Montréal 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
Montréal ( 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
Montréal ( www.pdi-montreal.com ).
Montréal has film festivals practically every month, some
thematic, some devoted to individuals. The most notable is the
Montréal 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 Montréal.
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 ).