The Bulletin: A Tomato Sandwich Party, Bocce 'n' Pizza, a Plateau Teahouse, and Cornetti Caldi for Ferragosto [Issue #194]

Morning, Montreal.

Or should I say ‘howdy, Montrey’all’?

The adopted cowboy core crowd of the city will be out line dancing in full, dusty-booted force as LASSO wraps up Parc Jean-Drapeau’s hat trick of annual summer festivals this weekend. We wish all these cowpokes a good time, but as all weekends go in Montreal, there’s more to it than that.

Indeed, we’re just over a month left before summer “officially” comes to an end with the fall equinox on September 22, and this seems to put things in a state of overdrive. That’s all evidenced by this week’s onslaught of things to do that ranges from sporting and music events to new pizza piazzas, fresh cafés and restaurants to try on for size, and salt-of-the-earth community gatherings. There are too many to list twice, so scroll on for those.

We’ve also got a lot of great stories from the past week to leaf through. Enjoy them as you rest up on Sunday, perhaps, and if you love ‘em and want to read it all, consider becoming a paid subscriber (and help support local media in the process).

Yee, and I cannot stress this enough, haw. Enjoy.

— JP Karwacki, Managing Editor

Montreal’s 1976 Olympic Games boast a legacy that pervades the city.

Giveaway presented by Heritage Montreal

Mark the 50th anniversary of the Montreal Olympic Games and discover iconic Montreal sports sites—from Olympic Stadium to NDG.

We're giving away 5 pairs of tickets to Heritage Montreal’s ArchitecTours, running from August 15 to October 25, 2026. To enter, check out the giveaway terms below and read more about these historic venues here.

Enter the giveaway!

The Editors' Picks

The places our editors keep coming back to. Every one has earned an editorial badge.

One Story to Read This Week

“I want the young, the legendary, a real mix. I like to promote local musicians." | Photograph: Audrey-Eve Beauchamp / @audreyeve.beauchamp

At 23, Joel Giberovitch bought into a Concordia hangout where students played backgammon and speed chess. Nearly thirty years later, that room is Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill, one of the last surviving jazz clubs in Montreal, and Giberovitch is still the one booking the room and picking up the phone himself.

This week’s read traces how a trip to New York’s legendary clubs shaped a Montreal listening room, why Giberovitch believes a jazz club’s real job is education as much as entertainment, and what it takes to keep a small, independent venue swinging through three decades of change rooms, new crowds, and a pandemic.

Read the full story.

Thursday

🎶 Head to Little-Italy Park on August 13 for Jeudi Antipasti with a live music performance by Forró de Lá and DJ Gorrilhas.

⭐ Celebrate the culture of the Orient with Orientalys, a festival at the Clock Tower Quay with a range of shows, workshops, and activities all weekend.

🪶 The First Peoples Festival, highlighting Indigenous culture through activities and art, wraps up today.

🎸 The Festival international de la chanson de Granby kicks off today and runs until August 23. Enjoy live music performances by both established and up-and-coming French artists.

🎾 Attend the conclusion of the Men’s National Bank Open. Tickets available here.

🕊️ TalkDeath, Grieve Leave, and Keeper Memorials bring their signature Cinq-à-Sad to Montreal’s Siboire Saint-Laurent and make space for discussions about grief, death, and dying.

Friday

🎈 L’International de montgolfières, a music festival and hot air balloon event, is happening this weekend in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Tickets are still available.

🖼️ Pointe-à-Callière has an exhibition for the 325th anniversary of the Great Peace of Montreal running until the end of September.

🎷 Soul of the City, a new non-profit r&b and soul music festival, takes place until August 16th across the Casa venues.

🏞️ Marché des Possibles returns for the next six weekends and begins today at Sans Nom Park: music, drinks, dancing, workshops, and more.

🎨 Artist Angie Warholl pops up at Café Marigold with prints, postcards, and originals, with Chef Sarah creating a special artist dish.

Saturday

🪁 Explore Grain de ciel, a three-day kite show at Frédéric Back Park offering expositions, shows, and kite-making workshops.

🏜️ LASSO, Montreal’s country music festival, is this weekend at Parc Jean-Drapeau.

⚽ CF Montréal are playing D.C. United at Stade Saputo.

🎊 Saint-Henri is having a neighbourhood party today from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Sir-George-Étienne-Cartier Square.

🍵Sip on matcha, thrift, and shop local artisans at Marché Floh’s patio pop-up from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday

🍕 Italfest’s 33rd edition ends today. Head to Little Italy for your last chance to discover musical performances, workshops, and shows.

🤼‍♂️ Verdun Beach is hosting the 2nd edition of Verdun Mega Beef, a free wrestling event with 12 wrestlers competing in six combats.

👟 Sunset Run Club is collaborating with Café Pista for a 5K run followed by a special brunch menu.

🎉 This year’s Montreal Korean Festival is based around the South Korean city Jeonju. Head to the Peel Basin for contests, performances, a parade, and over 20 food vendors.

🪩 Le Red Room hosts Electro Oasis every Sunday, with house music all night until 3 a.m. Entrance is free with an RSVP ticket.

🎬 Watch The Company of Strangers under the stars at the Livart outdoor courtyard.

🎬 The 10th edition of Film Noir au Canal comes to a close with Alexander Mackendrick’s Sweet Smell of Success.

