Sarah’s Weekend List, February 24-26

The mid-winter festival Montréal en lumière continues, with outings in the world of music, gastronomy and outdoor fun! The outdoor site is up and running, with a skating path and Ferris wheel to explore at Quartier des spectacles. Some of my recommendations for this weekend: 

Canadian indie-reggae duo Bedouin Soundclash perform their soulful new album, at Le Studio TD, Saturday 8pm. 

See Oscar-nominated animation classic Les Triplettes de Belleville with its jazzy score, live! Madame Souza tries to locate her grandson, professional cyclist Champion, after he is kidnapped. Quebecois composer Benoit Charest will be flanked by eight musicians during this screening, at Théâtre Maisonneuve on Sunday, 7pm. 

Montreal Symphony Orchestra conductor emeritus Kent Nagano joins forces with young pianist Alexandre Kantorow, who makes his debut with the OSM for this program, From Sibelius to Tchaikovsky, at Maison symphonique, Saturday and Sunday, 2:30pm. 

As part of Montréal en lumière, the city pulls an all-nighter for the 20th anniversary of Nuit blanche! Museums, arts venues and restaurants are opening their doors to night owls, with stacked programming into the wee hours. Buses and the metro will be running all night long. The main neighbourhoods are: Old Montreal, Montreal Nord, Mile End, HoMa, Plateau, Quartier des spectacles, Quartier Latin-Gay Village, and downtown. Check out the full programming, with the option to narrow down the events by interest, location, neighbourhood and cost, here. The end and start times do vary, so be sure to double check before you make your plans.

There are SO many fun things to do, but here are some of my suggestions: 

• Explore the dinosaur bones at the Redpath Museum under cover of darkness. Bring your flashlight!
• Select and play a game at the Monument-National. 
• Check out a German art exhibit about the borders of private and public life, at the Museum of Jewish Montreal in Mile End  with DJs spinning until 1am. 
• Take in a yoga or dance class at the McCord Stewart Museum. 
• Céramic Cafe on St Denis invites you to paint a new mug or bowl. 
• Disco skating at Camillien-Houde arena in the Village. 
• See demonstrations of jewellery making at École de joaillerie de Montreal. 
• Tune out distractions of the every day at the Phi Centre’s Habitat Sonore: Listening Room.
• Night Runners is recruiting 75 amateurs de course to take part in a run on Mont-Royal, from the Cartier monument to the Chalet, for a photography project. 
• The Satosphère melds immersive interactions with existential philosophy in ENN
• The Old Port Skating Rink hosts a night of skating and singing with Choir 2.0
• Learn how to hula hoop to music from the roaring Twenties, at Station Clark - Suite 303. 
• Discover the practice of Japanese erotic bondage, known as shibari, at La Nuit des cordes
• The Visual Arts Collection at McGill invites you to enter its Visual Storage Gallery for De-Stress and Sketch. Paper and drawing utensils are provided, but don’t forget to reserve! 

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 March 4. 

The Montreal Motorcycle Show rides into town with a showcase of bikes, gear and accessories. Brands like Honda, Suzuki, Can-Am, Harley-Davidson and Vespa will be there. Kids aged 6 to 12 can learn skills safely with the Yamaha Riding Academy. Freestyle motocross rider Ben Milot will demo electric bikes. Spot the display of vintage motorcycles! At Palais des congrès, until Sunday. 

Country star Thomas Rhett rocks out at Bell Centre, Friday 7:30pm. 

Montreal rockers Old Soul launch their debut album Overgrown. There are a few tickets left! Friday, which they released this week. Friday at the Cabaret Lion D’Or. (20 per cent of ticket proceeds will be donated to the Evenko Foundation for Emerging talent.) 

Los Angeleno DJ Kayzo at Corona Theatre, 8pm on Friday. 

Playwright Steve Gallucio of Mambo Italiano fame launches his brand new play, At the Beginning of Time. Three, middle-aged friends come together to reminisce about the old days in this nostalgic, set-in-Montreal tale about love, ageing and memory. Gallucio was inspired by his own brushes with ill health, and the death of his husband, Yves, during the pandemic. This new play is also a poignant snapshot of gay life, through an Italian lens, in 1970s Montreal. At Centaur Theatre until March 12. 

