The Bulletin: ⚾️ 💀 Montreal mourns the Expos, then parties anyway [Issue #150]

Fall, apparently, is no time to be slowing down. Montreal didn’t get the memo, anyway. It might be getting a little too cold for terrasses, and it might be a little too early for hibernating, so we're all busy filling every night with something to talk about.

Lynchian fever dreams and feminist feasts? Queer karaoke, burlesque finales, and a full-blown skeleton resurrection? Catching the world premiere of Who Killed the Montreal Expos? We got a lotta oddities on offer.

You don’t want to miss a thing this weekend sesh, let alone all the snackable things the city’s got lined up plus stories and curiosities you may have missed from the last week.

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

Thursday

🎨 La Buvette evenings return to the MMFA, check out the ongoing exhibitions with DJ performances, creative workshops, photo stations, drinks, and catering service. 

🗳️ Elect the new members of the Faubourgs Cultural District committee throughout an evening of presentations, dance shows, drinks, and appetizers. 

📚🍽️ Feminist library L’Eguélionne launches Queers at the Table– grab a copy that explores the relationships between queerness and food through recipes, comics, and essays. 

🍷🎨 Release the artist within at La Graine Brȗlée’s Drink & Draw, where you can sketch, doodle, and talk among other creatives. 

🎤 Queeraoké throws a karaoke night for queer women, dance and duet with others in the Montreal LGBTQ+ community. 

⚾️ Catch the world premiere of Who Killed the Montreal Expos?, a gripping investigation into the rise and fall of the city’s iconic baseball team at Cinéma du Musée.

Friday

🎬 For 50 years, the Festival du nouveau cinéma has showcased bold, diverse, and original auteur films from around the world—catch daily screenings until October 19.

🛍️🥧 Kapara & Friends kicks off their autumn pop-up market featuring several vendors, artisans, and apple pie. 

🪩 Barbossa throws another jam night, with atmospheric house sets back to back all night long. 

🍁🎶 Piknic’s OfF programming presents Defected, a house-imbued evening at the Fizz Stage, a perfect farewell to the outdoor season.

Saturday

🎬 Pull a Twin Peaks season 1 all-nighter amidst a Lynchian transformed Agora with quizzes, prizes, bar service, surprises and a special guest appearance from the series.

🎃 Snag some Halloween themed artisanal goods from over 75 local vendors at the Montreal Makers Market.

⛸️ The ISU Short Track World Tour brings the world’s fastest speed skaters to Montreal for two weekends of high-speed races and spectacular performances.

⚽ Montreal’s pro women’s soccer team, Roses FC, close out their debut Northern Super League season with a final home game at Stade Boréale—a historic match for the city’s newest fan-favourite club.

👠 The Montreal Burlesque Festival wraps up– catch the last night of sensual, sequin-filled performances at Club Soda. 

⚽️ Montreal’s pro-women soccer team wraps up their debut season with a final home game at Stade Boréale.

👻 Phoenix Books hosts an enchanted Halloween pop-up, with handmade goods from local artisans.

Sunday

🎞️ Experience Cinéclub Film Society’s latest screening, a 16mm film projection of Fellini’s 1965 Juliet of the Spirits.

🪅 The city’s latest house party, Joy is a Weapon, launches at Between Us Studio with DJ sets, drinks, and patties. 

🎹 Party the Sunday scaries away at Piknic, with the help of headliners Notion and Discoňo. 

🕺Learn how to dance the blues with a free introductory course, courtesy of Barrelhouse Club, at Brasserie Beaubien. 

🎧 It’s Bassgiving at Le Red Room and they’re serving a program full of local DJs all night long. 

🎵 Datcha throws a special edition party, inviting you to have a taste of Latin club, techno, and hyperpop with live DJ sets from both Montreal and New York City.

Getting from A to B just got easier now that Lyft has launched in Montreal. 

This is the ride-hailing app that connects you with local drivers for those moments when you need a ride: a grocery haul from the Jean-Talon Market, a night out in the Plateau, an early morning trip to YUL—you name it.

Pick your ride type in the app: standard, XL for up to six passengers, or Wait & Save for when you have extra time and want to save a little cash. You can also schedule rides ahead, or get picked up faster with priority pickup.

The app includes safety features like sharing your ride details with friends or family who can track your location in real time, plus optional audio recording and arrival check-ins for added peace of mind.

New riders save 50% off their first five rides (max $10/trip) using code MAIN50. Terms apply.

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.

The skeleton has risen again—after last year’s midnight decapitation, it’s back and better than ever for Zach’s birthday at Double’s on Oct 9.

Bar Limone’s Aperitivo o’clock strikes with 13$ martinis, fries, oysters, and Caesar salad on Oct 9.

Get your last fix of sweet and caffeinated mornings—and your last dance—at Sugar Rush’s last event of the season on Oct 10. 

Montreal Pizza Fest joins forces with Burton on Oct 11, for celebratory slices and live music.

Nora Gray brings a festive Thanksgiving dinner on Oct 12 to the Pinot Hotel.

Thanksgiving’s getting a second take on Oct 13 at Aux 2 Clochers in Frelighsburg with some méchoui: Expect all-you-can-eat plates, cider, and no one leaving hungry.

