The Société philharmonique de Montréal puts on their annual Good Friday concert Friday night at 8pm, at the le Église St Jean Baptiste in the Plateau. On the bill: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
If you want to celebrate Easter, or if the holiday has in the mood to explore Montreal's Christian landmarks, take Tourisme Montreal's suggestion: check out Saint Joseph’s Oratory, which is holding mass and events during Holy Week, or Notre-Dame Basilica, which will put on an Easter Triduum.
Hudson is hosting an Easter Egg Party and Egg Hunt at Stephen F Shaar Community Centre Saturday, 11am to 2pm. While you're there, check out the closing weekend of David Fennario's classic bilinigual play, Balconville, presented by the Hudson Players Club.
Jesus Christ Superband is practically a spring tradition at Theatre Ste-Catherine, where they are mounting their fifth edition of the rock 'n roll musical. Actress Sandi Armstrong resumes her role as Jesus with a cast composed of Montreal's up-and-coming actors and comics. Friday, Saturday and Sunday night at 8pm.
The beautiful Dufresne-Nincheri Museum is hosting an Easter egg hunt both Saturday and Sunday, followed by a guided museum tour where you can see Quebec's oldest stained-glass workshop.
Down the street from the Musem at the Biodome, the butterflies go free at the Botanical Garden for a few more weeks!
Meanwhile, the Ecomuseum is hosting their own Easter Bunny, combining the fun of the holiday with an edge of education as kids will learn about how animals produce and hide their own eggs. Oh, and there's face painting!
The 360 Observation deck Au Sommet Place Ville-Marie is open all weekend so you can get in your views of Montreal.
Passover is ongoing, so if you want to sample classic holiday dishes like matzah pizza, get yourself to Fletcher’s Field Cafe, at the Museum of Jewish Montreal on the Main. They’re serving up matzah, preserved lemon kale salad, gravlax and more... but note that their kitchen is not kosher.
Terry Mosher aka Aislin has told me that he'll be hanging out at the McCord Museum Saturday afternoon to give personal tours of his career retrospective, which opened last week. Swing by at 1 and 3pm and say hi!
On Friday, check out Oasis Surf at Brossard's Dix 30 for Canada's only indoor surf competition! Last year's inaugural edition of the Oasis Open brought out over 2,000 people to see 65 surfers do their thing. After the amateur and pro competitions, there will be an after party tonight with DJ Charles Zoo.
The Last Breath is a doc about a disappearing piece of Montreal history: the Hotel-Dieu Hospital. Located in the Plateau, the big stone institution was founded in 1642 by Jeanne Mance and will be replaced by the new CHUM superhospital laster this year. Annabel Loyola's loving look at the institution is screening at Cinema du Parc and the Cinémathèque québécoise.
And at Theatre Prospero, a very special, bilingual one-man show has just opened: Big Shot. Alberta native/Montreal transplant Jon Lachlan Stewart plays a range of characters, including a young boy, who are seated in a Vancouver train car one weekend when a series of gunshots go off. Stewart, an anglophone who wrote and toured this show all over Canada, including Montreal, performs some of the roles in French. He says that supertitles will help theatregoers who are unilingual in either language. I caught the show a few years ago at the Centaur, and it is the closet thing to seeing an action movie/ thriller onstage!
Inspired by A Raisin in the Sun, Clybourne Park explores racism and family in a Chicago neighbourhood in two different eras... it's on at the Centaur.
Comedian John Wing sweeps into the Comedy Nest Friday and Saturday night.
On the burlesque scene, there's an homage to Madonna Friday night at the Wiggle Room, with MC Tranna Wintour and talented singer Shy Shy Schullie. And due to popular demand, there will be TWO showings on Saturday night of Harry Potter and the Garter of Fire. Starring Alice Ocean and April May June, it involves students competing for 'eternal glory' in the Triteaser Tournamenté To win, they just have to... strip.