Mother Nature is gracing the first weekend of October in Montreal with plenty of sunshine and seasonably warm weather. And we’re giving you a bunch of things to do.
What else could you need for the weekend?
Keep a bunch of these events on your radar, folks.
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It’s officially your last chance to see the immersive Frida Kahlo exhibit at Montreal’s Arsenal Contemporary Art before it wraps up on October 2.
The exhibit, aptly named The Life of An Icon, features seven different transformational spaces with VR experiences, holographic videos, and 360° projections based on the Mexican artist’s life and work.
Visitors have the chance to literally submerge themselves in Kahlo’s paintings as they cover every inch of the walkable space.
When: Until October 2 Times: Friday and Saturday, 10 am to 9:30 pm; Sunday, 10 am to 6:30 pm Where: Arsenal Contemporary Art — 2020 William Street Price: $27.58 to $40.23, available online
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It’s time to dust off those dirndls and lederhosen because Oktoberfest is returning to Montreal’s Atwater Market.
During the first weekend of October, a Bavarian-style festival will take over a tent at the downtown market. And to the delight of beer enthusiasts, 15 microbreweries from different regions in Quebec will be on-site showcasing their local flavours.
When: Saturday, October 1 Time: 11 am to 7 pm Where: Atwater Market Price: Free admission
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Corn mazes, sunflower seeds, pumpkin patches, and giant hay bails — what else could you want to start off the first weekend of October?
When: Every day until November Time: Saturday and Sunday, 9 am to 6 pm; Monday to Friday, 9 am to 7 pm Where: 7901 Av. Marcel-Villeneuve, Laval Price: $5 to $8
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MTL 24/24 is celebrating its fifth year and is hosting its second pilot project of NON STOP, where several bars will be allowed to stay open past 3 am (with special dispensation from the City of Montreal).
Check out the website for more details including a full set of DJs, live music, and dancing.
When: September 30 to October 1 Time: 10 pm to 6 am Where: Various venues across Montreal Price: Various prices
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There’s no denying Montreal is gorgeous during the fall and the city’s Gardens of Light help to amplify its beauty ten-fold.
Espace pour la vie is celebrating its 30th year of the magical Gardens of Light and this time around, the venue is hosting Ode to the Moon, transforming the site’s Japanese Garden into a mesmerizing spot to soak up the fall’s natural colours and the event’s setup array of different lights and hues.
The First Nations Garden takes guests into the “seasons of life,” highlighting the spirits of our planet’s elements.
The Chinese Garden also shines bright with hundreds of lanterns telling the story of Pangu, a primordial figure known for separating heaven and Earth in Chinese mythology.
All in all, the one-stop venue offers three magical gardens that are oozing with photo opportunities and spectacular sights until the end of October. If it’s not yet on your must-do radar for the fall, you might want to make it so.
When: Every day until October 31 Time: Sunday to Thursday, 9 am to 9 pm; Friday and Saturday, 9 am to 10 pm Where: 4101 Sherbrooke Est Price: $11 to $22
Montreal’s own Bran Van 3000 will be rocking out the timeless Club Soda as part of POP Montreal.
Here’s your chance to have “Drinking in LA” stuck in your head for a few days (and that’s a good thing).
When: Saturday, October 1 Time: 7:30 pm Where: Club Soda Price: $47.95, available online
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman people biking through the forest!
If you want to soak up Quebec’s fall foliage from a different vantage point this season, Au Diable Vert offers the world’s highest suspended bicycle ride, the VéloVolant.
Outdoor enthusiasts can peddle off an elevated platform and cycle over one kilometre of the suspended trail at Station de Montagne — an award-winning four-season outdoor venue, over 30 metres feet above the peaks of Jay Peak and Mont Sutton.
When; Every day until October 15 Time: 10 am to 4 pm Where: 169 chemin Staines, Glen Sutton Price: $35 – $50
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Just For Laughs vet and Montreal native Mike Paterson is touching down at The Comedy Nest all weekend for some energetic LOLs.
The very funny and animated Paterson will be joined by CTV’s Roast Battle Canada Daniel Woodrow on Friday and Saturday as well, along with local comics Harrison Weinreb, Viveth K, Ryan Wilner, and more.
A barrel o’ laughs all weekend, why not?
When: September 29, 30 & October 1 Time: Thursday, 8 pm; Friday and Saturday, 8 and 10:30 pm Where: The Comedy Nest — 2313 Ste. Catherine (third floor) Price: $12 to $17.50, available online and at the door
‘Tis the season of good frights and cheap thrills, and what better way to celebrate that than going to one of Montreal’s premier escape rooms?
Find the Key is the perfect spot for a one-of-a-kind group activity and can be found in the downtown area. The facility contains four unique escape rooms and experiences that you and your group can participate in: The Unknown, Insomnium, The Cabin in the Woods, and Haunted Pirate Ship.
Of all the rooms, only The Unknown comes with an age warning and disclaimer. The experience has been described as “an escape room that turns into a nightmare.” It also holds the smallest guest capacity (2 to 4).
Find the Key has been internationally praised for its difficulty and originality on sites like Tripadvisor, World of Escapes, and Room Escape.
When: Every day in October Time: Tuesday to Thursday, 4 pm to midnight; Friday to Saturday, 10 to 1 am; Sunday, 10 am to 10:30 pm Where: 1000 Atateken Street #101 Price: $20 to $25 per person
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When it comes to autumn dining, can you really do better than being surrounded by lush maple syrup forests in Montreal-area countryside?
