Wow, has Montreal ever been blessed with beautiful summer weather! The festivals and events keep rolling in every week and it leaves no room for excuses that there is nothing to do in this amazing city. Let’s get started on this week’s list of events.
Thursday
Let’s start Thursday with the Chez Delmo bringing together the Young Leaders of Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal to its weekly happy hour. This is one of the world’s most exciting contemporary dance companies in what will be an exceptional evening. All the dancers will be present to represent Montreal’s artistic scene. As usual, their kitchen will be dishing out appetizers, signature cocktails and its famous homemade chips from 5:30 to 7:30pm. The cool thing about this event is that during the evening, a promotional video with details of the BJM’s contact event, which will take place in September, will be unveiled for the first time (trust us, its something special).
You can make your way over to Auberge Saint Gabriel in the Old Port right after for the Wavo Launch as part of the International Start-up Festival. Wavo will be showcasing their new, made-over music platform that unifies modern music fans with DJs Mark Macleod and Liam Clarke spinning the beats during the evening. The event starts at 8pm and will be a great networking opportunity for social media addicts, IT lovers, bloggers and music fans.
Friday
Dance shoes coming right up! Its time for the Festival International de Tango de Montreal. 
Each year, the FITM presents music performed by musicians from Argentina, as well as from Quebec. Many free concerts are offered outdoors and are open to the public. Want to get involved? The FITM offers an intensive dance training program with workshops ranging from beginners to the advanced – a great group or date activity. We recommend seeing the Fiestango show with their Argentine Tango Melodies performing outdoors for the perfect summer evening out at Parc Charles-De Gaulle.
Friday evening is also host to the Scena terrace in the Old Port featuring the Carpe Diem Circus Troupe setting up and showcasing their breathtaking performances. Beginning at 7pm, every hour audiences will be treated to a 15-minute performance including the trapeze, trampoline, highflying aerials, DJs and more. There will be a BBQ and drinks on the terrace. The bonus? It’s all free. You can even go right after work before the shows since the space opens right at 5pm.
Saturday
Montreal, get ready to shop! The Sainte-Catherine Street sidewalk sale, Canada’s largest open-air sale over a 2-km stretch of commercial activity, is taking place. The sale is considered the largest sidewalk sale in Canada, and features street food, classic car showcases, live music, karaoke performances and other entertainment. Every year, the two-day sale attracts roughly 300,000 people, so be ready for big crowds and big savings. The sales starts at 9am and goes to 7pm.
Take a break before the partying begins and check out Team Canada showcase their firework skills in the La Ronde Theme Park as part of the Fireworks Festival presented by Telus. The stunning display of colours and explosions starts at 10pm, so grab a cotton candy and soak it all up.
A Montreal summer favourite, Terrace Rosalie keeps constantly re-inventing and bringing us new events. Starting this Saturday is the Audio Peep Show dedicating its night to local and international DJs. Tonight, its DJ Duo inside the beautiful brick space while you enjoy a terrace on the dinner prior with DJ Dakeo Daliva. Rosalie’s is always packed with a trendy and hip crowd, so dress to impress and go early – the patio gets super busy.
Sunday
Sunday consists of an interesting mix of the African culture and the patio culture. It starts with the International Nuits d’Afrique de Montreal, which presents music and culture from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. During the 13 days, the Festival presents 30 indoor concerts and 4 days of free concerts and activities at the Village des Nuits d’Afrique located at the Parterre of the Quartier des spectacles. This year, the Festival will offer a record-breaking 91 shows and workshops, given by more than 500 artists from 32 countries. Talk about global fever, minus the jet lag.
Before heading to the festival, visit our friends at Matinee with their “Shades of Summer” brunch party hosted by Terrase Bonsecour. The team has put together a delicious Cuban surf and turf-inspired menu that will have you salivating while the music of house masters Danny Torrence and Toddy Flores is spinning to the heat of the sun. It is also the launch party of the Vintage Style Lab, which is Montreal’s hot spot for the rarest vintage sunglasses from all over the world, perfect for our Montreal heat. The party starts at 2pm and goes until 8pm.
Photo courtesy Chez Delmo