We can hardly believe it: Our 100th newsletter.

That's 100 weeks of things to do, local stories, what's happening in the city's restaurants and bars, and curiosity. And after 100 weeks, you learn a thing or two about the city's rhythms—its times of hibernation and sleeplessness, festivals and downtime—but the interesting part of that is it's never the same.

100 weeks of devoted time to helping Montrealers make the most of their city has helped us appreciate how much this city has to offer, how much is happening here, and how seemingly infinite its creative spirit can be.

On behalf of everyone at The Main, we'd like to wish those of you who've been with us from the start, those who have just joined the party, and everyone in between: Thank you. ❤️

We're happy to have you along for the ride. Here's to 100 more.

Here's some city love from the magazine's Co-Founder & Head of Operations, Daniel Bromberg:

Activities, parties, points of interest, art exhibitions, you name it: These are the weekend events you don't want to miss.

Thursday

🌍 The Massimadi Festival's annual arts and cultural festival centred on LGBTQ culture from Africa and the African diaspora is happening from Oct 23 to 27.

🗣️ Storytellers from around the world converge on Montréal for one of the biggest storytelling festivals in the world: The Montréal Intercultural Storytelling Festival.

🛍️ Shop lingerie, apparel, swimwear, and other goods at a Blush warehouse sale this weekend. If you want boots, puffers, bombers, parkas and waterproof jackets, Pajar is having a warehouse sale, too.

Friday

🎉 The Arab World Festival of Montréal, a thematic event dedicated to the meeting of Arabic and Western cultures, kicks off.

❄️ Go scope the Stone Island Material Research ‘984-‘024 exhibition
on the 5th floor - @Holt Renfrew Ogilvy before it ends on Oct 27.

🪩 Synth and goth lovers can start celebrating Halloween with SYNTHOWEEN (a synth music and 1980s dance party) at Bar Le Ritz PDB.

🎭 Two Birds One Stone, a heartfelt and charged narrative exploring friendship between Muslim Palestinian Rimah Jabr & Jewish Canadian Natasha Greenblatt opens at the Teesri Duniya Theatre.

Saturday

🧌 Parc Jean-Drapeau is hosting a haunted, 'blood-curdling' forest trail that actually sounds pretty damn terrifying—there's a bar on site to calm your nerves.

🔊 In collaboration with Société des arts technologiques, Afrotonik will be hosting a dance party with a lot of high-energy sound.

🎸 French Post-punk outfit Rendez Vous will play L'Esco, a band that Rolling Stone France lauded for "its dark and noisy brilliance, sometimes very high tempos, and shoegaze riffs."

🎤 Scope out DJs, burlesque and a karaoke competition with Villains Only: Halloween Edition at Pub Le Sainte-Élisabeth.

🎃 Dance party organizers from Moonshine have a Halloween party planned, but details are mysterious—you'll need to message them for more info.

👻 The immersive horror theatre of Malefycia is on now for Halloween, and it's running until Oct 31.

👠 Théâtre Paradoxe will play host to a kinky Halloween party from Cirque De Boudoir with stage performances, dancers, DJs, and trippy decor & visuals across a large dance floor, multiple bars, VIP areas, and large Dungeon Play areas.

🐶 A 'Pawlloween Pawrade' invites dog owners to dress up pooches for a seasonal gathering at the Outremont Dog Park, and yup, there's prizes for the best dressed.

Sunday

🎼 The 6th edition of the Canadian International Organ Competition is taking place until Oct 27, where 11 talented young organists from 7 different countries play some soul-shaking music at churches throughout the city.

🐉 L'Espace Public's hosting a tattoo flash day for ghosts, pumpkins, vampires and monsters for Halloween with five artists on-site. 30% of proceeds go to a good cause.

📱 The Phi Centre's immersive exhibition Coded Dreams entices visitors to unlock the doors of the imagination through two unique and captivating narratives.

Get a batch of groceries for free 🛒

We’ve partnered with the urban greenhouses of Lufa to offer readers free $40+ baskets of fresh, local, and responsible groceries.

All you need to do is cover a small $6 delivery fee, exclusive to readers of The Main, for delivery straight to your door—no strings attached!

Claim your free basket while supplies last.

WHAT TO EAT & DRINK IN AND AROUND MONTREAL

Scope the latest restaurant openings, recommendations on where to eat, plus new menus, old classics, and everything in between.

