The sun's been down for some time now. Are those birds chirping? Cheese and crackers, what time is it?

We won't pretend this weekend's Bulletin took a lot out of us and sent us out collecting the best of the best all night, but damn it all if it wasn't worth it: Dancing. Films. Interactive bike rides. Free coffee in barbershops. Puppies. Giant brunches. Terrasse celebrations. Rock climbing. Operatic singers in butcher shops. John Williams. Breweries.

You can't make this stuff up.

If you count up everything on offer here plus all of the new restaurants to check out in the month of June, plus all of the good pieces of news we have to share this weekend, we've got over 50 reasons to love being alive right now. Never despair, just get out there, even if it's just for one thing.

For the love of the city, Montreal. For the love of the city.

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

Thursday

• Catch the 11th editions of the Korean Film Festival Canada before it ends, a gathering for films and media artworks delving into Korean, pan-Asian, and Asian Canadian perspectives.
• Vibe Benders is leading a pop-up of rhythmic beats to Aire Commune tonight—food, drink, and a Black creator market will be on site as well.
• The 18th edition of Festival TransAmériques continues its celebrations of contemporary dance and theatre begin with 25 shows in 20 different venues.

Friday

• Aire commune is hosting CÉLINE EST AMAZING, a total immersion in the musical universe of Céline Dion outdoors.
• Local organizers from Hauterageous is bringing together some of the biggest superstars in the rave game at the Le Belmont.
• From May 31 to July 7, 2024, the 18th annual "Plus que des barbeaux" exhibition from Lachine's graffiti program returns to L'Entrepôt with the VERSUS exhibition.
• Want to do something chill? Check out what the Chinatown underground bar Sans Soleil is going to be spinning all weekend long,
• Go grab a free coffee while checking out the launch of local barber brand KRWN's new Saint-Laurent location.
• Catch one of the shows at the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival, a collection of fringe theatre, repertory, dance, music, drag-queen performances, and more.
• During Tour la Nuit du Festival Go Vélo, MAPP_MTL will be featuring a bike projection ride to explore with art pulled from local artist @chien.champion.

Saturday

• Centre Leonardo Da Vinci will host a tribute concert to the cinematic musical universes of John Williams.
• Local artist Raymond Biesinger invites one and all to his backyard for the first-ever P’Tit Backyard Vente d’Art & Vintage to sell prints and books alongside @scorpiondagger with untold wonders, and @falconbeck_vintage selling items she recently found in the 1950s.
• Café Bloc reopens its terrasse, and to celebrate there's vegan BBQ, music, and prizes. Also: Gym entry will be free if you arrive between 2pm and 7pm.

Sunday

• The Tour de l'Île de Montréal returns to offer bike routes on car-free streets, and a discovery of the city's neighborhoods at a different pace.
• 1994 was the year the Montréal Expos were the best baseball team in the major leagues— Pointe-à-Callière’s got a display to explore collectible objects, videos, and archival photos from that heyday.
• Love all dogs? Rescue All Dogs is holding a huge summer 'pawty' with ice cream, treats for humans and pups, flash tattoos and dog portrait tattoos, and a lot more to raise money.

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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.

Gettin' hot hot hot 🔥

The dining scene here is always in flux, making it hard to know where to eat in the city, so here? It's all about new names, established chefs, and everyone in between delivering everything from fine dining options to casual buvettes and hidden gems. (The Main)

The Best New Restaurants in Montreal [June 2024]

The best new restaurants in Montreal this month include 26 of the city’s freshest spring season openings, from strip mall noodles to lavish heritage dining rooms.

J.P. Karwacki

• Casavant, one of the spots repping Montreal on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants this year, is hosting a terrasse party on June 2—no reservations!
• Copilote is hosting Symbiose Vins and a 5-course menu focused on Iberian cuisine made in collaboration with Maxime Gagné of @mitch_deli_.
• From May 31 to June 1, the Café Collectif festival is bringing together and promoting roasters from across the province to highlight specialty coffee.
• The Grand Brunch Mange ton Saint-Laurent at Jean-Talon Market will explore the rich culinary world of the St. Lawrence River via six-course menus by eight chefs on June 1 & 2 only.
• If you love beer, take a road trip out to Festibière de Sherbrooke, running from May 31 to June 2.
• Caviar has transformed into the buvette project Faisan at Le Central, the downtown food hall.
• Verdun Beef is hosting a live opera night with young local artists in their intimate boucherie for a night of songs, arias, & good wine on June 3.
• On June 1, Isle de Garde is celebrating 10 years in the brewpub business with a menu highlighting dishes from over the years, ten collaborations with brewers that have forged their identity, and other surprises.
• The PSC runaway hit June Buvette is opening up its terrasse and is ringing in its new 7-day-a-week schedule, and a happy hour special: $9 glasses of wine every day from 4pm to 6 p.m.
• On June 2, Vinorama is holding a special event that'll highlight natural Californian wines by the glass.
• The brewery alongside the Lachine Canal, Memento, is celebrating its 2nd anniversary on June 1 with food, a special menu, and a bunch of activities.
• Finally, pour one out for Dinette Triple Crown this weekend: They abruptly announced their closure this week.

