With a solid few summery days of sun and a celestial, once-in-at-least-a-half-century total eclipse at our backs, it feels like the city's riding so high that it's trying to outdo itself already.

Freak snowstorms are out, and blissful optimism is in. We've put on the blinders to the disjecta of trash and dust of the streets, and we're all itching to find out what's next.

No jokes: Grand Prix events are already being announced, festival lineups are getting announced, a grand total of 11 major arteries in Montreal will be pedestrianized—you name it, we are here for it. Events, events, events.

Some of us here at The Main are taking the low and slow approach. We're deeming 2024 to be the year of Self-Care Summer™, where you take things easy and do exactly what feels most rejuvenating to you after a long and bleak series of tough months. Spend time outside, make a sick playlist, focus on physical and mental well-being, be with people you care about, and actually say no to stuff now and then.

Whether or not you're with us, get a head start on these good vibes with everything happening this week, and not one but two new places to drink—read on to see it all.

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

Thursday

• The CAM Grand Prix is recognizing the outstanding contribution of Montreal arts organizations, artists and cultural workers with an awards ceremony for eight finalists vying for the grand prize.
• See Darren Emerson's In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats at the Phi Centre, an interactive documentary virtual reality adventure that takes audiences back to the heyday of the UK’s illegal Acid House rave scene of the late 1980’s.

Friday

• Plural, formerly known as the Papier Art Fair, celebrates the best of contemporary art in Canada and will welcome 46 galleries from 7 Canadian cities this weekend.
• You want to go to a good show with good vibes? Sergio da Silva, the owner of Turbo Haus, is celebrating his birthday with a big show featuring four bands.

Saturday

• Uma and Selma Gahd will be at the Robin des Bois restaurant in Parc La Fontaine for drag brunch, a show open to all ages.
• Small but big announcement that's not quite in Montreal, but worth mentioning that the Queens of the Stone Age are playing Place Bell.

Sunday

• On April 14, the return of AFROCHILLING marks a now-established weekly gathering every Sunday afternoon at Afromusée with a networking event that allows participants to discover the projects and entrepreneurs of the Black Chamber of Commerce of Canada.
• Westmount Library's hosting a Friends of the Library Book Sale on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm with books, DVDs, Blu-rays, and CDs in English and French; most items are $1 to $5, with higher prices for vintage or antiquarian books.

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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.

Rich in sound, rich in taste

Dim and humming below the Little Burgundy restaurant HENI, the curated experiences of its downstairs 24-seat, cocktail-forward listening lounge Badin has opened its doors to Montreal. Take a discreet look inside and get the details. (The Main)

Badin: The cocktail-forward listening lounge built for aurality and intimacy in Little Burgundy

The cocktail-forward listening lounge below Little Burgundy’s HENI is an unreal gem for audophile lushes.

J.P. Karwacki

• Le Majestique's celebrating its 10th anniversary with a festive party and a menu to match that goes for only $75.
• NDG's more than sweet nothings, and the new donut spot Homer's—complete with a Simpsons colour scheme, a small arcade, and crazy flavours—proves it.
• Mitch Deli is celebrating its second anniversary on Beaubien Street on Friday, April 12 from 5 p.m. to late, and they're enjoying wine, tacos and more.
• Lulu Epicerie is celebrating two years in the biz with free batata harra, mini pizzas, chicken wings, and cotton candy with either purchases and or just showing up.
• We'll give you more full-bodied coverage soon, but the team behind the Verdun Beach wine bar has opened a butchery and casse-croute operation next door, cleverly named Verdun Beef.
• Maybe you noticed, but we love the work of Craving Curator, so peep some limited edition prints by him, on display and available for purchase at Taverne sur le Square with food and wine available.
• Les Street Monkeys will be celebrating the Cambodian New Year on April 15—that shit's not to be missed.
• Check out the new Hong Kong-inspired restaurant/nightlife hotspot in downtown Montreal, Pink Kong.
• Trending Korean milk cream donuts in Montreal are now on offer at Gabé Cafe in the Plateau.
• Le Cave de Mamie and Ward et Associes are showcasing the emerging wine of Austria on April 14—expect as many complex, contemplative wines as there are electric and bewitching ones.
• On April 13, Mellön, Isle de Garde and WILLS invite you to taste a selection of beers from 15 Montreal island breweries, on tap together for the first time.

A reverse speakeasy, you say?

