It’s time to freshen up on your French and rediscover the city of Montreal. This year, celebrating its 375th anniversary, Montreal has prepared a series of events, festivals, and activities to celebrate with its citizens and visitors alike. We know Montreal likes to party but they have upped their game in what promises to be a great year filled with surprises and festivities.
The second largest city in Canada, Montreal was founded on May 17th, 1642 under the name Ville Marie with the objective of creating a French colonial empire. In 1760 it surrendered to the British army after the French were defeated on the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and in 1832 it was officially incorporated as a city. With the rise of Quebec nationalism in 1970, Montreal recovered its francophone predominance and became a French-first city.
To celebrate the long history of this wonderful metropolis, there are a series of events you can partake in. Here’s a quick overview of everything you can find:
Light Shows
Buildings, bridges, parking lots, and other public spaces light up to mark the celebration, and many of these installations are supposed to remain as permanent installations after the anniversary festivities are over. Some of them include:
- Illumination of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge The bridge transforms every night into a kaleidoscope activated in real time by the seasons and Montrealers’ energy.
- Avudo Show Created exclusively for Montreal’s birthday, Montréal Avudo is an impressive show of mapping that captures the story of the city, taking place in the Old Port. Projections are seen on containers and over the water fountains, creating a poetic and romantic tribute to the St. Lawrence River. If you don’t speak French, you probably will miss some of the speeches.
- Cité Mémoire These interactive installations throughout Old Montreal showcase the characters that have witnessed the evolution of the city. By downloading the app, Cite Memoire, you’ll be guided across the neighborhood to find the interaction points that emerge from the surrounding walls and grounds.
- Aura In the heart of the Basilica Notre-Dame, Aura is a visual and sonic experience that takes you into an immersive discovery of the Basilica’s magnificent works.
Festivals
Wall to wall festivals during the summer are in order, whether they are world-famous festivals or smaller events for niches, there’s no shortage of choice. Here are a few not to miss:
- Mural Festival Presenting a variety of national and international artists, the mural festival is bringing more color and stories to the walls of Montreal. Even though the main event already took place, you can still enjoy all the new murals in the city.
- Osheaga, Music & Arts Festival (August 4th to 6th) Food, drinks, activities and art, what else do you want from a festival?
- Canada Pride Montreal (August 10th to 20th) This is probably one of the biggest parties in every city, but if Montreal already knows how to party, guess how much more fun it would be to celebrate diversity in our country! 10 days of activities and parades not to be missed.
More outdoor events
If you thought that was it, think again, there is so much more happening throughout the summer and autum!
- La Grande Tournée Presented by Cirque Éloize, every borough of Montreal will host a massive block party with theater, music, picnic, and the opportunity to discover each neighborhood of the city with friends and family. 19 weekends for 19 boroughs, from May to September.
- Paul á Montreal This project, that includes both narrative and interactive elements, will place a dozen giant comic books from August to December throughout the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood in celebration of the stories this author created.
- Montreal Symphonique On August 19th the city’s three major orchestras will congregate at Mount Royal for a special outdoor concert, bringing together more than 300 musicians and thousands of attendees.
- The Giants Sorry you missed this already, but couldn’t avoid mentioning the presence of the Royal the Luxe on Victoria Weekend, the French street theater artists that maneuver five-storey puppets and make it look so easy. If you have a chance to catch them in another city, do so! (Pictured)
Other things to do
If you also want to discover more of the city, you can always go bar hopping in Plateau, where there seems to be a bar every other door. Or walk around the industrial part of Griffintown and check out some of the galleries there. You can also walk around hipster-town Mile End or somehow even more hipster Mile-Ex, where my new favorite gallery Never Apart is located. The Museum of Beaux-Arts is always a good idea and the Anthropology museum just opened a new pavilion located deep underground, a mysterious cave you can only access by a tunnel built in 1832.
There are no shortage of things to do in Montreal, catering to almost every part of the interest spectrum. Plan your visit, this year should be epic!