The Bulletin: Montreal in the US election, a vinyl fair, burlesque, and all the fall things 🍁 [Issue #99]

The Bulletin is a collection of what's happened, what’s happening, and what’s to come in and around Montreal.

The Main

The Main

October 17, 2024- Read time: 7 min
The Bulletin: Montreal in the US election, a vinyl fair, burlesque, and all the fall things 🍁 [Issue #99]Gardens of Light is still ongoing at MontrĂ©al's Botanical Gardens until October 31, perfect for a crispy fall evening. | Photograph: Bertrand Exertier - Tourisme MontrĂ©al

Blink 182 jokes aside, now that the gluttonous long Thanksgiving weekend is behind us, the city is most definitely slipping into something cozy.

As small press readings, film screenings, lazy walks through galleries, and the warm crackling sound of vinyl dominates our weekend planner, a lot of apropos events are taking place in the city's restaurants and bars: From pasta pop-ups and rotisserie dinners to mini fall festivals and private import salons where you can top your wine rack up for the holidays, it's as slow a burn out there as a chalet fireplace.

Enjoy a relaxing weekend before Halloween hits. ❀


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

Thursday

🎹 Discover emerging artists of Quebec at artch festival, taking place until Oct 20 at Place Ville Marie.

🏒 The Montreal Canadiens are playing against the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Centre.

🎬 The Festival International de CinĂ©ma AdaptĂ© de MontrĂ©al—a festival to connect people with mental, motor, hearing, and visual disabilities, or neuroatypical profiles, to cinema—is currently taking place.

đŸ‘šâ€đŸ’» MTL connect: Montreal Digital Week's annual international event for a meeting of the minds around today's digital revolution is taking place.

🍄 Mush love is going around at the first-ever Montreal Mushroom Festival that'll feature educational talks, artisanal goods, and more.

Friday

đŸ‘Żâ€â™€ïž The MontrĂ©al Burlesque Festival's 3-day celebration of the city's cabaret scene begins at Club Soda, and it's saucy.

đŸŽ” Le Plateau Record Show is a one-day vinyl record fair with over 30 vendors selling all kinds of used (and some new) vintage music.

🎂 Party organizers at SocialClub Quebec are celebrating their 5th anniversary at the downtown event space 1583 St Laurent.

đŸŽ€ Cyndi Lauper's farewell tour Girls Just Wanna Have Fun—her first major tour in over a decade—touches down in the city.

Saturday

đŸȘ© Cabaret Berlin is holding a customer appreciation party that explores the best music they've been playing as of late.

đŸŽ™ïž Espace St-Jean in the Belgo Building will host talks with artists Denise Buisman Pilger and Louis-Bernard St-Jean on art and the creative process from 12 to 5pm.

đŸ—Łïž Storytellers from around the world converge on MontrĂ©al for one of the biggest storytelling festivals in the world: The MontrĂ©al Intercultural Storytelling Festival.

đŸ“œïž The 53rd edition of the Festival du Nouveau CinĂ©ma continues, offering a bevy of great films for Montreal cinephiles to experience until Oct 20.

Sunday

📖 Local small press Metatron is holding a 10-Year anniversary reading and party at the restaurant/bar/nightclub Le Systùme.

đŸŽŒ A Beethoven Marathon is underway at La Maison Symphonique where three symphonies are accompanied by one modern piece.

đŸ–Œïž The MMFA's exhibition Saints, Sinners, Lovers and Fools: Three Hundred Years of Flemish Masterworks just got extended until Oct 25, but that's not far off.


Get a batch of groceries for free 🛒

We’ve partnered with the urban greenhouses of Lufa to offer readers free $40+ baskets of fresh, local, and responsible groceries.

All you need to do is cover a small $6 delivery fee, exclusive to readers of The Main, for delivery straight to your door—no strings attached!

Claim your free basket while supplies last.


Marconi has announced it will be closing this month, and with it goes dishes like this apple pie with a salted crùme anglaise. 😱 | Photograph: Scott Usheroff / @cravingcurator

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.

After eight beautiful years, the Little Italy restaurant Marconi has announced it will be closing its doors on Saturday, October 26th—get a table while you can.

