The Bulletin: Street fairs, street food, mean streets, easy streets [Issue #33]

The Bulletin is a collection of what's happened, what’s happening, and what’s to come in and around Montreal.

The Main

July 13, 2023- Read time: 8 min

Call it metropolitan arrhythmia: As the cycle of festivals continues, Montreal's heart just seems to keep beating faster and faster. Performances are plentiful, exhibitions and conferences are many, and—can you believe it?—we've got not one but two street (food) festivals this weekend. Pretty sure that comes up to having about one every weekend for the last month and change.

The city's not all fun and games, however: The aftershock of Moving Day has yet to subside (register your apartment's rent BTW); the Village's struggles with mental illness, drug use, and homelessness is being responded to with police force and mini golf for some reason; this past week saw flooding following extreme heat.

At least we have a new spot to go buy mushrooms—oh wait, nope, that's gone.

The situation here is dizzying, and we think we smell burning toast.

Read on to see what we mean.

Thursday

Just For Laughs is back—need we say more? Try to see one of the many, many comedians taking stage. Also check out these Zoofest & OFF JFL events.
The Festival International Nuits d’Afrique's on with 13 days of indoor programming and 6 days of free outdoor programming in the heart of the Quartier des spectacles.
Check out Ciné-Concerts, a program of outdoor screenings combining cinema and live musical performance at the SAT.
Montreal Comiccon is back this weekend with tons of guests, attractions, and exhibitions to geek out over.
Back for a second year, the Festival de Rue Petite-Bourgogne is set to take over the main commercial stretch in Little Burgundy.
English pub Burgundy Lion is celebrating turning 15 years old with high tea services, whisky tastings, lawn bowling, two terraces, and new merch.
Time Out Market is doing themed cocktail nights for Montréal Complètement Cirque, each inspired by the world of circus arts.

Friday

Local vegan bakery Sophie Sucrée is marking its 10th anniversary with giveaways and big sales on sweets.
Piknic Électronik's Off Piknik series is coming in hot with performances by artists from the London-based independent record label Anjunadeep.
Duluth Street is throwing its own little party starting Friday and lasting all weekend, including painting, a bike museum, and more.
The hard rock band Mercy Mother and the funky, psyched out power trio King Tut are gonna rip the city a new one over at Piranha Bar.
Village au Pied-du-Courant, our premiere urban beach project located alongside the Saint-Lawrence River, is throwing parties all weekend.
At the Bell Centre, evenko and Live Nation present Drake: It's All A Blur Tour with shows on both Friday and Saturday.

Saturday

The nomadic dance organizers of @sndcheckmtl are putting on a 'deep oriental organic house' series of performances called Les Quais en Musique.
Age of Union's new multidisciplinary centre dedicated to the arts and the environment is holding an open house.
The finals of the 12th Underwater Rugby Championships are underway/water at the Claude Robillard Sports Complex; it's free and open to the public.

Sunday

Bring your chairs and blankets: The 7th edition of Film Noir au Canal is screening Kiss Me Deadly in its original English version with French subtitles.
This year, the MMFA has invited local creative talent to design and mount an installation on Avenue du Musée for an homage to Quebec’s biodiversity.

Image credit: Festival StreetFood Montréal

WHAT TO EAT IN AND AROUND MONTREAL

This section dishes out the scoop on restaurant openings, new menus, old classics—you name it.

The Indo-Chinese restaurant Oorja has opened and is now serving up Hakka cuisine and fresh cocktails.
One of Netflix's Drink master contestants representing Montreal, Loïc Fortin (aka Lloyd), has opened a new bar called l’infame Tittle Tattle.
Bar Emil has been flipped into a new wine bar under the name Jules Bar & Vin, open for evenings from Thursday to Saturday.
The Montreal Streetfood Festival is being held at the Old Port this weekend with 150+ dishes from around the world prepared by 40 restaurants and chefs.
Shushuto Bar à Ramen + Tapas is a newly opened spot for—you guessed it—Japanese ramen and tapas in the Sud-Ouest. Spot looks slick.
Love brunch? Good. Jean-Talon Market is hosting a six-course brunch with dishes made by a lot of big names including Bar St-Denis, Kamuy, and more.
Have you hit up the rooftop terrase on the new Honeyrose Hotel, Muze Lounge & Terrasse, for a 5 à 7 yet?

ICYMI: A weekly round-up of the latest local news, from food and entertainment to current affairs and more.

Quoth Martha Stewart: "And that's a good thing"

Mont-Royal's transformed commercial drag, in what may be "the world’s longest pedestrian street at 2.5 kilometres long, has a 90%+ approval rate. This is why it was successful, and what it might mean for the city's future. (Globe & Mail)

They twist me right 'round, baby, right 'round

Moving Day wasn't that long ago, and with a city where a significant portion of its population is made up of renters, it can get pretty complicated navigating up and down our iconic stairs—so why are they made that way? (The Main)

And all we got was high-end condos

Much of what the public has been told about the government’s $25-million sale of the former Montreal Children’s Hospital site in 2016 is false. The MUHC has described the sale of the property as “open and transparent,” but the details are still being kept secret. (Montreal Gazette)

Far from game over

Montreal’s reputation as a gaming destination continues to attract gamers, industry professionals and enthusiasts from around the world. Here's some of the events, communities, and unique gaming spaces that make the city that way. (Cult MTL)

A little slice of crisis in our backyard

The streets of Montreal are being hit by a “explosive cocktail” of three simultaneous crises: housing, overdose and mental health. That's caused many to say it's a situation similar to Vancouver's Eastside—which is troublesome, to say the least. (Radio-Canada)

12th century problems need 12th century solutions

At a Montreal forge, historically accurate axes are being fashioned to carve logs of red oak into roof trusses for Notre-Dame-de-Paris, the world's most famous cathedral. If that doesn't give you an idea of how costly and complicated its restoration is, we don't know what will. (CBC Montreal)

Oh yeah, now I remember that stupid thing you did

On Nov. 13, 2020, a French gamer called police claiming that hostages had been taken within the Ubisoft office in Montreal. Now they've been sentenced for that as well as a DDoS attacks on a French government office and against Minecraft developer Mojang. Buddy was on a roll. (Polygon)

Downtown continues its transformation

The second phase of the repair work on Sainte-Catherine West downtown will begin between rue Mansfield and rue Peel this summer: Sidewalks will be widened, parking spaces will be removed, seats will be installed, trees will be planted. (Journal Métro)

Would you live in a converted office tower?

Headlines in the last two years have revolved around what to do with office spaces if their occupancy rates continue plummeting, and many talk of turning them into homes. The ones at this major development probably won't come cheap, but it could be the start of something big. (Montreal Gazette)

Meanwhile, in Montréal-Nord

In a lot of ways, this street interview with @preemo99 probably seems average to some, but it's a chance to see how residents of the North end experience life in Montreal and view their own city as multicultural, alive, and the persistent strength of its communities—and how the outside perceives it. (YouTube)