pm
Where: Cours Mont-Royal, 1445 Rue Peel
Price: Free

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