Come on, a full stomach AND endless photo opportunities…
La Cuisine Privée has reopened its seasonal dining room, offering brunch and dinner service from Friday to Sunday during the autumn harvest seasons.
The bring-your-own wine restaurant is located inside a rustic chalet-style venue just outside the countryside town of Ormstown — just over an hour outside of Montreal.
When: Now until October 30 Time: Friday & Saturday, 5 to 11 pm; Sunday, 11 am to 2 pm Where: 3240 chemin Erskin, Hinchinbrooke Price: $40 to $54
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Iconic music, full-band concerts, flickering candlelight, and historic Montreal churches — what else could you want?
Appropriately named Candlelight Concerts, the magical musical events take place in over 85 cities worldwide at more than 1,000 timeless venues, including historic churches here in Montreal.
The concert will be highlighting covers from trending artists like Adele, Coldplay, Queen, and ABBA along with iconic classics by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven — all of which kick off this weekend.
When: Various dates in October; specifics online Time: Various dates Where: Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, l’Église Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, Cathédrale Christ Church, and l’Église St-Jean-Baptiste Price: $30 to $40, available online
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If you want to get in the autumn spirit, there’s a giant pumpkin village just outside Montreal that might need to make it onto your must-do radar.
Citrouilleville in Saint-Zotique is a village devoted to everything pumpkin. It has entire houses made of pumpkins, a corn maze labyrinth, fall-themed photo booths, tractor rides, and pumpkin picking. Plus, the whole site lights up at night, meaning primetime photo ops.
When: Weekends until October 31 Hours: Saturday, 9:30 am to 8:30 pm; Sunday, 9:30 am to 5 pm Address: 560 avenue 69, Saint-Zotique Price: $13 to $17, free for children under two
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The term “going up north” has taken on a literal meaning.
Canada’s first-ever Treetop Walk has taken over the Laurentians, giving guests a 40-metre wooden spiral staircase climb that offers breathtaking views of the northern mountain range and nearby landmarks, such as Mont-Tremblant.
The highest point of the tower hike — officially called the Sentier des cimes — is equivalent to that of a 12-storey building.
When: Every day in October Time: 9:30 am to 7 pm Where: 737 Rue de la Pisciculture, Saint-Faustin-Lac-Carré Price: $19 to $29
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If there’s one excursion to add to this fall’s must-do list, Quebec City’s animal kingdom garden might be the king of the jungle.
Until mid-October, the Mosaïcultures Québec 2022 at Parc Bois-de-Coulonge in Quebec City is showcasing a dazzling display of more than six million plants and flowers that pay tribute to the “life that vibrates on our planet.”
The exhibit is marketed as a “hymn to the Earth,” and features works that are “a pleasure for the eyes but also a reminder of the fragility of life.”
When: From now until October 10 Time: Various Where: Parc Bois-de-Coulonge – 1215 Grande Allée O Price: $12.50 to $60, available online
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In celebration of its 15th anniversary, the PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art is presenting Dancing Lights That Flew up to the Universe, a new exhibit from acclaimed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
The exhibition introduces visitors to the “spiritual and philosophical depth of the artist’s work,” says the PHI museum, including two striking “infinity mirrored rooms.”
Both mirrored rooms will be filled with hanging light globes that alternate colours before going dark. “The viewer is absorbed into darkness for a moment before the glowing spheres slowly flicker back on, initiating again a cycle akin to life and rebirth,” says PHI.
When: From now until January 15 Time: Various Where: PHI Centre Price: Free, reservations required
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You can take your family adventures to new heights in the fall, thanks to North America’s biggest trampoline park which opened outside of Montreal this past summer.
Uplå is a labyrinth of 20-foot-high suspension bridges and trampolines that connect to a network of unique and colourful treehouses, all of which are suspended in the air at the foot of Mont-Saint-Grégoire.
What’s wild about Uplå is that the park is open year-round, rain, shine, or snow. We’ll have to wait a few months to see what North America’s biggest trampoline park looks like covered in snow.
When: Every day in October Where: 45 Chemin du Sous-Bois, Mont-Saint-Grégoire Price: $20 to $30
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The timeless Notre-Dame Basilica will host another wave of its breathtaking immersive light show, AURA, a sight you really don’t want to miss out on.
When: Every day in October Time: 6 to 9 pm (varies per day) Where: Notre-Dame Basilica — 110 Notre-Dame Street Ouest Price: Ranges from $21 to $32, available online
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Have you wondered what it would be like to walk through a masterpiece?
The wonderfully colourful world of Vincent Van Gogh has been brought to life at OASIS, and visitors can walk freely through animated renderings of classic works like Almond Blossoms, Starry Night, and many more.
When: From now until October 16 Where: OASIS immersion — 301 Saint-Antoine Price: $24 to $32, available online
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The historic Mont-Tremblant has once again been transformed into a searching ground for giants.
The renowned ski mountain is hosting an enchanted, illuminated hiking trail where participants can embark on a quest to find the last sleeping giant on earth.
The adventure is produced by Moment Factory, the company known for its illuminations of the Jacques-Cartier bridge and the aforementioned AURA.
The hunt, known as Tonga Lumina, is a 1.5 km night walk and sensory experience that takes place on a stone-dusted, illuminated pathway in the heart of nature.
When: Until October 15 Time: 5 to 10 pm Where: 1000 Chemin des Voyageurs, Mont-Tremblant Price: $13 to $29, available online and on-site
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