There are egg hunts galore all over town... here's few of them: Hudson hosts at the Stephen F. Shaar Community Centre, Saturday 11am to 2:30pm. One the same day, the Caisses Desjardins d'Ahuntsic is open for hutners, 10am-2pm. Check out the cute animals at the petting farms open all weekend at the Plaza Pointe-Claire and the Cavendish Mall in Cote-St-Luc. And on Friday night, there will be an Easter skating party at Pierre Pete Morin Arena in Lachine, 8 to 10pm.
The MMFA, which is presenting its current show, Napoleon: Art and Court Life in the Imperial Palace, is holding an Imperial Easter Weekend. Check out thematic workshops with the kids (build your own crown!) and stop by on Sunday, when the Museum will be giving out chocolate.
And an egg hunt for the adults: Bota Bota, the spa on a boat in the Old Port, is bringing back its annual hunt: 40 eggs hidden around its saunas and pools, with goodies stashed away from destinations like the MMFA, the Planetarium, Granby Zoo and more.
Sadly, the Easter fun sometimes means scores of pet rabbits will be abandoned. To counter that, the Montreal SPCA is holding ‘How to care for rabbits’ workshops Saturday and Sunday at its shelter near Namur metro. Find out how much care rabbits need, and how to make them happy, or learn to build a rabbit condo and make your bunny a homemade toy. Be sure to check out the schedule to pick the right workshop for you!
Meanwhile, the Cinémathèque Quebecoise will try to scare you off rabbits with a series of movies about subversively bad bunnies, like Harvey, Donnie Darko and Wallace and Gromit the Mystery of the Were-Rabbit. Friday through Sunday, with animated shorts between screenings.
Perfect for Easter: Cinema du Parc is screening Monty Python's satirical classic The Life of Brian. Brian Cohen is born in a stable next to Jesus, and he gets caught up in a hilarious switcheroo of Biblical proportions. 11:30pm on Saturday and Sunday, and Sunday at 2:30pm.
For laughs, check out JFL fave Arthur Simeon, who is headlining at Comedy Nest all weekend.
Happy birthday, Céline Dion! The songstress turns 50 on Friday. Comedian/Dion hater Tranna Wintour continues her series of Sainte Céline cabarets with a special bday event, A New, New Day at the Wiggle Room Friday night. Crystal Slippers will play Céline as the cabaret covers all her best moments.
There's Laugh Mania: Comedians and Wrestlers Collide at MainLine Theatre on Saturday, March 31 at 8pm. Comedians like Reese Turner and wrestlers like Big Magic step into the ring to verbally spar.
And Montreal gets its first-ever Roast Battle Sunday evening at MainLine at 9:30pm. Four head-to-head matchups between comics, with host Shirley Whalen overseeing it all.
And after last week's fire on Bishop Avenue (booo), Comedyworks club has relocated its Saturday night Burnin Down the House show a few blocks east to McLean's Pub on Peel.
Speaking of artistic competitions... the Tournoi de l'impro Cirque returns to La Tohu for a fourth Easter weekend. Each of team features four acrobats, who perform specific challenges as their fifth member, a comic or actor, cracks jokes. There’s a mean referre, judges and a live backing band, too! Friday and Saturday at 8pm.
If you would like some more food for thought, be sure to go see Madame Catherine prépare sa classe de troisième à l'irrémédiable at Theatre Prospero. This is a a one-woman show where YOU in the audience are a students in a third-grade class. Mme Catherine is your teacher, and she is preparing for a school shooting, while slowly unravelling. This is a very timely French translation of an English play that premiered in Montreal at the Fringe a few summers ago. It is in French, but there will be English surtitles for a few performances.