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15 things to do this March

Didn’t get to do all the winter activities you wanted? Well you will surely find something to do this March

1. Montreal en Lumière                                       

What: Montreal en Lumière offers tons of activities. Anything from free shows, art tutorials, a skating rink and even a Ferris wheel. There is something to do for everyone. 

When:  February 16 – March 5 

Where: Quartier des Spectacles 

2. Garden of Oddness   

What: The learning doesn’t stop just because you’re on break. Montreal’s Botanical Garden has set up a space where you can learn about carnivorous plants.                                       

When: February 22 – April 30                                                   

Where: Montreal Botanical Gardens

3. Apik

What: Picture this: hitting the slopes, but close to home. Apik brings winter activities, such as a snowboarding circuit and ski completions, to the heart of Montreal.  

When: February 24 – March 5          

Where: Quartier Latin                      

4. Festival Casteliers                                               

What: A festival that looks at and displays puppeteering from all around the world. You can attend shows and tutorials, as well as take a look behind the scenes.       

When: March 1 – March 5                                                                       

Where: Théâtre Outremont, International House of Puppetry (MIAM)

5. Happening Gourmand                                  

What: It’s the 15th edition of this Montreal Food festival. Happening Gourmand puts some of the Old Port’s best restaurants on display with prices that are affordable.                                

When: March 2 – April 2                                                         

Where: Visit their website for participating restaurants across the Old Port

6. Festival Soleil d’hiver Montréal                                             

What:  Looking to escape the winter cold without going far? The Soleil d’hiver festival brings a bit of those warm tropical destinations to Montreal. You can enjoy food, cocktails, music and more.                                                                                

When: March 3 – March 5                                                             

Where: Marché Bonsecours  

7. Study Abroad Fair                      

What: Meet with university graduate schools and other groups. They can answer your questions and help you plan a semester abroad.                         

When: March 4 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.                                                 

Where: Palais des congrès 

8. Cabaret de Cirque                                     

What: A show filled with acrobats and stunts themed around the “multiple facets of this city.”                                                                   

When: March 9 – March 25                                                               

Where: Centre St Jax 

9. Bikini Bottom Rave           

What: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to party in Bikini Bottom? Check out this Spongebob SquarePants themed rave to find out.                                                                      When: March 10                                                                  

Where: Corona Theatre 

10. ZEM Social                           

What: Have you ever heard of Brazilian Zouk? Head on down to Montreal’s ZEM Social to learn, practice and dance the Zouk way.           

When: March 18 from 8 p.m. – 1 a.m.                                                        

Where: Station Clark – Danse & Fitness

11. Art Souterrain                                              

What: A free interactive art festival that features different installations placed along a route made in Montreal’s underground city.                                                                   

When: March 18 – April 9                                            

Where: Montreal’s underground network  

12. Saint Patrick’s Day Parade                                     

What: Show off your Irish Jig at the 198th Montreal Saint Patrick’s Day parade. 

When: March 19 at 12 p.m.                                                      

Where: Downtown Montreal (Parade route to be confirmed) 

13. Sexposition                             

What: A “taboo-free” weekend featuring erotic art. In the evening, the venue takes up a nightclub scene with DJs and performances.                                                                                     When: March 25 – March 26                                                                 

Where: Bain Mathieu

14. Montréal Joue                                                  

What: Various Montreal libraries will be hosting themed game nights, including everything from trivia to virtual reality.                                                                    

When: Beginning February 26 – May 28                                              

Where: Various libraries across Montreal. There will also be some virtual events. 

15. Sugar Shack 

What: The sweet smell of syrup is among us. Yes, Quebec’s maple syrup season has started. Head on over to Cap-Saint-Jacques’ sugar shack for a sugary treat. 

When: Every weekend in March and the week of March break 

Where: Parc-nature du Cap-Saint-Jacques

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Montreal en Lumière’s 2023 festival plans

Are you going to go out and visit?

This year’s edition of the Montreal en Lumière festival is back bigger than ever. The festival is on from Feb. 16 until March 5.

The Concordian had the chance to sit down with Julie Martel, the director of the gastronomic programming of the festival. Martel has been organizing the festival’s food for the last five years.

“It’s an important edition of the festival, because it marks the full return of the program outside of the pandemic context,” Martel said. Due to previous restrictions that were in effect at last year’s festival, the organizers were limited in programming. Most had to get a little creative with how they put it together.

“This means we are welcoming back international chefs. We have 40 international guests — not only chefs but winemakers from all over the world.”

Martel emphasized that one of the highlights of the gastronomy part of the festival was Indigenous cooking, which was introduced for the first time in last year’s edition of the festival. 

“We have planned for a full day of for the Indigenous cooking on Feb. 25 at Quartier Gourmand. This year also marks the return of the Quartier Gourmand, which is a free space that people can visit in Place des Arts,” Martel said.

The free space is very important to the festival because it is a way to democratize local food. Another interesting aspect of the Quartier Gourmand is that on specific days, there will be different themes. For example, one of the themes that will be covered is sustainable food. Martel wants to make that information available to all the guests of the festival.

“At Quartier Gourmand, it’s always free tastings and visitors can meet with the local chefs and producers,” Martel said.

Quartier Gourmand at Montreal en Lumière near Place des Arts. Photo by Dalia Nardolillo/THE CONCORDIAN

Martel is very proud of the fact that the Quartier Gourmand is free for visitors. She recognizes that even though the festival has 40 participating restaurants, it might not be affordable for everyone.

If the food part of the festival doesn’t pique your interest, Maurin Auxéméry, the director of the musical programming of the festival, promises some surprises for this year. 

“Music is back this year, and last year due to COVID we didn’t have any special shows,” Auxéméry explained.

He emphasized that in this year’s edition of the festival there will be two types of programming, the outdoor sites and the indoor shows.

The outdoor sites around Place des Festivals and Quartier des Spectacles will have DJs every night that play a different kind of music. The first nights will debut Latin music while towards the end of the festival there will be more French music.

The highlight of the musical programming is the indoor shows which includes all the live performances.

“I can’t remember the amount of indoor shows that we have right off of the top of my head but I do know that we have three nights at the Wilfrid-Pelletier concert hall with a symphony show,” Auxéméry said. 

There is absolutely no excuse for boredom for this upcoming March break. Montreal en Lumière packs a punch in terms of programming this year. For more information please click on this link.

Outdoor site at Montreal en Lumière near Place des Arts. Photo by Dalia Nardolillo/THE CONCORDIAN

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