The Bulletin: Sunday roasts, wrestling chaos, and lip-syncing to Christmas movies [Issue #160]

Every space serves someone.

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You don't know you need a personalized stylist until you've tried it

ROYALMOUNT formalized personal styling into a personalizer service: seven stylists with luxury retail backgrounds, creative direction credentials, and image consulting experience now operate out of a private suite at the mall.

They offer complimentary consultations, by-appointment sessions, wardrobe edits, event dressing, and privileged access to the mall's luxury brands. It's turnkey for people who either don't have time to shop or want someone with expertise calling the shots. Read about what they do, and why trying it out will make you wonder why you hadn't been doing it sooner.

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

Thursday

🎄 Le Sapin a des Boules takes over Club Soda for a participatory screening of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation where 19 comedians lip-sync the entire French dub live while the audience shouts, sings, and becomes part of the chaos.

🧶 Crochet & Tiramisu night returns for a holiday edition at Artetmisu blending a guided crochet workshop with a laid-back fiber arts social gathering—open to crocheters and knitters of all levels. 

🎁 Stop by Café Santropol’s Little Christmas Market for a holiday pop-up featuring crafts, clothing, and gifts, with special participation from Indigenous artisans.

Friday

🥂 Shop from a selection of vendors at Après-Après while enjoying a free drink from 5-9 PM at their latest Sip & Shop.

🪩 Ring in the end of the year at the Noise Not Borders Fest at Casa del Popolo, featuring a DJ spinning all night and more.

🕹️ Gather at Arcade MTL and play some nostalgic rounds of Super Smash Bros. 

❄️ L’Achoppe returns with its alternative Christmas market for an ethical way to shop local and give meaningful gifts this holiday season.

👨‍🎨 Weekend 2 of Puces Pop holiday market returns at Église Saint-Denis, with a fresh lineup of artisans.

Saturday

🤼 International Wrestling Syndicate brings Season's Beatings to Montreal for a night of professional wrestling chaos.

📚 Swing by Pulp Books for their latest pop up featuring Montreal artist Raymond Biesinger and complete your holiday shopping with a unique gift.

🏺 Peruse Le Livart for this weekend’s round of artisans and all of their handmade creations for some last munte Christmas gift shopping. 

🎄 The Maleficarum market returns, featuring 20+ witchy, gothic, and queer artistans, flash tattoos, themed photo sets, special goodie bags, and plenty of dark holiday magic.

💃 Bar le Ritz celebrates 20 years of Twilight with a dance party featuring songs from the soundtrack and kindred hits spinning all night long.

Sunday 

🔨 The Salon des métiers d'art du Québec's gathering of nearly 200 carefully selected artisans—ceramists, cabinetmakers, jewelers, leatherworkers, glassmakers, cutlers—comes to an end.

☕ Get into the holiday spirit with a card-making afternoon at Café Oui Mais Non, where you’ll craft up to six festive greeting cards while enjoying hot drinks and sweets.

📸 Up your street photography game with the help of a hands-on workshop on zone focusing, a classic technique that'll help you capture fleeting moments with speed, confidence, and control.

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.

Star Bar celebrates their second annual Christmas Coyote Ugly style on Dec 19  with shooters and a Moosehead for 10$.

Make reservations now at La Franquette for a festive, Mexican lunch on Dec 19. 

Ayawan celebrates 5 years on Dec 20 with a full-day gathering starting at noon, featuring special beer collaborations with guest breweries, food, and music.

La Graine Brûlée hosts a warm Christmas dinner on Dec 20—complete with a festive buffet (vegan options included), games, nostalgic traditions, and karaoke for anyone spending the holidays solo or simply craving good food and shared cheer. 

For three days, Myers is cooking up a holiday brunch that is both savoury and sweet starting Dec 20. 

Bruce debuts its first-ever Sunday Roast on Dec 21 starting at 5 PM—pure comfort with all the trimmings, plus beer, cocktails, and natural wine.

Angles is popping up at Jumeler on Dec 21 with their annual cookie box featuring four flavors (two classics, two new), great drinks, and a limited run of boxes and singles available.

La Buvette offers a festive evening with a Spanish-style bar and a live DJ on Dec 22.

Chez Greenberg’s latke pop-up at Doubles wraps up on Dec 22, be sure to get some while you still can.

Raise your glass at Leila’s on Dec 23 in celebration of their one year of good food, good drinks, and good times.

Messorem Bracitorium clears out the cellar with Le Grand Ménage 2025 from Dec 26 to 28—a rare chance to snag limited bottles from previous releases for on-site drinking or takeaway.

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

Two Horses locks its doors every Monday for women-only appointments—creating Montreal's rare full-privacy space for hijab-wearing clients, some of whom drive from Vermont for their first professional haircut at 42. Read more.

Bruce brings haggis, Scotch, and IRN BRU to Griffintown—Montreal's first Scottish tavern in years, named after an owner's late mother who spent her life hosting dinner parties and tracing the family line back to the 1200s. Read more.

OQLF inspectors armed with cellphones swept 966 Montreal, Laval, and South Shore stores this year as part of a surveillance operation designed to "increase visibility" and remind merchants the language watchdog is watching. Read more.

Pulp Books owner Alex Nierenhausen's holiday gift guide skips bestseller algorithms for books that actually move. Read more.

Beauties Lab founder Léa Begin's holiday gift guide skips trendy packaging for tools that work and make sense of your features. Read more.

Sommelière Lindsay Brennan's holiday wine guide leans hard on Catalan natural wines you won't find anywhere else. Read more.

Montreal's best new bars include a vinyl-focused audio lounge beneath Quebec's first art hotel and a speakeasy hidden behind a fridge that only operates on password-protected weekends—among others. Read more.

Montreal and New Orleans still celebrate réveillon—the late-night Catholic feast after Midnight Mass—but the tradition's evolved quite a bit in terms of how folks eat. Read more.

Debbie Zakaib brought the Michelin Guide to Quebec, put the province on North America's 50 Best list, and founded mmode to give Quebec fashion its first unified voice—she died last Thursday. Read more.

A purpose-built carrier for Montreal's binners—who recover millions of cans annually but remain invisible—reframes street collectors as the "Urban Recycling Crew" through design. Read more.

Canadians get free access to national parks, 25% off camping, and discounted VIA Rail trips from December 12 to January 15—a federal push to get people out of the house this winter. Read more.

Canada's first high-speed train will link Montreal and Ottawa by the mid-2030s—a $60-to-$90-billion bet on 300 km/h electric rail. Read more.

Montreal once had a steam-powered funicular that hauled passengers to Mount Royal's summit in three minutes from 1884 to 1918, undercutting Frederick Law Olmsted's vision of leisurely contemplative strolls. 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 & Head of Operations / Jean-Philippe Lauzon, Co-Founder & Head of Tech / JP Karwacki, Managing Editor / Amber Spector, Social Media Manager / Samuel Vadnais, Head of Partnerships / Anahi Pellathy, Editorial & Production Coordinator / Phylida Tuff-West, Editorial Intern / Kaitlyn DiBartolo, Editorial Intern / Jeremy Cox, Editorial Intern / AnnaClare Sung, Editorial Intern