Wellington Street in Verdun (aka “coolest street in the world”) has launched its annual urban sugar shack. Cabane Panache has 12 local restos serving up maple-themed treats like Bossa’s maple cannoli and La Marquise Express’ maple ham poutine. Grab your tir d’érable with a maple whisky and take in some music or live dancing through the weekend. The Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs Church will host a craft fair and there will also be “lumberjack” demos and a games section, among other activities. Until Sunday.
The Ste-Hélène Bistro-Terrasse at Parc Jean-Drapeau is putting on an Urban Sugar Shack, with a traditional three-course menu on Saturdays and Sundays, until April 16. (Free for kids under 2.)
Did you miss the St Patrick’s Day parades last weekend, or want more Irish pride? Chateauguay hosts its St Patrick’s Day Parade, Sunday at 1pm.
Party like it’s 1998! Czech-style Plateau bar Bily Kun on Mont-Royal and St Denis is going to mark its 25th anniversary by charging patrons at the prices it had the year it opened, for just a few hours: grab a pint of beer at $4.75 and a shot at $2.75 (instead of $8 to 10 or $4.75). Friday, 11pm to Saturday at 1am.
And a shout out to the team at the NDG food truck-turned-resto Le Cheese, who will be closing up shop after nearly a decade in business - but not without a cheesy goodbye! They are serving a ‘last late night’ menu on Friday 8pm until 4am Saturday. The special menu includes fried chicken mac ‘n cheese! By Le Cheese’s count, they have served over 75,000 grilled cheese and over 43,000 pounds of mac ‘n cheese over nine years of business. Last day: March 28. 5976 Monkland.
Opéra de Montréal presents Ainadamar, a triptych into the life of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (Leonard Cohen’s favourite wordsmith). As Lorca gets caught up in Spain’s bitter civil war, his muse Margarita Xirgu, looks back on the great man. At Théâtre Maisonneuve until Sunday.
Momentous, melancholy and moving: Les Grands Ballets presents Requiem, a double bill of works by choreographers Andrew Skeels and Uwe Scholz. The former is working with Brahms’ elegy to his mother and mentor, while Scholz pays homage to Mozart’s work. Until Sunday at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier.
All aboard! Catch an adventurous circus romp through a single train ride in Passagers, a 7 Doigts de la Main production. The show takes time to pull back the curtain on each passenger, with fluid displays of athleticism and movement. The show pulls into La Tohu with a brand new cast, until April 8.
Jean-Marie Zeitouni conducts the Orchestre symphonique du Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with a program that spans Jacques Hétu’s Légendes, Rachmaninov’s Rhapsodie sur un thème de Paganini, culminating in Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphonie avec orgue. Friday, 7pm at Maison symphonique.
Take in a free, jazzy 5 à 7 with the students from Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Music. Friday and Sunday, 5 to 7pm at Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme at Place des arts.
Hommage à Slipknot by cover band Maggots, with End to End and Dead Velvet, at Le Studio TD, Friday 8pm.
Music Saturday: Rêve aka Canadian singer Briannah Donolo at Le Studio TD, 8pm. French rapper SDM at Club Soda, 8pm.
Montreal playwright Rahul Varma first wrote his Counter Offence some 30 years ago, and the tale of domestic unrest amid simmering racial tension is getting a fresh airing by Teesri Duniya Theatre. Shazia is stuck in an abusive marriage to Shapoor, and things grow increasingly complicated when a police officer, social worker and local activist get involved - and a body turns up. Until April 2 at The Segal Centre Studio.
Sanaz Toossi’s award-winning new play English is getting its Canadian premiere in a Segal-Soulpepper production opening this week. We enter a small classroom in Iran, where four students are learning English from a strict but loving teacher. English grapples with identity, language and assimilation in this very fresh, relevant play. I fell for Ghazal Partou’s deft handling of Marjan, the confident and passionate teacher. Until April 2.
Husband-and-wife writing team Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton draw inspiration from an odd moment they experienced together for their new play, Redbone Coonhound. An interracial couple out for an evening walk bump into a man and his cute dog - but the chance encounter turns into a conversation about race as they debate the doggo’s provocative breed name. This co-production between Montreal’s Imago Theatre and Toronto’s Tarragon continues at Théâtre Denise-Pelletier until April 1.
