At the same time, there's been some hard-hitting news and deep cuts lately—and no, we're not talking about the REM having a rough couple of first days, be it service disruptions or trapping users in a railway garage.

Read on to get the whole story.

Thursday

• Montreal Pride and its 11-day showcase of equality and inclusion—including  free shows, panels, Community Day and Pride Parade—begins.
• The Phi Centre's Sex, Desire and Data, an immersive exhibition that explores the connections between sexuality and technology, is now open.
• The open-air concerts, refreshments and entertainments of Les Guinguettes is moving along the Lachine Canal to the Berge des Coursiers, a Parks Canada historic site in Old Montreal.
• If fireworks are your thing, check out the performance by Finland at L’International des Feux Loto-Québec.
• It's the last weekend for Montreal's world-famous Fantasia International Film Festival, with plenty of great films still on display.

Friday

• Osheaga begins, and big names like Rüfüs Du Sol, Billie Eilish, and living legend Kendrick Lamar are all taking the stage.
• The 30-year-old ItalfestMTL returns to honour the beauty and richness of Italy in the streets of Montreal with free activities and events.
• The Montreal street food First Fridays returns, this time with a celebration of Latin America at a new location in the Old Port of Montreal.
• Watch The Grand Budapest Hotel with the open-air Cin’Hoch, where movie-goers are invited to bring chairs, blankets and whatever else they need to enjoy the movie.
• Carte blanche has been given to a dozen artists from the 2SLGBTQI+ community & its allies with the new circus show entitled Cabaret de la Fierté, held inside the church of Le Monastère.

Saturday

• The Montreal hip-hop community is coming together for a landmark event: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the genre with a huge party in Parc Vinet.
• The Tournée des agricultures montréalaises is back: It offers an immersion into the city's world of agriculture, with nearly 50 organizations involved in urban and peri-urban agriculture. Excursions are accessible by bike or on foot.
• Sneakerheads (or aspiring sneakerheads) will want to check out the Ultimate Sneaker Show at Plaza Centre-Ville.
• The Foire des vins et cidres d'ici will be taking place at Atwater Market, where Quebec wine and cider lovers can discover producers, discover new vintages, and learn more about their products.
• Who doesn't love a good 2000s dance party? If you're due to dance, you'll find one this weekend at Chez Ernest.
• A big Pride event worth checking out is this show from local kiki houses: Cheer them on as they battle through categories for some fab trophies and cash prizes.

Sunday

• Organizers from We Are Afro is inviting one and all to a day summer party at Aux Quartiers Belles Gueules with DJs, BBQ eats, and major vibes.
• Word on the street is that a real "farm to table" experience can be found at the Maison de Soma, which serves seasonal cuisine using produce from their fields.
• Shakespeare in the Park is coming to an end this weekend, with the last of its shows happening in Westmount Park.
• If ending the weekend with a movie sounds like a plan, Cinema du Parc is doing late-night screenings of Darren Aronofsky's PI.
• The 47th annual Montreal Highland Games, bringing together Montrealers of all backgrounds to celebrate Scottish sport, music and culture, is taking place.

WHAT TO EAT IN AND AROUND MONTREAL

This section dishes out the scoop on restaurant openings, new menus, old classics—you name it.

• This summer, it turns out, marks the end for the La Petite-Patrie favourite Santa Barbara; better dig into its affordable vegetarian menu before it's too late.
• La Cave de Mamie is popping cuvées from Joe Swick, maker of naked wines from the Pacific Northwest. No rez, first come first served, till they run out of wine.
• Omniously talking about "One Year Closer To Absolute Darkness", the Sud-Ouest's Messorem has announced it will be celebrating its fourth anniversary this weekend. Expect a lot of beer.
• If you're heading out to Parc Jean-Drapeau this weekend, Dany St Pierre is making his classic pan pizzas, plus submarine sandos and cookies.
• Hong Kong-style diner Dobe & Andy is getting into the late(r) night game with a new service Dobe After Dark with mixed drinks, shots, and special menus.
• Located in the former premises of Bon Service, the new bar L'infâme Tittle Tattle has opened its doors, a new project from Drink Master Loïc Fortin aka Loyd Vonrose.
• The cocktails and raw bar offerings of P2 have taken over the space that once hosted Paname in Verdun, all led by the team behind Bar Palco.
• Take note that Roman-style sweet sixteen pizzas will soon be available on pre-order from FORNO PIZZA FRANKIE’S, a new place in Lachine.

ICYMI: A weekly round-up of the latest local news, from entertainment to current affairs and more.