Ramen obsessions takes centre stage at Ramen Ramen Fes, running October 13–26, where restaurants citywide serve special-edition bowls.

Heritaj restaurant is bringing back Perles & Bulles for a special Fall edition on Oct 16, with 1$ oysters, champagne, themed cocktails, and exclusive fusion menu. 

Restaurant Nozy re-opens this week, bringing their Teishoku style menu to their new location in Little Italy.

Don’t miss out on the last weekend of outdoor food options and terrasses at the Atwater Market as the outdoor season comes to a close.

...also, by the way friendos, don't forget to let The Main know if you've got an event coming up at your restaurant or bar!

🍜 Ramen Ramen Fes returns

From October 13 to 26, Montreal’s citywide ramen crawl is back—two weeks of slurping, voting, and arguing over which broth reigns supreme.

Now in its fourth edition, Ramen Ramen Fes gathers some of the city’s best ramen chefs (and a few wildcard contenders) for a friendly, flavour-packed showdown. Each restaurant rolls out a one-off bowl—from creamy tonkotsu to vegan miso—and you decide the winner. Just show up, eat, and vote online.

Don’t miss the free opening night party and outdoor screening of Tampopo at UQAM’s Agora on October 13, celebrating the cult ramen classic’s 40th anniversary.

👉 Read The Main’s full guide and plan your noodle crawl. 👈

Here, you'll find a weekly round-up of the latest local news, from entertainment to current affairs and more.

Two ex-engineers built a punk-style biotech lab in Hochelaga that now pumps out 700 pounds of gourmet mushrooms a week for Montreal’s top chefs—all grown, sterilized, and delivered within 10 kilometres. Read more.

Armed with chisels and patience, Montreal artist Joe Lima carves six-foot woodblocks that turn shadow into architecture and light into sculpture—months of labour to capture a single moment. Read more.

Forget maple leaves and mounties: Montreal designer Will Crosson is redefining Canadiana through selvedge denim, hand-stitched trucker hats, and a quietly radical take on what being “made here” really means. Read more.

Montreal’s coffee scene refuses to cool off. The city’s latest wave of cafés is 31 strong, ranging from Caribbean roasters and Beninese-French patisseries to matcha labs, gym cafés, and metaphysical brew bars. Read more.

After 42 years of roast ducks and no-nonsense service, Dobe & Andy isn’t changing its recipes—it’s changing the rules of Chinatown dining itself. Read more.

Four guys, one risky corner, and a lot of focaccia. Mano Cornuto turned a dead stretch of Griffintown into a daily ritual—11 to 11, seven days a week—by keeping the door unlocked and the ego out of it. Read more.

Montreal designer Daniel Finkelstein builds spaces that simply work. From pasta bars to skate shops, his 'New Chabanel' workshop turns client needs into purpose-built design. Read more.

At Miette Sandwicherie, every turkey brine, pickle slice, and loaf of sourdough gets the long road treatment—because doing it the hard way is Thea Bryson’s whole recipe for better sandwiches. Read more.

From latex and leather to midnight mosh pits and drag queens on aerial chains, here’s where to dance, scream, and lose your voice this Halloween. Read more.

For six decades, Montreal tourists lined up to crouch through doll-sized doorways and pay a dime to feel enormous. Welcome to Le Palais des Nains—the city’s strangest empire of illusion. Read more.

Saint-Eustache jumped from 71st to 4th happiest city in Quebec, so journalist Hugo Meunier went home to investigate—via flea markets, pickleball courts, and a few midlife crises. Read more.

In a city that’ll fight over language, potholes, and bagel supremacy, there’s one thing Montreal still agrees on: the Canadiens. From Lafleur to the 2021 playoff run, the Habs remain the city’s only true religion. Read more.

Clubs are closing, noise complaints are rising, and rent’s through the roof—so is Montreal’s nightlife really dying? Not quite. It’s just gone underground, trading velvet ropes for 36-hour raves and DIY café dancefloors. Read more.

Montreal’s housing crisis has everyone on the same page—until it’s time to build. From forests in Pointe-Claire to high-rises in Westmount, every solution sparks another fight over what should stay green and what should grow. Read more.

DIY shoegaze, electro-funk, old-school jazz: Montreal sounds like everything all at once—Cohen’s melancholy, Mile End’s feedback, and Kwenders’ dance floor joy woven into one restless heartbeat. Read more.

After nearly a year of silence and red tape, Champs Sports Bar finally got its dance permit back—proof that in Montreal, even the “practice of dance” can be an act of bureaucratic endurance. Read more.

Armed with matcha lattes, feminist paperbacks, and too much irony, Concordia’s “performative men” battled for glory in an absurdist contest of self-awareness—and one unplugged guitar. Read more.

Want to sponsor this newsletter, or know someone who would?

Reach thousands of Montrealers and support our content at the same time: Contact us for more info.

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.

👋 Masthead: Philip Tabah, Founder & Head of Creative / Daniel Bromberg, Co-Founder & Head of Operations / Jean-Philippe Lauzon, Co-Founder & Head of Tech / JP Karwacki, Managing Editor / Amber Spector, Social Media Manager / Anahi Pellathy, Editorial & Production Coordinator / Phylida Tuff-West, Editorial Intern / Kaitlyn DiBartolo, Editorial Intern