Montreal has a different
festival every week
throughout the summer
months (check
www.festivals.qc.ca
for a comprehensive list).
Of these, the
Festival
International de Jazz de Montreal
(
www.montrealjazzfest.com
) is North America's
largest, with more than
400 shows, most of them
free. From late June to
early July, more than 2000
internationally-renowned
musicians descend on the
city; past years have
drawn the likes of B.B.
King, Etta James, Al
Jarreau, Dave Brubeck, Ben
E. King and Branford
Marsalis. Continuing the
superlatives, there's the
mid-July
Juste pour
Rire ("Just For
Laughs"), which is
the world's largest comedy
festival, with past
headliners including Tim
Allen, Rowan Atkinson, Jim
Carrey, John Candy, Lily
Tomlin and David Hyde
Pierce. Theatres host 650
comedians from 14
countries performing in
more than 1000 shows (
www.hahaha.com
). Hot on the heels of the
Comedy Fest, the
Francofolies
(
www.francofolies.com
) brings French musicians
from around the world to
various downtown stages.
The most visually
spectacular of the city's
shindigs is the International
Fireworks Competition
, whose participants are
competing to get contracts
for the July 4
celebrations in the US.
Held from June to July,
the music-coordinated
pyrotechnics are a
breathtaking sight. The
action takes place at La
Ronde and tickets are
around $20, but across the
water and on the Jacques-Cartier
Bridge the spectacle is
free, and the music for
the displays is broadcast
live on local radio.
There are also a number
of food-tasting events
and, in some cases, boozy
ones, like the June Beer
Mundial event in the
Vieux-Port, which offers
the opportunity to get
legless on more than 250
brands of beer from around
the world. In August, the Fêtes
Gourmandes Internationales
takes over Île Notre-Dame
for mouthwatering
taste-tests. Come
late-January, the islands
host ice-sculpting and
general carousing with the
Fête des Neiges de Montreal
( www.pdi-montreal.com
).
Montreal has film
festivals practically
every month, some
thematic, some devoted to
individuals. The most
notable is the Montreal
World Film Festival in
late August, the city's
answer to Cannes, Berlin,
Venice and Toronto ( www.ffm-montreal.org
), but the Vues
d'Afrique ( www.vuesdafrique.org
) is gaining prominence
for bringing African and
Caribbean films to Montreal.
Finally, the Cirque
du Soleil (tel
522-2324, www.cirquedusoleil.com
) is a fantastic circus
company that travels all
over the world; every
other year it has a
big-top season in its home
city. Refusing to exploit
animals, the circus's
acrobats, trapeze artists,
clowns, jugglers and
contortionists present an
incredible show, with
original music scores,
extravagant costumes and
mind-blowing stunts.
Most event tickets
can be purchased through
Admission (tel 790-1245 or
1-800/678-5440, www.admission.com
).