Corner Pizza fires up the ovens for a newly-inaugurated public space à la Mano Cornuto in Griffintown. Details below. | Photograph: Rachel Holly Cheng / @rachelhollycheng

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.

Café Civil now has bingo every Friday starting at 8 p.m.

Pigeon Café has officially opened a new location in the Old Port.

Rosemont welcomes Café AMPM, a new spot that evolves its menu throughout the day to offer you breakfast, lunch, and apéro in the evening.

The long-awaited Jinjin teahouse, inspired by Chinese tea culture, soft-opens from its new Plateau storefront. Head over for tea, matcha, hojicha, and snacks.

Beaubien’s new restaurant, Sans Recette, is in soft opening. Enjoy a short menu from chef Maxim, featuring whatever products are in season, with wine and service from Baptiste.

A new public space snack bar, Piazza di Mano, has opened in Griffintown. Celebrate the opening on August 13 starting at 5 p.m. with games, including bocce, pizza from Corner Pizza, and wine from Mano Cornuto.

Stop by Nevski for its weekly Jazz & Orange Wine on Thursdays—reservations recommended.

Montreal Ribfest is making its next stop in Pierrefonds from August 14 to 16.

Enjoy a 10-course menu prepared by chef Ethan Vranic for $100 at Rien d’autre popup on August 15. Reserve here.

Mellön Brasserie is turning full funk on August 15 from noon til late: 14 beers, 2 new wild beer launches from Mellön, food from Pizza Toni, and a DJ set.

Zamelek turns 6 and is celebrating at Pumpui on August 15 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m with grilled food from Sabai-D and a new lime iced tea.

Mifigue in Orford are selling picnic baskets on August 15: $30 for a sandwich, crudités from Ferme les Radicelles and a can of cider from Cidre Intrus. Plus slush, organic vegetable stand, and Mifigue’s regular menu.

Panzeria and Baristello are collaborating for a Ferragosto celebration on August 16 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. with a special menu, aperitifs and cornetti caldi.

Le KiKid will be at Haute Saison on August 16 for a Malaysian-inspired pop-up with satays, baos, and drinks. The menu is priced at $65 per person for five courses.

Castel Franco’s sixth edition of Sandwich aux Tomates returns to Parc du Portugal on August 16 starting at 11 a.m.

The Festival des vins vivants du Québec is back for its second edition, this year at les Soeurs Racines in Saint-Ignace-de-Stanbridge on August 16 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Discover wines from over 20 wineries across the province.

Here, you'll find a weekly round-up of our stories from the past week, plus the latest local news.

Tiga’s here; he never left. Ahead of his îLESONIQ set alongside Boys Noize, the DJ and producer explains why, after 25 years, a city that doesn't quite work never sent him packing. Read more.

Dominic Sessa had never read Kitchen Confidential when he was cast as Anthony Bourdain. We spoke to the actor about playing the dishwasher before the fame, in a Provincetown kitchen where the current owner still remembers the real thing. Read more.

Le Dépanneur Café’s new owner Jeremy Anderson didn't want to reinvent Mile End's scruffiest café. He wanted to let its old culture grow back on its own. Read more.

Montreal is an island city with almost nowhere to touch the water, a problem entirely of our own making, and one Paris, Vienna, and Chicago have already solved. Read more.

The Village’s rainbow balls came down in 2019, per the request of designer Claude Cormier. Eight years and one mayoral announcement later, they’re coming back without him. Read more.

Blue line extensions, new trains, better accessibility: Montreal's transit authorities have no shortage of ambition, just a chronic shortage of the money to actually pay for it. Read more.

Speaking of which: The Blue line's 2031 extension can't run the old MR-73s, so Montreal's busiest line inherits the 1976 Olympic-era trains, soon to be the oldest in the world. Read more.

Red booths, smoked meat and round-the-clock hours kept the Dollard-des-Ormeaux Chenoys going since 1974. The company behind it filed for bankruptcy in April with over $1 million in liabilities, then tried to take it back in court and lost. Read more.

Rockland Centre sold in May for one dollar, twelve years after Cominar paid $271.6 million for it. The buyer is a numbered company now run by a luxury condo developer, which tells you plenty about what T.M.R.'s oldest mall might become. Read more.

Over the years, Notre-Dame Street East has seen project after project stall. One La Presse columnist spent the summer walking the street, and discovering what its future has in store. Read more.

Long before prestige TV took Indigenous history seriously, this 1993 Radio-Canada miniseries shocked viewers with a dramatic intensity rarely seen on Quebec screens. Read more.

From Angine de Poitrine to Safia Nolin, more Quebec musicians are ditching record labels altogether, trading the machine behind them for full control of the art and the money. Read more.

Reading and writing workshops in Laval jails have been going strong for three years, run by the city’s libraries. A line in the 2026 budget just ended the initiative, and the opposition isn't letting it go quietly. Read more.

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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 & Editor-in-Chief / Jean-Philippe Lauzon, Co-Founder & Head of Tech / JP Karwacki, Managing Editor / Whitney Domingo, Community Manager / Anahi Pellathy, Editorial & Production Coordinator / AnnaClare Sung, Junior Staff Writer / Saskia Wodarczak, Editorial Operations Coordinator / Kristina Stamkopoulos, Editorial Intern