Laval has been long overdue for some festival love and we recently got to enjoy our first Rib Fest…read more It was great! Location was very important and it happened across the street from Montmorency Metro station, this location is easily accessibly by metro and train. Many buses come here as well. The only outstanding issue is for people like me who came by car. Simply put, parking is practically non-existent unless you walked 10 minutes. In a way, that's a good thing. You'll need to waddle a few minutes after you leave this festival filled to the rafter with yummy grub. Rib Fest held many guests of honor that are local or from very far away. I visited this festival 3 times and it was GREAT! The food is amazing, music is solid and it is quite kid friendly as well. My only qualms were the parking as well as not enough seating during their busy time. Looking forward to their next one, hopefully in Laval!

Great Jazz festival that happens every year late June to early July…read more Artists from all over the world come to several stages to perform for free or for a fee in some cases. This year, we saw many great artists along with thousands of other music lovers from all over. Metro Place des Arts or St Laurent for easy access.

Let it be known that you're going to Montreal in the summertime and the next thing you'll hear is…read more"Are you going for the jazz festival?" I was not. Regardless, when I realized my trip coincided with the festival I researched artists, venues, and dates only to come to the realization that a whole lot of Montreal's jazz festival takes place for free at multiple venues in a fairly concentrated area of the city. Assuming you can find the schedule (at staffed kiosks in the area) and locations and understand the program (no joke, it was a challenge), you can learn when and where everyone is playing and identify the free performances. Multiple nights on end I found myself at large outdoor spaces filled with folks there to enjoy the free offerings. Was it jazz? Let's just say that jazz is in the ear of the beholder because not once did I experience music that I consider to be jazz though that seems somewhat beside the point. Free live music is almost always enjoyable and this is no exception. The outdoor spaces are clean, the sound is good, and the large crowd is considerate even as they come and go. Were I returning to Montreal during another summer I'd most certainly plan my visit to coincide with the jazz festival and again attend several events.

I was realy impressed with the beers. My friend showed me a few breweries and the beers blew my…read moremind. I've never tasted in a row so many beers that were clearly above the rest. Usually you can kind of guess what you will have, and the experience is not that much different than going to a corner store and trying another commercial brand. Not this time! Also even though it was raining, i was suprised that there was so many people friday night. There were also a few interesting attractions like the one where you try to hammer as hard as you can on a pad. I didn't hammer hard enough to ring the bell, guess i'm too weak :(... Finaly the blacksmiths on the site where not just for show and they were working hard to create beautiful works of art. I enjoyed listening to one of the blacksmith explaining the process of forging. Very, very cool I cant wait to go there next summer :D

I hadn't been to this gathering in previous years primarily for the fact that it is hosted in Laval…read morewhich can feel like an impossible trek when you don't drive. However, a partnership with the STL and a few shuttle busses made it far more accessible. The festival is hosted on the Laval Nature Center site which I didn't even know existed. Holy cow is it beautiful! I would spend my weekends there on a regular basis if I lived in the area. It's huge, rolling mountains, man made lake with boating and tons of activities throughout the site. The Fest itself was on the southern end of the Nature Center which allowed for one big open space with accessible parking areas. There were dozens of brew houses and local companies ranging from Popcorn to Pretzels and back to Jerky and pickled goodies. The event's entry cost was only $10 at the door (even cheaper presale) and I loved that 17 and under get in free of charge to play the inflatable games and other activities.Their set up made it possible to have this Beer Festival be a family event which is a challenge all on its own! The collection of exhibitors were very well balanced with smokehouses and blacksmiths on site. What would I change? Honestly, nothing. Particularly for the fact that this was only their 3rd year, I would say the organizers have managed wonders! Hats off to the team, can't wait to return next year.

Igloofest is one of my favorite music festivals I've been to. Artists are always incredible, and…read morethe vibes are great! Love seeing everyone come together in their ski/cold weather clothing and dancing to the music. Would recommend!