🍩 Everything I dough, I dough it for you

If the recent uptick in notable shops in Montreal form one side of a spectrum that feeds on nostalgia—using toppings like breakfast cereal, cookies or candy for example—the new donut shop Beigne Habitude’s application of pastry and baking experience carves out a whole new space on the other end. (The Main)

Beigne Habitude: High-end pastry technique meets donut Americana in Little Italy

From selling donuts out of a ruelle verte to studying shops across the United States, Rachel Berriman and Michael Lottner’s donut shop has been long in the making.

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.

Subterranean curations

In many ways, the Mile End’s design shop 207 Ouest is not your average boutique. One can say its owners select products that align with their brand and aesthetic, but those products stem from deep feelings, making their shop contain an emotional inventory. (The Main)

207 Ouest: The emotional inventory of a Mile End design shop

A subterranean curation according to coups de cœur from Myriam and Jeanne Élie of MYEL.

J.P. Karwacki

Nothing to Labatt about

Labatt 50 occupies a special place in Quebec. It's emblematic of a bygone era, and speaks of the toil of Quebec and the tenacity of its working classes. In this article, we're taking a look at this beer that's been so dear to the generations of the 1960s and 1970s. (The Main)

The story of Labatt 50, a working class beer

Labatt 50 was the best-selling beer in Canada for over 10 years, but nowhere has it had as much of an impact on popular culture as it has in Quebec. Here’s an investigation of that legendary beer.

Pierre-Olivier Bussières

I'll drink to that

Framed through one Montrealer's experience, this article looks into how more and more Canadians are rethinking their relationships with alcohol, whether taking a night, a week or a month off—or dropping it completely. (Macleans)

Sober Nation - Macleans.ca

Sexy mocktails, zero-alcohol beer and boozeless bars are everywhere. Why it’s never been cooler (or easier) to go alcohol-free.

Macleans.caMaclean’s

There's no future without culture

More than 500 artists and cultural workers gathered in the center of Montreal last Thursday, May 16, to push for increased government funding for arts and culture—the story's been big enough to catch international eyes. (Hyperallergic)

Hundreds of Artists Rally for Increased Culture Funding in Montreal

Artists and cultural laborers live in “unsustainable precariousness,” according to advocates pushing Quebec’s Minister of Culture for more support.

HyperallergicMaya Pontone

It's no competition, right?

Should you base yourself in arty, festive Montréal, with its beautiful parks and welcoming vibe? Or should it be the diverse and energetic city of Toronto, with its delightfully varied food scene? (Lonely Planet)

Montréal vs Toronto: how do you choose between Canada’s two biggest cities?

Which should it be: Montréal or Toronto? We asked two travel writers to make the case for the Canadian city closest to their hearts.

Lonely PlanetJames March

A metro ride to nowhere

An expert says Montreal region’s transit funding woes are likely to get worse before they improve: David Cooper, the principal at the consulting group Leading Mobility, warned that the city’s main transit agency is in a downward spiral. (Montreal Gazette)

Montreal’s transit system is already in death spiral, expert says

An expert examining Montreal’s transit funding says it is up to the province and the federal government to help stop the bleeding of cuts in the city’s transit system.

Montreal GazetteJason Magder

Can you imagine

This article looks over the Atlas of Never Built Architecture, which catalogs some good ideas—and a lot of bad ones. One of the good ones featured is the Tour Paris-Montréal, for instance, was commissioned by Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau for the Expo 67 world’s fair. (Bloomberg)

Just in time for summer!

A Radio-Canada report revealed details from a Hydro-Quebec internal document from last year, indicating that much of Montreal's electrical infrastructure is outdated and struggling to cope with increasing demands. (CTV News)

Montreal’s power grid is deteriorating, raising new concerns about reliability

Montreal residents are once again concerned about the reliability of the city’s power grid after new revelations on its deteriorating infrastructure.

Montreal

It took seven decades to tell this story

Maxwell Smart lost his family to the Nazis. Hiding out in a Polish forest for two years as a child, he survived and moved to Montreal, where he still lives. A movie has just been released about his experience. (The Guardian)

At 10, I fled the Nazis to live starving and alone in the woods. For two years, detection meant death

Maxwell Smart lost his family in the Holocaust, but was saved by his mother’s instruction to run. It was seven decades before he told anyone what had happened

The GuardianChris Godfrey

Some last-minute controversy for you

"My name is Abby, and if there's one thing you should know about me, it's this: I LOVE BAGELS... HE PEOPLE DESERVE AN ANSWER: Which are better, Montreal or New York bagels, once and for all?!" Thanks, Abby. (Buzzfeed)

I Tried 6 Bagel Places From New York And Montreal To Determine Which City Wins

I’m sorry to all those I’m offending, but facts are facts.

BuzzFeedAbby ZinmanBuzzFeed Staff

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

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