Montreal Weekender: December 31 through January 4, 2015

You all know the deal.

You’ve been weighing resolutions and hoarding bubbly for weeks now. You’re mentally prepared for the great annual reset and the only questions left are where and when.

And that’s why we’re here – we’re good at answering tough questions.

Well, that and taking over the world. But one step at a time. First, let’s settle for simply taking over the weekend.

It all starts now, Montreal…

WEDNESDAY (NEW YEAR’S EVE)

The countdown has officially begun.

If you’re not just planning to stay home with your cats and pick Smartfood out of your pajamas, make sure you check out Where to Spend New Year’s Eve 2015 in Montreal for tonight’s best events around the city. 

And in case you’re in the market for ideas, here are some resolutions you might consider making. 

THURSDAY (NEW YEAR’S DAY)

Happy Freakin’ New Year!

For something totally different and exotic, Saint-Laurent’s Club Balattou will be welcoming 2015 by dancing to African music from 9pm-3am. Get ready to sweat out all the mistakes you made the night before.

There’s nothing else that’s more beautiful acoustically then the annual Salute to Vienna concert. Celebrate the start of the New Year Vienna-style with the enchanting music from the city of dreams. The 65 musicians of the Strauss Symphony will sound more Viennese than ever under the baton of Maestro Andreas Spörri, conductor of the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra. Spectacular dancers will waltz you into the New Year. Magic.

FRIDAY

Montreal’s hip urbanites now have a new place to meet. From the creators of the Village éphémère, L’Hivernale is winter’s best-kept secret. Discover the outdoor space located in the Winter Village, where a variety of activities are offered, including a bar, a culinary lab, and Bavarian curling. Tonight, the spot will host a theme night and a line-up of awesome local DJs keeping you warm with their beats all night.

They’re smart and hilarious, the latest in a long line of great new comedians to explode onto the Montreal comedy scene. These “young guns” have gone on to become some of Canada’s most recognized comedians and now you have a chance to catch them live at the Comedy Nest. Just-For-Laughs vet Karl Knox will play host alongside special guest Mike Paterson (CTV’s Comedy Now). Get ready to howl.

SATURDAY

Check out this season’s last installment of Telus Fire on Ice where pyrotechnics will be lighting up Montreal’s winter sky to the sounds of video games soundtracks. Yes, video game soundtracks.

In the mood to catch a holiday flick in French? Merry Montreal is continuing with their Holiday Flicks series at Place d’Youville for a few more days (today’s screening is Mystere). You get warm blankets and hot chocolate when you arrive and make sure you dress warm. Seriously. Layers, people. Layers. 

Just a microphone and a flurry of jokes and laughter for 90 minutes. Sound good? We thought so. Sugar Sammy is back with his franglais stand-up routine that will literally have you ROFLMAO. (And for our older YPs…

SUNDAY

Since half the city will either still be on holidays or just getting back, this is the perfect opportunity to head over to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Why you ask? Well, to take in the widely acclaimed Warhol exhibit, as well as the Van Gogh to Kandinsky exhibition. You don’t have to be an art-geek to appreciate these pieces.

Want to relive the 1940s to the 1960s in Montreal? Be prepared to experience some crime, vice, and morality. So what will you see? The red light district, mafia operations, prohibition law refusal, and much more at this exhilarating exhibition at the History Centre of Montreal. Better leave the kids at home for this one, though. Montreal was straight gangsta back then…


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