Great venue, too cold and more warm places to settle in would be nice. People here are friendly…read morealthough some may get drunk typically a bit and some only speak French basically. I would not suggest going alone if possible as I had to do that. I also had to get my ticket by buying a hotel package and could not buy a ticket separately from the IF site directly. I had wanted VIP and this was not an option for me by choosing a hotel package. IF took 2-2.5 weeks to respond to my email inquiry regarding this. It seems an app was an option but I didn't know what app I could download and if it would have been compatible usage within the US. Internet coverage was included to Canada w my plan but my data roaming auto-turned off and I could not figure out how to turn it on right away. I was also driving in the evening and I could not find a comfortable place to stop for awhile. I almost did not go but decided I needed to go as I was interested in both main stage artists and had my own edm outfit that I should've done a better job showcasing. Food options were decent and alcohol was easy to get. Bathroom access was okay . I think it was so cold that they should've opened up the dining areas on the other connected island and had TVs to watch the performances from inside the dining areas of that part of the Old Dock. The safe space would have been good here too. Providing this environment and resource helps encourage and maximizes diversity with race, sexuality, religion, and minimizes bias. There are recycling bins here and the culture here seem to make best efforts to follow. Many Americans would sadly see this as another trash bin. Montreal has a ton of TooGoodToGos including mini-supermarkets. The little contributions we can do to help sustainability can only help our world, and the culture seems to reflect this too. I wore double layers and it was enough for awhile. Some of the locals didn't seem to have more than a single layer and they seemed fine. Main stage artists did not have merch available to sell and side stage had a few things that I felt were over priced on top of my lack of interest. Some great beats and covers from the side stage though I am not a big fan of covers. Igloofest has some great sponsors and I like how they support some local French hotels too and not just the American standard ones. Some of the friendly people here, I do wish we could've bonded to be even friendlier . Not being able to speak French fluently didn't help. Too cold for Google Translate to be my constant friend and my juice almost ran out near fest end too. Maybe if I had put my reversible sequin jacket on earlier and had IF on it, this would have rocked everyone's world that much more. There was a free picture booth and a chance to win a free VIP package. I tried it later in the night, and a group of people get a picture(s) for free at the end. In my first take, one of the staffers got in the pic since it was just me. I kind of wish I had asked to keep it but maybe to ask if I win, that I would win a boyfriend too, lol. Alas, it was too cold for me to really think and the idea of being in a new area and being able to speak only minimal French (Je joue les echecs.) Maybe if I make my social media public, with all these pictures and certain tags, maybe something positive could come of that. The loneliness I felt here reminded me of a person who won the same type of award I did where he told me to carry my award around everywhere. Or online where some people pretend they want to meet you and purposely don't. The struggles I took to get here on my own ( 3 car dashboard warning signals all resolved after stopping on the side 3 times), product shipped under proper protocols that could not be done in the US, appreciating some food quality, drink, and a gym, all help culminate an independence for me to attend an event and the related prep and struggles all on my own.

Small, good for families but my husband and I were able to walk through it quickly and there wasn't…read moreanything for us to do or see. We ended up a a restaurant having some nice margaritas just people watching but we could have done that anywhere.

The showcasing of Montreal musicians and new artists!…read more I used to attend many Art workshops & miss them!. It is a Montreal treasure!

I always forget to review this festival but it's my favourite winter event! It's so fun and lively,…read moreit'll make you forget it's cold outside. I try to visit every year because they always have new additions and activities. This year there were a few changes: -reservations ahead of time for the big 3 activities (ferris wheel, zip line, and slide). I think this change made sense theoretically but in practice it was very messy. They didn't advertise well enough that the tickets existed, so tons of people just showed up and were very confused. Also at first the tickets were available at 5pm BEFORE the day you planned on visiting and then it was changed to 1 hour before the festival opened for THAT day and that day only. Tickets were for 20 minute to 15 minute time slots. The scanning process was slow since so many people didn't know to reserve in advance, and sometimes the employees would just not care and let anyone in so the tickets served no purpose. -Less food trucks but more food booths (from sponsors like the milk company and maple syrup company). -The bell lounge didn't have phone cleaning or VR activities anymore, It was more for drinks and live music performances. - New Tim Hortons game where you threw pucks at a giant screen. -Cheese festival inside the mall! (very packed though so didn't visit) I really love this festival but it's too short! Make it available for 3 weeks and still end on the Nuit Blanche!

Went Friday night and wasn't disappointed. Weather was 2 no…read morerain and not to many people. There was a hour wait for the sledding you grab a pass and watch the clock. Ferris wheel was a super quick line. You go around slow at first then fast the last two times. There's curling and little hand clappers so you can cheer for your team. The saq is in a igloo which was super cool might not of been made of snow but It was just as cool. Fire pits everywhere to keep warm and you can even roast marshmallows super cute idea !

