The fireworks return, with China's The Butterfly Lovers in competition at the Feux Loto-Québec, Saturday at 10pm.
Montreal Completement Cirque wraps up this weekend with several fabulous shows, including Scotch & Soda at Theatre St Denis (with shows until July 21). There is a free and new height-defying show called Phénix twice nightly at Place Emilie Gamelin.
Just for Laughs has kicked off! Before the fest really warms up next week, you can start by sampling The Ethnic Show (helmed by the funny Maz Jobrani) at Club Soda with two shows nightly. Italian-American Matteo Lane will grab you the moment he steps onstage, and Orny Adams takes down the house by griping about smart fridges and unloving parents. There are also free comedy and circus-style shows oudoors throughout the weekend... check out the rundown here.
The Festival Nuits d'Afrique is also getting started, with a few shows this weekend, mostly at Club Balattou (Congo's Prince Yannick) and other nearby Plateau venues.
The Montreal Ukulele Club will make a special appearance at the kickoff of the Film noir au canal summer screening series! Each Sunday, cinéma buffs can catch a film noir cop movie classic at St Patrick Square (Wellington St and St Patrick). 2018's inaugural flick is Some Like It Hot…where Marilyn Monroe play the uke. So they invited the Montreal Uke Club to play before the show starts, followed by comments from a film scholar then then screening itself at 9pm. Special shoutout to the Uke Club: they meet every two Wednesdays at Lafontaine Park to strum and sing, and I'm slowly picking it up, with a uke Aaron Rand found in his house.
Grab a brew at the 4th Festival bieres de Laval, all weekend over at the Centre de la nature de Laval. 50 microbreweries from all over Quebec will be there, along with live music acts like Rouge Pompier, food trucks, bouncy castles and board games from Randolph Pub.
Families will love Rock the Park, a fun day of barbecue, music and games at Benny Park, my ol' stomping ground in NDG. Featuring lots of live music, like Shane Murphy and Temporary Flings, bouncy castles, dunk tanks and raffle prizes! CJAD 800's Jay Farrar will be emceeing. Money raised goes to support the Food Depot and NDG Minor Hockey, in memory of Einick Gitelman, who grew up playing with the association. His family organizes this yearly party in his memory.
Strip Spelling Bee… like strip poker, but with big words. Spellers are being encouraged to dress up like ‘fancy floozies’ for this, the Skanks 5th Avenue edition. Saturday night at MainLine Theatre.
Every year my father Normand and his fellow real estate agents at Royal LePage Groupe Ville-Marie strut their stuff in red heels down NDG's Monkland Avenue. It's called Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, and they are collecting money for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, with 100 per cent of funds going to a local women’s shelter. The walks starts Saturday at 6100 Monkland at 11am, with a barbecue to follow.
Beauty School Dropout Drag. is a monthly cabaret celebrating glamorous bodies of all shapes and sizes, Saturday 10pm at Café Cleo. It's hosted by House of Laureen, and features drag star Uma Gahd, with Dreamboy and Bottom Seeder.