Back from vacation? Still on staycation? Even if all you can afford is a weekend off in the city this summer, plan for a great one with your event guide to Montreal in August!
1. Festivals and Highlights
Robert Laberge / Getty Images
The construction holiday is over but summer isn't! The Main is hosting its final street fair of the season, here's to NASCAR avoiding a weather washout in 2009, Montreal welcomes the men for Rogers Cup, 'tis the season for gay pride and that's but a peek at everything going on in August, a month packed with events and freebies every weekend.
2. Music, Concerts, Live Shows
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Post-MEG is Les FrancoFolies' many freebies as well as shows with Ariane Moffatt, Pierre Lapointe and Arthur H, the Pet Shop Boys just never seem to get old, could say the same for Underworld, Lil' Wayne is filling the Bell Centre, the charm of Despised Icon and Quebec's Augury should make up for Heavy MTL's absence in 2009, Catherine Durand and Theresa Andersson are poised to populate August's folk fest in Quebec City, Tori Amos is in town, Montreal's Elsiane returns after a stint at the jazz fest, Fairmont does Piknic, Teenage Bad Girl is at Foufs, Germany's minimalist Stephan Bodzin decks Circus for a night and how could I forget these guys?
3. Family and Community Events
Photo © Flickr user EDgAr H.
Matsuri Japan Festival already passed us by, kids unite at La Fête des enfants, other family musts include Italian Week's street events, the Hellenic Community's cultural celebration at Parc-Jean Drapeau, free movies in the park, and there's only a few weeks more of Saturday fireworks.
4. Theater and Dance
Photo © Sabrina Usher for Repercussion Theatre
Performance art enthusiasts will have to wait a bit longer as companies and collectives prepare a fresh batch of shows for the fall but in the meantime, Repercussion Theatre is soothing withdrawal symptoms with their outdoor rendition of Shakespeare's As You Like It, for free all over town. In the realm of circus arts, I thoroughly recommend Gilles Ste. Croix's SAKA if you want an experience that will linger on in your mind after the show is over, and Les 7 doigts de la main have another month to go at the Old Port. You could also work on your own footwork and consider one of these affordable outdoor dance events.
5. Museums and Art Galleries
Photo © Flickr user PaulS
The Insectarium is tagging Monarch butterflies for all to see before they, as well as 100 million of their kind from across two thirds of North America, prepare to converge on a tiny patch of land in Mexico, Pointe-à-Callière offers a chance to experience shopping in an 18th Century Public Market, the Planetarium proposes a peak at Perseids pre-mid-month, and there's still more in your Guide to Montreal Museum Exhibits in August!