Even though I'm a picky poutine eater I went apprehensively to the Poutine Fest in Laval....I gotta…read moresupport Laval festivals! Truth be told, we were missing a lot of the big hitters who don't own food trucks. The first time I went with the Smoking BBQ Combo with Italian sausage and bacon and it was amazingly good!!! So yey! The sauce on this was BBQ and sweet and it went perfect with it. The next time I visited I went with a classic poutine with chicken at a food truck called Fat Lees and it was simply terrible! Among the worst I've ever eaten. I hope next year they have better trucks, selection is important.

I got to experience the Ribfest several times this year and at its best thanks to Yelp. It is an…read moreawesome summer event with an outstanding location, you can't get a better spot than the Old Port for it. Ribfest caters to everybody, parents and kids can be happy with the food, and entertainment. Besides many, many delicious ribs, the participants offer variety of grilled meats, there are also poutine, churros and food trucks that bring diversity. I personally think the bar should offer a little bit more beer options, yet beer is just a supplement to your delicious ribs, and Oh! delicious they are. There are a lot of tables where you can sit and consume your ribs and fortunately many stations with paper towel rolls as eating ribs is a messy business. The event is very busy, even on the launch date it was pretty crowded. The line ups in front of the ribs stands on my second Sunday visit were pretty long, yet not unbearable. Conclusion: great way to end up the week with a great food in the company of friends or family!

Long overdue for a review, no idea how I missed this…read more Rib Fest is one of the BEST events found in Montreal, that is, if you're willing to deal with the crowd it generates. IT SURE GETS BUSY!!! Solution is to show up super early so you can get this amazing food with as little wait as possible. This year it was hosted in the Old Port, so the line-ups looked PAINFUL. Other than that, this event is awesome. I love trying out BBQ from new places but I always go back to BILLY BONES BBQ, their ribs are TOP OF THE LINE and add that with some of their cornbread and that meal MADE MY WEEK.

Every time I spend time in Montreal, I go to the Quartier des Spectacles because most Ville Marie…read morefestivals take place in this area. In the summer, it's pedestrian only on the area right around St Catherine, so it's easy to get around on foot and see all the stages and sights. The present-day Quartier des spectacles largely overlaps the site of Montreal's former Red Light district, whose history extends back to the beginning of the 19th century. Between the 1920s and the start of the 1960s, the neighborhood was home to an impressive number of cabarets that headlined famous artists. Montreal garnered a reputation as a fun-loving city, and tourists started to arrive in great numbers. The American Prohibition (1920-1933) increased Montreal's popularity, but also created conditions that led to the growth of organized crime, prostitution and illegal gaming houses. It is during this time that the neighborhood was christened the Red Light district. Beginning in the 1950s, professional theatre started to take hold.... in this neighborhood, the new energy took shape in the construction of Place des Arts, the metro system (three stations service the Quartier) and in the establishment of Hydro-Québec's headquarters. The following decade was marked by the building of Complexe Desjardins, which spurred commercial activity in the area, and the campus of the Université du Québec à Montréal, a university founded on the values of the democratization of knowledge and culture. In 1982, the Montreal International Jazz Festival presented outdoor concerts in the neighborhood for the first time. The natural vibrancy of the downtown area along with the many empty lots supported the proliferation and expansion of festivals over the years. Important cultural events became one of the Quartier's motors and one of the principal attractions of the city for tourists and locals alike.

There is so much going on at the Quartier des Spectacles especially on a weekend or even on…read moreweeknights. You will find a lot of tourist in the area. We arrived on a Tuesday night to Montreal and because we were staying 13 mins walk from Quartier des Spectacles, we came here for a visit. We didn't expect that there would be performance happening at night in the center of Quartier des Spectacles (near Desjardin Complex). At the Quartier des Spectacles, you will find a lot of restaurants and as mentioned before the entrance to the beginning of the Underground Tunnel is located at Desjardin Complex. This part of the city is quite busy after 10 am to 11 pm. Places des Art is also located smack center at the Quartier des Spectacles for those who wants to watch any live orchestral performances. https://www.quartierdesspectacles.com/fr/carte/#places-publiques-animees