One thing Montrealers do best is handle the winter.
Hell, sometimes we even embrace it.
Our city is home to the absolute best in Canada’s nightlife and entertainment – and for good reason. Just because we’re as far away from summer as we can get doesn’t mean this city isn’t hot right now.
Need proof? Here are just seven notable things you don’t want to miss in Montreal this winter:
Lumen
New City Gas has you covered for one of the biggest weekends to end the year. Lumen Festival de Glace et L’Art Visuels turns it up on December 26th to 28th with international DJs Hardwell, Dada Life, and Andrew Rayel to name a few. The interior of the massive warehouse nightclub will be filled with ice sculptures and full ice bar for frosty cold drinks. It’s always hot in da club.
TELUS Fire on Ice
Just like our summer-long fireworks festival, the Old Port of Montreal brings it all back for Telus Fire on Ice. Every Saturday evening at 8pm from December 13th to January 8th, expect to see the winter skies light up at Bonsecours Island. Seriously, it doesn’t get more romantical than this. Don’t forget the hot chocolate… with extra marshmallows. Or a flask – your call.
Luminothérapie
In its 5th edition, Luminothérapie is back to light up our dreary winter days. Running from December 10th to February 1st, this year’s edition turns Place des Festival and the outdoor grounds of St. Laurent Metro Station into an open-air museum with interactive art displays on eight surrounding building facades. Who said only the sun could feed us energy?
Igloofest
With the 2015 lineup having recently been released on the festival’s website, Igloofest’s 9th year is back and looks better than ever. Taking place at the Jacques-Cartier Quay in Old Montreal, this edition runs from January 16th to February 8th. That’s four weekends of dancing to your favourite electronic beats with over a thousand of your fellow Iglooers. The festival brings together icy decor and steel structures, powerful architectural projections, programs featuring the best local and international DJs, and the famous igloo village. Don’t forget your dad’s 80s ski suit. Seriously.
Fête Des Neiges
Montreal’s Fête Des Neiges goes down at Jean Drapeau Park from January 17th until February 8th. Activities to look forward to include skating along the ice paths, the massive ferris wheel, snow tubing, and zip-lining, just to name a few. The popular Snow Festival is the perfect excuse for every young professional to dust off their snow gear and come play in the snow (aka: pretend you’re not a grownup for the day).
Montreal En Lumière
The 16th Edition of Montreal En Lumière will take place, as always, at the Quartier des Spectacles, the heart of all of the festivities. Expect a whole lot of eye candy from February 19th to March 1st, including the iconic giant ferris wheel, ice slide, and beer garden, as well as free outdoor concerts by local artists and DJs. The festival ends with the famous Nuit Blanche all night party…
Nuit Blanche 2015
Calling all night owls: Nuit Blanche hits the streets of downtown Montreal with its overnight shenanigans on February 28th. The 12th edition promises to be bigger and better than last year’s all-nighter. Events we always look forward to are the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ open house with DJ and free beer tasting, and Art Souterrain, a local art exposition stretching across Montreal’s Underground City. And that’s just a small portion of what else is in store. STM will be running all night – and for good reason. It’s going to get wild.
#NOTABLE
Cover image: from Montreal en Lumiere
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