Fresh off his Remembrance Day appearance at an East End mall, Santa Claus is marching down Ste Catherine Street on Saturday for his annual parade! The fun starts at Fort Street at 11am, and heads east, concluding at St Urbain.
Eclectic music fest M for Montreal pops up this week at venues all over the city, playing to both fans and pros in the industry. On Friday night, hometown gospel prog rock band Lakes of Canada plays Divan Orange and Canadian indie darlings Alvvays hit the stage at Club Soda. Local singer-songwriter Peter Peter is joined by Le Couleur and Radiant Baby at Theatre Fairmont on Saturday.
It's Cat Week in Montreal, and the big culmination is at the Salon des aristochats at Centre Pierre-Charbonneau, tucked behind the Big O. Take in a "cat origami" workshop, learn to take purrfect photos of your pets and meet a celebrity chat. Entry is free. Note that while this is a feline-themed event, you are asked to leave your cats at home!
Political art collective ATSA shines a light on tax havens with a free, weekend-long event: Pas d'Radis Fiscaux. Check out movie screenings, performance art and music outdoors (under heated tents!) at Place Emilie Gamelin. All day Friday is With One Voice, an international conference of groups that connect homeless people with arts programs. And throughout the weekend,13 celeb chefs from Montreal will be serving up free meals to homeless people.
Restaurant Day... a food carnival where anyone can open a restaurant. Montreal joins a worldwide festival where anyone can host a popup resto in their home... check out Nice to Meat You, a Chinese popup in La Petite Patrie that also promises wonton workshops. In St Henri, the Letter Bet Food Market offers up smoked salsmon, falafel and sweet, healthy treats. And in Rosemont, sit down to Breton hospitality and macarons with Annie Macaron Chez Milo & Fine. Find the 'resto' closest to you on the map here.
Perogies and ponki in Cote-des-Neiges: the Fall Polish Bazaar returns to 5391 Snowdon on Saturdya and Sunday to benefit the Committee for Relief to Polish Children. Since 1950, the group has raised money for children with disabilities who need wheelchairs, orthopedics and other aids.
And here's an unofficial Montreal 375 birthday event I can really get behind: Candyass Cabaret's #mtl375th burlesque show 'Stumped in the City' at Café Cléopatre on Friday night. Perfect for any citizen needing a cathartic release from traffic detours and delayed metro rides... I'll leave the genius event copy here: Join us as we stumble over granite stumps, collapsed caleche horses and past neglected/ burned down historic buildings ... with dancers like Lilil Lollipop, Nat King Pole, and Tania the Mexican Mime.