Former mime and pre-school teacher Katie Hannigan (Late Show, Comedy Central) headlines at the Comedy Nest with support from Mike Carrozza, Elle Orlando, David Pryde and more. Saturday, 8:30 and 10pm.
Get cozy at Hurley’s Bar on Crescent with The World's Smallest Comedy Night. Friday, 8pm.
At the start of the pandemic, with zero shows and no classes to teach, improviser James McGree started a nightly, remote talk show called At Home with James. He invited other performers to perform short bits and segments on the kooky but intimate show. James has kept the series going online with biweekly streams, but on Saturday, he’ll mark its third anniversary by hosting a double bill ‘in person’ version of his show at Montreal Improv in St Henri. Check out the ‘city’s biggest studs’ during the Mr At Home Pageant, 8pm, followed by an improvised interview show at 9:30pm. Montreal Improv also hosts a performance by the St-Henri Jazz Society on Sunday, 5pm, followed by an comedy show called Completely Irrelevant, 8pm.
Glamaganza is the big theme at The Wiggle Room. On the bill, burlesque dancers Melody Mangler, Mia Culpa, Miss Meow and Honey Dynamite. Hosted by Wiggle owner, Frenchy Jones. Friday and Saturday, 9pm.
Take in brunch or dinner in a heated, geodesic dome - with a great view - on the rooftop Hotel William Gray in Old Montreal. Their “Winter Terrasse” is segueing into sugar shack season, with apple and Sortilège whisky cheesecake on the menu! Reserve your dome in advance - minimum of four guests, to a maximum of eight. Also in Old Montreal: dinner and brunch deals at Happening Gourmand! The 15th edition features 11 restaurants in Old Montreal offering table d’hôte menus for brunch and dinner. Sup at restos like Kyo Bar Japonais, Maggie Oakes, Méchant Boeuf and Jacopo. Brunches are on offer weekends, starting at $22. For dinner, choose a three-course menu at the following price points: $32, $42 or $52. Until April 2.
Illumi – Dazzling World of Lights in Laval relaunches tonight, just in time for spring break! Walk or drive through 19 universes along a 3-kilometre walk, and be dazzled by 25 million LED lights! If you have been to past Illumis, this one will have new tableaux to check out - like the dinosaurs! Until April 9.
The 15th edition of Happening Gourmand has just kicked off, with 11 restaurants in Old Montreal offering table d’hôte menus for brunch and dinner. Sup at restos like Kyo Bar Japonais, Maggie Oakes, Méchant Boeuf and Jacopo. Brunches are on offer weekends, starting at $22. For dinner, choose a three-course menu at the following price points: $32, $42 or $52. Until April 2.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has just launched Parall(elles), a look at the influence of female designers from the mid-19th century to today.
Lasting Impressions wraps you up in various iconic scenes painted by the artists both in and adjacent to the Impressionist movement. Get cozy with Renoir’s luncheon guests and idle with Georges Seurat’s park-goers, while enveloped in a French soundtrack ranging from Debussy to Piaf to Aznavour. The first half is a primer to the artists, highlighting lesser-known women artists. After an entracte, you don yellow 3D glasses for the full immersive effect. Seating is arranged like a bistro, complete with a simple menu and wine list. At Espace St-Denis, now until April 24!
The Van Gogh - Distorsion immersive walk-through show returns from its COP15-Christmas break as of Monday. Experience 225 of the iconic artist’s works in this three-gallery show, set up in the OASIS immersion space at Palais des congrès.
Get moving and go for a walk, skate, toboggan or cross-country ski… check out which parks have recently maintained hills, trails and skating rinks at the City of Montreal’s portal.
Two places to lace up your skates (whether you rent or bring your own): The skating rink at Esplanade Tranquille is in its second season! This is on Ste Catherine, near Place des Arts.
The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains displays over 350 artifacts from the band’s days touring and recording… from audio equipment to cover art to set pieces. The show made a splash at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2017, and has been touring the world - now it’s your turn to discover the story behind the music! Opens Friday at Arsenal Contemporary Art Gallery in Griffintown, until April 2. (Hear Andrew’s chat with album cover designer and exhibit founder Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell here.)