The Bulletin: Saké in the sky, basement darkwave, mechanical bulls, and Taylor Swift fireworks [Issue #140]

Peak summer in Montreal means peak everything, and this weekend perfectly captures the city's beautiful duality.

On one side, you've got the major spectacles demanding your attention—Fierté Montréal's massive 11-day celebration begins, Osheaga's triumphant return to Parc Jean-Drapeau with headliners like The Killers and Tyler The Creator, and the grand finale of L'International des Feux with Taylor Swift-themed fireworks lighting up the sky over La Ronde. These are the events that make headlines.

But then there's the other Montreal—the one that reveals itself in basement dance parties and pop-up pizza nights, in secret cafés tucked inside fine dining spots and archive sales where the DJ's spinning vinyl you've never heard before. It's the city of intimate discoveries: a queer skate festival launching with a silent auction, a mechanical bull debut at Spaghetti Western... the kind of experiences you can't Google but somehow always stumble into.

This weekend embodies that perfect Montreal balance—the massive and the microscopic, the Instagram-worthy and the you-had-to-be-there. All you have to do is take your pick—or better yet, let the city surprise you with both.

Last chance! 👕

We’ve got a few limited-edition block party shirts still up for grabs at a price exclusive to subscribers at The Main: $28 (30% off) at depanneur.shop while they last!

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

Thursday

🌈 Fierté Montréal takes over the city until August 10 with 11 days of drag shows, live music, parties, workshops, and the iconic Pride Parade drawing hundreds of thousands to the Village and Olympic Stadium.

🎇 L’International des Feux Loto-Québec wraps with a Taylor Swift–themed grand finale featuring a 30-minute pyromusical by Panzera & Rozzi Fireworks lighting up the sky over La Ronde.

✊ Wild Pride begins with over two weeks of anti-capitalist, community-led Pride programming centring queer, trans, and marginalized voices through workshops, parties, performances, and a radical march.

🇨🇱 The second Place Publique night at Fonderie Darling blends hands-on papermaking, boundary-pushing performance art, Chilean street food, and a DJ set by PLZRS in a celebration of resistance, memory, and joy.

Friday

🎸 Osheaga returns to Parc Jean-Drapeau for three days of open-air revelry, bringing headliners like The Killers, Tyler The Creator, Olivia Rodrigo, and more from August 1 to 3.

🛼 Bedazzled Daze, a queer skate festival, launches with a free all-ages art exhibit at Lopez (7–10PM), featuring works by local and international artists plus a silent auction.

🚶 Brique par Brique celebrates 9 years with a birthday walk and picnic in collaboration with Learning Loop, exploring neighbourhood gems, local eats, and meaningful social justice sites before ending with ice cream and sunshine at Parc Jarry.

🐂 Spaghetti Western officially launches its mechanical bull with a Friday night party and DJ set from the Berta Boys.

🖤 Afromusée hosts Inspired by Alexander Grant, a vernissage honouring Emancipation Day through stories of Afro-descendant resilience, memory, and human dignity.

🪩 Nights of Worship takes over a basement with a darkwave dance party headlined by NYC’s ANDI (Synthicide) alongside R-Oderick, Ottoman Grüw, and Pretty Privilege, with proceeds going to the Milton Parc Food Bank.

Saturday

🎥 Minuit au Parc’s summer film series Canicule turns up the heat with late-night screenings where summer itself becomes the star, starting out with Badlands.

🎞️ Fantasia’s 28th edition wraps up this weekend, capping off two wild weeks of horror, fantasy, animation, and off-the-wall genre films from across the globe.

🦋 Bois Magique 3 takes over Dye Jardin Papillon with a two-day exhibition showcasing 32 artists and designers committed to accessibility, experimentation, and craft over commerce.

🖼️ Only a couple weeks left to catch Bad Girls Only: Women and the Seven Deadly Sins at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts—a provocative dive into how art helped equate femininity with sin, through rarely seen early modern prints and drawings.

Sunday

🕵️‍♂️ Film Noir au Canal continues with Touch of Evil (1958, dir. Orson Welles), screened at dusk with a live music set and intro by Will Straw at Square Saint-Patrick.

👗 Lace, velvet, and empire—Costume balls – Dressing up History, 1870–1927 is in its final weeks at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, exploring how high-society masquerades masked colonial fantasies with ornate spectacle.

🎾 Croissound teams up with Omnium Banque Nationale for a tennis-side brunch party at Stade IGA on Sunday, August 3—tickets are sold out, but scoping the scene is still fair game.

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.

Chez Ernest is throwing a 4th anniversary party featuring beer tastings, a live swing band, a late-night vinyl DJ set, and surprise giveaways.

Les Premiers Vendredis returns to the Olympic Stadium with a two-day Fiesta Latina edition on August 1 and 2, featuring over 45 food trucks, global flavours, and live local music.