Located behind the interactive, gossip-themed bar Tittle Tattle, Loyd Von Rose’s first solo foray into the Montreal bar scene, La Gargamelle is—much like the local, self-styled cocktail artist and now chef—an unconventional project to say the least. (The Main)

La Gargamelle: Reveling in food and drink at an Old Montreal reverse speakeasy

The Montreal cocktail scene player Tittle Tattle now finds itself with a gastronomic side that showcases it’s chef’s flavour play.

J.P. Karwacki

Let's go to the Dep

As a locally-focused cultural magazine, we're working with the people who help enrich our city's identity by showing us just how beautiful and creative it is.

That's why we created the Dépanneur, where you can support locals, keep cash in the community, and connect with the people who are creating amazing things (every purchase also helps to support our editorial content, too).

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.

Ghorbeh in the 514

A look inside how Montreal's Levantine Arabs—Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian—are opening concepts that bridge adapting to a Western palate with staying true to who they are, told through the eyes of local restaurateurs. (The Main)

The nouveau Levant: Redefining cuisines and cultures from Montreal’s Arab diaspora

How Montreal’s Levantine Arabs—Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian—are opening concepts that bridge adapting to a Western palate with staying true to who they are.

Yasmine Dalloul

Give me 50 ccs of solutions, stat 💉

Artists and venues are sounding the alarm about a suffering cultural scene in Montreal. A complicated matter (covered below) is not seeing any true solutions any time soon, and risks turning our city into a mainstream Disneyland version of what we know and love. (The Rover)

Is Montreal’s Club Scene on Life Support? – The Rover

Artists and venue owners are worried the city is losing the very things that make up its charm: affordable costs and a thriving cultural scene.

The RoverEmelia Fournier

Hometown bringing the smackdown

Montreal wrestler Sami Zayn was at Wrestlemania 40 this past weekend, and even if you don't think about the event much, consider how big this is for a local appearing on what is the fastest growing entertainment sports channel in the world. (CTV News)

Montreal’s Sami Zayn is ready for his ‘Rocky IV’ moment at WrestleMania 40

As he heads to WrestleMania 40 this weekend in Philadelphia, Sami Zayn is not in the main event. But he doesn’t mind taking the scenic route to the top.

CTVNews

Tragedy shines a harsh light

Lawsuits facing Airbnb after last year's tragic year could be the beginning of a new wave of crackdowns taking shape in communities around the world—and creating an existential risk to Airbnb as we know it. (Macleans)

Food or energy? ⚖️

The Union of Agricultural Producers is denouncing the agricultural land grab by private wind developers to meet the demands of Hydro-Québec. Question is, can these two needs be reconciled in a shrinking world? (Pivot)

« L’implantation des éoliennes se fait de façon anarchique » – Pivot

L’Union des producteurs agricoles dénonce l’accaparement des terres agricoles par les promoteurs éoliens privés pour répondre aux demandes d’Hydro-Québec.

PivotAndré Noël

Densification with sustainable development

Local architecture studio Ædifica has created a residential apartment building and "full-scale sustainable development" that used to be brownfields from its use by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Take a look at that design. (Dezeen)

Ædifica presents “vision of densification” for housing block in Montreal

Ædifica has created a residential apartment building outside Montreal with an interior courtyard and a metal-mesh second skin on the facade.

DezeenBen Dreith

A tale as old (and toxic) as time

Montreal-based Sweet Baby Inc., a video game consulting company, has received threats of violence, suggesting they should kill themselves or each other, and even graphic photos—this here's the reason why. (CBC Montreal)

Why a Montreal video game consulting studio is at the centre of an online anti-diversity storm | CBC Radio

Montreal-based consulting company Sweet Baby Inc. has become a target of anti-diversity activists claiming it’s trying to radically change the video game industry.

CBCJonathan Ore

🫨 LINEUP UNLEASHED 🫨

The lineup for Jazz Fest was announced this past Tuesday for the 44th edition of the fest from June 27 to July 6, and it's "all about genre-hopping cross-pollination" where jazz acts as the axis of many, many musical styles. (Montreal Gazette)

Montreal International Jazz Festival will blur lines between jazz, funk and hip-hop

While genre-hopping names like Hiatus Kaiyote and André 3000 will perform, the fest will also include jazz stalwarts like Al Di Meola and crowd-pleasers like Norah Jones.

Montreal GazetteBrendan Kelly

"Do a backflip!"

On Aug. 25, the Port of Montreal's Grand Quay will stage one of the eight stops on the calendar for the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, with Canada hosting for the first time. Not enough? The average platform height is 27 metres. (CTV News)

Port of Montreal to host Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series event this summer

The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is coming to Montreal this summer.

Montreal

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.