For information about the Climate March and how to get around downtown Montreal on Friday, click here.
Eclectic and fun music fest Pop Montreal has a slew of musical acts all weekend...my fave local band Saxsyndrum performs twice on Friday, and local singer Hanorah is opening for the legendary Mavis Staples on Sunday at The Rialto. Besides music, there is a raft of fun stuff to do: grab a beer or kombucha at the Pop Club space at the Rialto, the craft fair extraordinaire Puces Pop at St Denis Church and on Saturday at 10pm at Cinema L'amour, Trapped in Elon's Mansion, a play written in iambic pentameter by a Montreal writer who got into a twitter fight with Elon Musk, the Tesla Guy... and took revenge by writing a show about a surreal celebrity event hat happened at Musk's house.
Museums, theatre and music halls will be among those opening their doors for Journées de la culture this weekend, with hundreds of activities to choose from across Quebec. Check out the 18 artists featured in the NDG Art Hop, near the Villa-Maria and Vendome metro stations. Hear the McGill Wind Orchestra and Royal 22nd Regiment Band at Pollack Hall, Friday at 7:30pm. Or see the Sans Filet troupe test out new circus routines at La Tohu on Saturday. Friday through Sunday... find an activity near you or to fit your interest here.
Two men meet in a gym locker room and engage in a peacocking display of epic proportions in Un Poyo Rojo. Raw, comical and surprisingly tender, this dancey-circus show from Argentina was in Montreal a few summers ago, where it was a big hit at the Centaur... so they invited the boys back!. (I loved the improvisation with the live radio.) Until Sunday.
The dynamic Montreal Black Film Festival wraps up a busy edition on Sunday...check out programming for kids programming on Saturday and a conversation with the Haitian-French actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, on his journey to Hollywood. (You loved him in Heroes!)
Live our your musical dreams at the Segal's Big Broadway Sing-A-Long. Pianist and Broadway expert Nick Burgess leads the room in song as you flip from Gershwin to Lin-Manuel Miranda. Saturday, 8pm.
Cadillac Music covers the best of the 60s and 70s, including songs by The Beatles, Elvis, The Four Tops, Van Morrison, Chubby Checker, Roy Orbison and James Brown. Saturday, 8pm at The Wheel Club, 3373 Cavendish.
Tap and jazz dancers unite for a workshop and dance competition at Oh My Jazz Battle Saturday, 3pm at Ausgang Plaza in Rosemont.
Watch the sunset over Verdun to the tune of several saxophones tonight... because there is music show being billed as the first-ever 'experimental tragicomic techno-opera-ballet' entitled I Am Not A Robot. The show will interrogate the place of technology today... it takes place at the parking lot at the venue Camp Éthel in Verdun, 4015 Wellington. Friday, 6:15pm.
For the first time ever, the Opéra de Montréal is holding a massive costume sale! Need something for Halloween? You can select from armour, capes, redingcoats, sumptuous dresses... Bring your own bag, there will not be any bags on offer. Saturday, 10am to 4pm at the Agora Hydro-Quebec de l'UQAM.
Get comfy with a rare book at the 36th annual Antiquarian Book Fair. 'This non-profit event plays an important role in educating young and old alike to the beauty and importance of books in all shapes, sizes and subjects,' volunteer Bev Darren wrote to me. Her husband Charles is the fair manager... he will have an 1875 leather-bound set called Picturesque Europe. Saturday (12-6pm) and Sunday (11am-5pm) at Concordia's McConnell building.
Engaging storytelling series Confabulation presents Encore, a retelling of six hit stories from the past few months. Saturday, 8pm at MainLine Theatre.
The House of Laureen is here to 'ruin your childhood' with the Twisted Disney Coven Drag Show, Friday at Le Cocktail Bar in the Village, 8pm. Performers include Uma Gahd, HercuSleaze and Tori Nylon.
Dungeon dwellers, pause your game of Dungeons & Dragons for the Wiggle Room's game themed Double D&D Burlesque Friday, 9pm. Performers include Clara Develours, Natasha Nebula and Quim Fandango!
And don't forget - Bixis are free on Sunday!
Sip a beer or some kombucha from the top of Montreal at the Café Suspendu. The open-air café at the Belvedre on Mont-Royal is open for just a few more weekends, Thursday through Sunday. Visit the Facebook page for the menu and activity schedule.
The Pianist of Willesden Lane is the true story of Lisa, a teenager sent by her parents from Nazi-occupied Vienna to safety in London. Through loss and trauma, her passion for piano proves to be a lifeline. Her daughter, Mona Golabek, shares Lisa's story in the first person in this remarkable and touching solo show, at the Segal until September 29.
The Mummies are here! Learn about the world of six people who lived along the Nile a long, long time ago in this new show, Exploring Ancient Lives, at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Montreal playwright Vittorio Rossi's The Chain follows the Testas, an immigrant Italian family dealing with rivalry, land disputes and bad business decisions. It starts Friday at McGill's Moyse Hall, now extended until October 12.
Shorter days are a reminder that summer is winding down, but an earlier sunset means that the lanterns will illuminate The Gardens of Light! The 27th edition will feature three parts: the Chinese, Japanese and First Nations gardens. At the Botanical Gardens until Halloween. Note that tickets have timed entry.
Be moved by a collection of the most powerful press photos of the past year at the annual World Press Photo Exhibition at Marché Bonsecours.