Passing the smoked meat torch

As you're reading this, Lester's Deli in Outremont has already undergone a shift in ownership: Montreal restaurateur Kevin Fung of spots like Imadake has taken over the Jewish deli destination, and though he insists everything will say the same, he's got big plans to take the brand worldwide. (Montreal Gazette)

Brownstein: Lester’s Deli has been sold, but don’t panic

Montreal restaurateur Kevin Fung will take over Aug. 1, with plans to expand with outlets in the city, throughout the country and even Asia and Europe.

Montreal GazetteBill Brownstein

"No town embraces stand-up comedy like Montreal"

JFL may be over, and while the comedy landscape has changed rapidly and dramatically in recent years, our very own laugh fest remains more than just relevant, attracting comedians at every stage of their career, as well as club owners and tour promoters, managers and agents, directors and showrunners. (Variety)

How Just for Laughs Montreal Festival Has Boosted Comedic Careers

In days of yore, the best opportunity for a stand-up comedian to break out was to be tapped by Johnny Carson’s team for a “Tonight Show” slot. Getting invited to the couch afterward was a whole oth…

VarietyStuart Miller

Blindspots on the world's "coolest street"

Several well-established merchants in Verdun, particularly on Wellington Street, have recently been forced to close shop. Despite heavy traffic, gentrification, abusive rent increases and the lack of legal framework for renewing commercial leases have undermined the viability of businesses contributing to Verdun's charm. (Le Devoir)

Des fermetures sur la rue Wellington suscitent l’inquiétude

La «rue la plus “cool” au monde» est victime de son succès.

Le DevoirRoxane Léouzon

Mile End? Try Mile East

On a similar note to the above: "The strip of Beaubien St. E. from St-Laurent Blvd. to St-Denis St. is booming, but in a cool, low-key way that’s much more organic than other buzzy Montreal streets that get written up in the international media." Say hello to the 'Mile East'. (Montreal Gazette)

Neighbourhood Watch: Low-key Beaubien St. E. captures Mile End’s old vibe

“I call it Mile East,” says one business owner. “You could just tell that things were coming toward here. You could just tell it was going upward and not downward.”

Montreal GazetteBrendan Kelly

When we won't let them find someplace else

We dug this one out of the Tribune's archives, and you know what? Much of it continues to ring true in Montreal: Hostile architecture, also known as exclusionary or defensive design, is an intrinsic component of the city's urban spaces. (The Tribune)

THE VIOLENCE OF EXCLUSIONARY DESIGN | McGill Tribune

The McGill TribuneKate Addison, News Editor

NIMBYism strikes again!

Montreal's Diving Bell Social Club, a popular event space on Saint-Laurent Blvd., will shut its doors in December after repeated complaints from neighbours over noise. Owners say the city could do more to mediate between people who work and live near The Main. (CTV News)

Popular Saint-Laurent venue The Diving Bell closing after increase in noise complaints: owners

Montreal’s Diving Bell Social Club, a popular event space on The Main, will shut its doors in December after repeated complaints from neighbours over noise, the bar’s owners say.

CTV News

Exploring the "beings inside the art"

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has hired its first curator of Indigenous arts: artist, curator and author Léuli Eshrāghi. An Oceanic Indigenous person, here's what their plans are moving forward for Indigenous peoples locally and internationally at our fair museum. (APTN News)

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts welcomes curator of Indigenous arts

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has hired its first curator of Indigenous arts to focus on Indigenous peoples across the globe.

APTN NewsEmelia Fournier

That ol' timey rat-a-rat-tat of a Chicago typewriter

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Montreal was the bank robbery capital of North America. Here's local artist Arizona O'Neill's look into the history of bank heists in Montreal, during a time when there were as many as two robberies a day. (CBC Montreal)

Montreal was once the bank heist capital of North America | CBC News

For CBC Creator Network, Arizona O’Neill looks into the history of bank heists in Montreal, during a time when there were as many as two robberies a day.

CBCArizona O’Neill

RIP to a real one

Street artist Raymond Pilon, known as Zïlon, has died. Considered a leading figure in the Montreal underground punk movement of the 1970s and '80s and a pioneer of Quebec street art, his death is a valuable lesson in how we venerate what we have (or don't). (CBC Montreal)

What Zïlon’s death tells us about how artists are seen while they’re alive | CBC News

The passing of Zïlon, the man dubbed by some as the “godfather” of street art in Canada, was announced Saturday morning by Beauchamp Art Gallery, which worked closely with him.

CBCCassandra Yanez-Leyton

Observation Is A Constant That Underlies All Approaches

That's the title of the new book from architect and founder of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Phyllis Lambert. An assemblage of images that Lambert has taken in various formats since 1954, starting with 35mm black-and-white film, it's worth checking out alongside everything else at the CCA and its bookshop. (The Globe and Mail)

Architecture and curiosity drive Phyllis Lambert’s new photo book

The founder of the Canadian Centre for Architecture speaks on her photography and childhood in Montreal

The Globe and MailAlex Bozikovic

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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