Here's your roundup of Halloween happenings this weekend as we lead up to the big day on Monday:
- The undead gather at Place des Festivals around noon for the annual Zombie Walk. The slow marching begins at 4pm, headed west on de Maisonneuve, but it's bookended by two concerts back at the Place.
- Over on Ile Ste Helene, you can take in Fright Fest at La Ronde on (Friday at 5pm, Saturday and Sunday at 11am) for the amusement park's last days of 2016... there's a new haunted house called the Cursed Farm. Or head to the Stewart Museum for ghostly stories Friday night and monster-making workshops for families on Saturday and Sunday.
- Under the SAT's big dome, there's a Saturday night zombie dance party. DJ lineup includes Sean Caruso, Van Did and Shaydakiss.
- Over at Comedyworks on Bishop, if you’re in costume you get in for only $5 to see headliner Rodney Ramsey (who I once saw officiate a wedding in costume) And live talk show Knife Fight Tonight will have a murder mystery themed show on Sunday evening,
- Time Warp fans can check out the live Rocky Horror Musical at MainLine Theatre (saw it last Saturday, loved it... super tap dancing and great grungey costumes) on Friday and Saturday. Or get dolled up to for the annual Rocky Horror Picture Show screening (with live re-enactment and MC DJ Plastik Patrik) Friday, Saturday and Monday. Get your tickets for either in advance - they WILL sell out!
- Vintage pinball bar North Star on St Laurent is offering up super eeries photobooths so you can capture your costume for posterity, with delicious cocktails and no cover.
- The Wiggle Room gets sanguine with Blood Lust Burlesque on Saturday night, with headliner Alice Ocean leading the undead beauties.
Other non-Halloweeny things:
- It's your last chance to see the Toulouse-Lautrec sketch and print exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The artist is known for his iconic work that now signifies la Belle Époque in Paris...make it a double like I did last week and check out the Robert Mapplethorpe photo exhibit - he's the guy known for exquisitely perfect shots of flowers, celebs and sexy poses.
- Born in Pointe-Claire, raised in small Ontario, comedian Debra DiGiovanni comes to headline at Comedy Nest all weekend, with guests like Mike Paterson.
- Lumifest is an arts event taking over Vieux-Longueuil, with fantastic projections happening around the South Shore's town downtown core alongside food and music offerings.
- Lovers of sneakers, sneak on over to Plaza Centre Ville downtown on Saturday for The Ultimate Sneaker Show! Buy, sell, trade and OGLE fancy snakers all day - there will be auctions, raffles and giveaways.
And a short theatre roundup:
- Fresh off a META win for one of its crewmembers, Constellations wraps up at Centaur this week... this Peter Hinton-directed story is a love story where one-half of a couple is diagnosed with a brain tumour. Intelligent and quick storytelling, but the structure of the story means repetitive chunks of dialogue.
- Also closing at Centaur this week, the English premiere of Chlorine, which is inspired by the story of a girl bullied by two boys in Mascouche. Left paralyzed, Sarah (Cat Lemieux) communicates only with her eyes - but she's forced to expand her vocabulary when she meets a young man. This sad story is lightened with ballet dancers and a comedic take. I was so wowed by Lemieux's minimalist but heartbreaking performance... and while the story is tragic, there are a ton of hilarious moments in this piece.
- Montreal playwright Arthur Holden's new play Battered is about the fallout of Bobby breaking his girlfriend's Philo arm. While I would have liked the show to be more condensed instead of so dialogue heavy, there is some great food for thought about violence, relationships and ambiguity here. At the Rialto until November 6.
- The Halloween Tree is sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury's exploration of the origins of the holiday: kids theatre company Geordie is staging this Canadian premiere at DB Clarke Theatre until October 30.