Menu Extra offers an eight-course tasting menu at La Ferme des Quatre-Temps on August 1, 2, and 3, with pairings served right in the fields, featuring peak-season ingredients grown on site.

Messorem celebrates six wild years of beer and brotherhood on August 2 with new releases seven beers deep (from Citra-loaded DIPA to 41-month Wild Turkey stout), collabs with heavy hitters, and music.

Chez Samedi serves 16” New York-style pizzas on August 2 at Automne Boulangerie while supplies last.

Boursin is teaming up with chef Laurent Dagenais for a one-day-only pop-up called La Petite Fenêtre Boursin on August 2, offering free chef-designed cheese boards inspired by European wine windows.

FRNDLY RMNDRS and Knox are back at it with Pizza Party No. 2—happening Sunday, August 3 from 2 to 7PM. Expect slices, vibes, and a patio crowd that knows the drill.

Carino is heading to the Eastern Townships for their next stop: Mifigue Café in Orford. Expect sandwiches, local goods, and good vibes.

La Belle Tonki rings in 8 years with a no-reservations Cambodian-style BBQ cookout, DJ sets, and exclusive merch on August 3 from 5PM to 11PM at 1335 Beaubien Est.

HENI takes Sundays this August 3 with terrace cookouts and natural wine by the glass. First up: merguez sandwiches paired with “Novembre,” a juicy chillable red from Pinard et Filles. Swing by from 3PM to close—walk-ins only.

Memo throws a rain-or-shine block party on Sunday, August 3 from 2PM with BBQ, a raw bar, and what they’re calling the best burger in town.

Grillades & Grouillades heads to the Mellon taproom on August 3 with BBQ from Club Coco, DJs, draft spritz, and gelato-fuelled neighbourhood grooves.

Sake in the Sky! On August 5, join Sora and Mikado for an afternoon sake masterclass and tasting followed by a Sora x Mikado pop-up that runs into the night.

Jamaican café Pas de Problème serves up oysters, fish, and riddims now every Tuesday and Wednesday evening with music by @_privatekelly from 5 to 9PM.

Star Bar hosts a bilingual pop diva–themed trivia night on August 6, with drinks, pizza prizes, and a lot of Wikipedia-fuelled celebrity gossip.

FYI: After four years, beloved café Bodega closed its doors on July 30—owners say goodbye with gratitude and hint at a new coffee shop taking over the space.

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

What started as one man’s private design diary has become Montreal’s most quietly powerful archive of signs, grief, and the art of paying attention. Read more.

Nearly 50 years after Montreal’s Olympic dream turned into a financial nightmare, the Village Olympique still stands—its bold Brutalist design now home to everyday lives, not athletes. Read more.

A one-of-a-kind race where mobility aids become chariots of glory, the Course des Glorieux Triporteurs turns Hochelaga into the city’s most joyful celebration of accessibility, flair, and fierce community pride. Read more.

Menu Extra isn’t a restaurant—it’s a roaming experiment in fine dining, design, and atmosphere, redefining how Montreal celebrates special moments. Read more.

For the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Games, Montreal is turning the dismantled roof of the Olympic Stadium into public art—challenging artists to build beauty from one of the city’s most infamous failures. Read more.

Montrealers flooded City Hall with over 13,000 responses to a proposed noise bylaw that could fine venues $10K—prompting officials to rethink how hard they want to hit the mute button. Read more.

In the Outaouais, poutine comes with white sauce—and locals are baffled the rest of Quebec still hasn’t caught on. Read more.

Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry shared a chef’s tasting menu at Le Violon in the Plateau, sparking curiosity ahead of her Montreal concert—but no PDA confirmed. Read more.

Pierre Foglia, Quebec’s most beloved curmudgeon and a master of the last sentence, has died at 84—leaving behind a voice that made journalism feel like literature and Montreal feel like home. Read more.

Stealing to eat: For some Quebecers like “Marie,” a criminal record starts with three sandwiches and ends with a system that punishes poverty. Read more.

Wealthy Montrealers are pooling funds to hire private security firms for round-the-clock patrols on their streets, bypassing police in favour of peace of mind. Read more.

Quebec’s new $10 no-show penalty is being slammed by restaurant owners who say it’s too one-size-fits-all for an industry where a missed table can mean losing thousands. Read more.

Despite stricter bylaws and over 100 police interventions, illegal fireworks at Verdun Beach continue to shatter residents’ sleep—and their patience. Read more.

The Centre de création O Vertigo is transforming the former L’Alizé bar into a new dance studio—adding another chapter to 900 Ontario’s long cultural life. Read more.

A fire destroyed a 140-year-old building on Ste-Catherine West that its owner had long pushed to redevelop—raising fresh questions as the ashes settle. 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 Intern / Marie Rousseau, Photography Intern