Playwright Makambe K Simamba presents her acclaimed one-woman show, Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers to Montreal audiences on her current tour. Simamba was driven to write her ‘prayer for Black life’ by the killing of teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida, just over a decade ago. She has crafted a tale of a 17-year-old boy named Slimm who goes out to buy some candy and a cool drink, but never comes home. What happens in that moment between the now and the afterlife? This Black Theatre Workshop-Tarragon production continues until Sunday at the Segal.

Also at the Segal this weekend: Sharing Circle: A Celebration of Indigenous Culture will spotlight Indigenous dance, arts, crafts and food. A craft market will display jewellery and other goods. A performance showcase at 8pm Saturday, with a play reading of Jimmy Blais’ Feather Gardens, Sunday at 3pm. Various programming on Saturday, 5 to 10pm and Sunday, 10am to 4:15pm. 

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. 

Final weekend for Montreal’s Black History Month programming, themed From Darkness to Light, continues. Check out the full programming here. A fashion show goes Saturday, 8pm. Kalabanté Circus will perform at Pointe-à-Callière, Saturday 8pm as part of Nuit blanche, And cheer on bright young artists in the the annual Monnaie Money Talent Show. Contestants compete for cash and prizes. Produced by Carrefour jeunesse-emploi de Côte-des-Neiges, at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, on Loyola Campus. Saturday 7pm. 

A new art exhibit at the Montreal Art Center and Museum is marking the one-year mark since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The touring show is named Doors, with the intent of showing the effects of war with a range of art, including photography and children’s drawings. Thirteen doors on Ukraine also throw into sharp relief the devastation of the ongoing conflict. In collaboration with the Ukrainian National Federation of Quebec Montreal, with fundraising for war relief. Until Friday. 

A candlelight vigil for Ukraine is also being organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. Montrealers are invited to meet Friday, 6:30 pm at Dorchester Square, followed by a march to Phillips Square. 

The very droll Nile Seguin (Just for Laughs, The Expanse, Second Jen) headlines at the Comedy Nest with support from Dana Saleh, Griffin Schwarz, Chris Sandiford and more. Friday and Saturday, 8:30 and 10pm. 

At Montreal Improv in St Henri, check out Indie Night and Battle of the Improv Stars on Friday night. A performance by the St-Henri Jazz Society goes Sunday, 5pm.

Tease: A Night of Sultry Burlesque at The Wiggle Room will welcome Sugar Vixen, Lily Monroe and Minx Arcana to the stage… and Roxy Torpedo and Lusty Onyx will be join the Saturday show. Friday and Saturday, 9pm.

CHECK OUT A MUSEUM FOR SPRING BREAK

• The Espace pour la vie umbrella is open, including the Botanical Gardens, Biosphère, Planetarium and recently-renovated Insectarium. 
• At the McCord Stewart Museum, there are three photography exhibits ongoing: Alex Henderson’s outdoor images, a 50th anniversary revisiting of the Quebec Disraeli project and Michel Huneault’s portrayal of the pandemic. 
• Pointe-à-calliere Museum has a new show about headdresses both ordinary and ceremonial from around the world, as well as a display of 400 ‘coup-de-coeur’ items for its 30th anniversary (and the city’s 380th) in 2022. 
• Exporail, the Canadian train museum in St Constant, is open. 
• The historic Chateau Ramezay holds a genealogy event for Nuit blanche, in addition to its programming. 
• The Ecomuseum in Ste Anne’s is open through the holidays, with special programming for kids and families.

ONGOING EVENTS

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 Old Port Skating Rink has full weekend entertainment, including Fabulous Fridays, live music on Saturdays and games and games for Family Sundays. Admission for one day is $8.25, $5.65 for kids 6 to 12, and free for under 6. Until March 5. 

The 13th edition of Luminothérapie provides opportunities for wonder (and social media photos!) outside at the Esplanade at Place des Arts. Check out seven interactive light installations, and four video projections. Daily, 10 am to 11pm, until March 5.

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 March 5. (Hear Andrew’s chat with album cover designer and exhibit founder Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell here.)