Eat Wasted!... the pasta that uses bread waste, we mean. They'll be popping up at Elena on Oct 20 for $15 plates, and Mon Lapin is in attendance to cook.

There's a free listening gathering and fundraiser for Lebanon on Oct 22 at Lulu, featuring music by Narcy, with $25 tickets that include a meal and a donation to @beitelbaraka.

German winemaker LĂ©on Gold will be popping up at the Mile-Ex restaurant Anemone on Oct 18 with cripsy whites and othr curios.

Raspipav, the private import wine fair, is touching down at Marché Bonsecours on Oct 19 and 20 with +1,000 privately imported products from 27 countries.

Traveling cook extraordinaire Mike Chanthamynavong will be on site at Boxermans from Oct 16 to 19 to serve an exceptional seasonal menu.

Local pop-up series Festum Avium from cooks Andrew Leduc & Jude Griffin is taking over NDG Luncheonette on Oct 27, go snag tickets!

Café Bazin and its chef are now operating out of Café Constance, a fanciful space inside downtown's Wilder building, home of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.

Alternative Eastern European restaurant Nevski has announced a Fall Fest to celebrate all things cozy and colourful on Oct 24.

After a move and rebrand, the famed BYOB restaurant Othym has officially opened its doors in the Village.

The fields and reservations for November are now open at Parcelles, featuring the work of the Frelighsburg-based pig farm Porcine.

Autumn-inspired donuts from Crémy Pùtisserie are up for grabs on Oct 19, including flavours like Boston pumpkin spice and apple-squash delicata fritters.

Who doesn't love a good ol' fashioned rotisserie night? Griffintown's Nolan is doing just that on Oct 27, and the menu's going for $55 a head.

Enjoy canapĂ©s & cocktails followed by 4 courses by Stellina’s Head Chef Jonathan Agnello with wine pairings by Joe Bastianich on Oct 28.

Everything is $5 from 5pm to 7pm every night of the week at Turbo HaĂŒs (by which they mean beers, wine and simple drinks), and that's a pretty solid deal.

A dinner party with chefs Emilie Noel & Michelle Marek and lots of finely crafted pasta dishes is planned for Oct 24, grab a seat while you can.

The zero-proof bar Apéro à zéro has announced a product launch with local company Fin Soda, and they're celebrating on October 18.

Dmetro Sinclair: That's the name of the new chef at Nora Gray, and fans of Italian food in Montreal would do well to try out his menu.

Cafe Natsu is a new Japanese-inspired vegetarian restaurant that's opened in Hochelaga.

Ever drank acerum? The maple water-based eau de vie maker Fove is celebrating its 2nd anniversary at Laurier Ouest's Kabinet on Oct 20.


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

Skateboarders want to save one of Montreal's last authentic skateparks. Projet 45 was built by the community, but the city wants to redevelop it. Read more.

The Botanical Garden's decrepit greenhouses are the most recent, obvious sign that it's time to modernize the 93-year-old world-renowned site. Read more.

A new platform called La Vitrine has launched to connect Quebecers with their ideal cultural outing according to tastes, moods, and location. Read more.

An OQLF outpost in Montreal? A city committee is recommending the creation of a municipal office to understand out linguistic makeup. Read more.

Ketamine is really taking off right now in Quebec. How concerned should folks be about the rising popularity of this synthetic drug? Read more.

Pasta memberships are being offered by La Popessa, an in-house restaurant located in Palais des congrÚs de Montréal, for $199 a month. Read more.

Montreal shaped Kamala Harris and her political career during Quebec's separatist years—one of the least-known chapters in her life. Read more.

Hallelujah, or blasphemy? Montreal artist Rufus Wainwright was “mortified” to hear Trump play his version of Leonard Cohen’s song at a rally. Read more.

It's alive! More and more projects to keep the famed Montreal melon alive, edible, and available continue to crop up around the city. Read more.

It's teaching by day, punk rock by night for Paul Gott, a Concordia journalism professor and lead singer of the Montreal band Ripcordz. Read more.


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 / Jean-Philippe Lauzon, Co-Founder & Head of Tech / Daniel Bromberg, Co-Founder & Head of Operations / JP Karwacki, Managing Editor / Amber Spector, Social Media Manager

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