Goodbye Paloma, hello Bona Fide: As of October 21 and following the departure of chef Armand Forcherio, a neighbourhood gem's now a small Italian-inspired restaurant in Villeray.

The 11th edition of the Invasion Cocktail festival, an event dedicated to cocktail culture, is on now from October 24 to November 9th.

Escape Coffee Company is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a pizza block party on Oct 26 feat. 2-for-1 drinks, a campfire, and a bunch of other fun stuff.

A swish new menu with wines is being launched at Kabinet on Oct 25 with a 5 à 7 featuring Ward & associés. Reservations are recommended.

Vancouver chef Mark Singson is popping up at Bistro La Franquette on Oct 27 with a five-course menu going for $75.

An all-you-can-eat Filipino breakfast is being served at Buboy on Oct 27, packed with classic dishes like longanisa, tortang talong, and more.

Don't forget: The 3rd edition of RAMEN RAMEN festival's celebrations of the iconic dish at more than 30 restaurants continues until Oct 27.

Biodynamic wines and more are being offered at Vinorama on Oct 24 from 5pm to 10pm with a "delicious sandwich menu" to nosh on.

Côte-Saint-Paul is now home to Safy Falafel, a new Syrian mom-and-pop brunch restaurant serving all of the Levant’s morning staples.

Montreal loved Onigiri Shop so much—you know, the NDG onigiri operation—that they've opened up a second location in Saint-Henri.

Get dressed up and dine at Le Majestique on Oct 31 for a very special Halloween party with cocktail and food specials.

Taco pop-up Terraza Luz is now over for the summer season, but they'll be taking over Tinc Set every Tuesday night with food and DJ sessions.

Nothing's better than tomato soup—so says one of the minds behind the pop-up Castel Franco, who will serve it on Oct 27th at Parc Lahaie at 2 pm.

Black Lagoon's first big party for Halloween is taking place this weekend at its host bar at 132 Bar Vintage on Oct 26.

Mark your calendars and start making reservations as of Oct 31 when the table d'hôte festival MTLàTABLE returns to the city, running until Nov 17.

Remember Le Mal Nécessaire's old digs in Chinatown? It'll soon become Bar Leonor, a downstairs cocktail bar for the nightlife scene. Details to come.

Verdun's Bar Palco has closed due to a situation beyond our control with the building owner's legal team. We'd share a link, but their site and socials are gone. We'll miss them.

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Right now, you can subscribe to our coffee program collaboration with Dreamy Café that's fueled by freshly-roasted Montreal brands, and shipped straight to your door every month.

And if you're subscribed to The Main? You get 10% off.

Here, you'll find a weekly round-up of the latest local news, from entertainment to current affairs and more.

Valérie Plante won't seek a third term. That's right, Montreal's mayor has announced she won't be seeking re-election in the next race. Read more.

A Montreal elementary school is at the centre of a secularism debate, with provincial politicians accused of pouncing on religion for political gain. Read more.

Salut, mes p’tites frites! Here's how one classic Montreal fast food franchise made the cultural shift to TikTok their own with a matante. Read more.

Canada's delectable 235km food trail, the "Véloroute Gourmande", features more than 100 culinary stops from Montréal to Sherbrooke. Read more.

Heather O’Neill talks up rose-flavoured words, parlaying with pirates, and performing circus acts on the heels of her latest book. Read more.

Montreal's lost a third of its snow since 1863, according to an analysis of decades of weather data compiled by McGill University. Read more.

After a major, $50 million multi-year renovation, here's what it takes to restore Montreal’s iconic Notre-Dame Basilica by 2035. Read more.

Montreal has its own composting plant and it's a big deal to finally treat our organic waste on the island after years of sending it to Ontario. Read more.

$34,650. That's how much a Montrealer had to pay because they didn't declare the luxury watch they purchased in Philadelphia at the border. Read more.

Give a hoot, read a book! Montreal libraries are doing really well—so well that the city's success highlights some suffering elsewhere in Quebec. Read more.

And that wraps yet another weekly bulletin. We’ll be back with more curiosities, local stories, and events to discover next week.

If ever you catch something we should know, don't hesitate to reach out to us on Instagram.

👋 Masthead: Philip Tabah, Founder & Head of Creative / Jean-Philippe Lauzon, Co-Founder & Head of Tech / Daniel Bromberg, Co-Founder & Head of Operations / JP Karwacki, Managing Editor / Amber Spector, Social Media Manager