The Bulletin: What to do on Saint Patrick’s Day, summer announcements, and giving people the finger [Issue #16]

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

The Main

March 16, 2023- Read time: 8 min

Mounted gentleman with top hat at the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Montreal – somewhere around 1930.

Top o’ the morning to ya, Montreal: It’s going to be a great big drunken weekend this time around. Seriously, when was the last time Saint Patrick’s Day fell on a Friday? We’re willing to bet our Montreal Expos baseball cards that the whole thing will hit this city’s bars like a typhoon of Guinness, whisky, vomit, and all-around debauchery, right up until Monday when everyone will call in “sick” to work.

If you’re going out to be a little bit Irish, we’ve got you with recommended spots to go get plastered. If you don’t drink (or if you prefer to drink in moderation)? No problem! A lot of Montrealers aren’t going to let something like Irish festivities get in the way of more wholesome stuff to do, so we’ve got you covered there, too.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to go buy green body paint for… school.

Yeah, school. That’s it.

Weekend events you don’t want to miss

Read below to catch up on what's happening this very Irish weekend.

If ever you catch something we should know, reach out to us on Instagram or by email.

Friday

One Punch Mickey's invites everyone to celebrate both Saint Patrick's Day and its 1st anniversary throughout the Friday weekend.
4 Origines in Pointe-Saint-Charles is organizing a special week in honour of Ireland with quizzes, music, and special beer prices.
Celebrate with with the classic Montreal pub L'Île Noire with specials on shooters, Irish beer and Bushmills combos, green beer, Irish music, and a bunch of gifts to be won.
The Ciné-club Psy presents, in collaboration with the Cinéma du Parc, David Lynch's surrealist neo-noir mystery film Mulholland Drive. Expect commentary by a psychoanalyst after!
A nice change of pace from the Irish festivities: DJs are playing all the 90s tunes for all the 90s kids at Bar Le Ritz PDB on St. Patrick's Day.

Saturday

Montréal’s underground city will come alive with artwork, photographs, videos, sound installations and performances—all 100% free, and it starts with the Festival Art Souterrain Launch Party.
The largest art and art film festival in the world with nearly 200 original films from more than 40 countries for its 40th edition, the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA), is back.
Back by popular demand, Shuck Hochelag' returns at Supernat. Dance to the sounds of DJ YUZU while eating your freshly shucked oysters by DADDY LONG LEGS.
Montreal's Jean-Talon market is hosting a mini-festival called Les Sucres aux Marchés to showcase the best of the maple sugar season with a tasting circuit, bar, and heated terrasse with DJs.
Notre Dame des Arts and the NDG Community Council are hosting a traditional sugar shack experience for all to enjoy with free food, free hot chocolate, and more.
It's shawarma, mezze, and smooth habibi funk with Lulu Epicerie’s Beiroots Groove: It's all vinyl, all night, and all tickets include food.

Sunday

Cheerful crowds dressed in Irish costumes, leprechaun hats, and fake red beards will fill the streets of downtown Montreal for the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade running from Sainte-Catherine Street to Phillips Square.
Montreal's Esplanade Tranquille is hosting a sugar-shack-themed weekend with free activities like ice rink bumper cars and tastings for La cabane à sucre de Tranquille.

What you need to know

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

When Fyre Festival almost came to Montreal

What do Harry Styles, SZA, Doja Cat, and Tyler the Creator all have in common? They’re all supposed ot play the new Aurora Festival in the Old Port from June 1 to 3—except they’re not. An entire hoax festival hit Instagram this past week, and oh man, is this ever a crazy (dumb) story. (Radio-Canada)

So, it’s NOT a crime to give someone the finger?

Giving someone the middle finger is a "God-given" right that belongs to all Canadians, a Quebec judge recently decided in a case with a Montreal man. We guess it’s cool you can flip the bird at a cop at a protest without fear of getting beaten, but this also means criminal harassment and uttering threats is OK? (CTV News)

A look back on Montreal’s bygone dining institutions

All of Lesley Chesterman’s talk about iconic dishes got her thinking about Montreal restaurants of days gone by. We’re talking about places dating back from the late 60’s to the late 80’s, from the early 90’s to the pandemic. Expect European fine dining, the rise of Quebec cuisine, and more. (Lick My Plate)

The streets are ours this summer

Mont-Royal and Duluth are going to be pedestrianized for even longer this summer: Pedestrians will be taking to the streets earlier than usual when the avenues close to cars from May 20 to September 4, for a total of 107 days. Last year, the closure of the 2.3km stretch began on June 8. (Journal Métro)

Another year older, another year bolder

POP Montréal has announced its 2023 lineup, and it’s eclectic to say the least with acts like Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Loraine James, Water From Your Eyes, Candi Staton, Hand Habits, and Do Make Say Think alongside… public intellectual Dr. Cornel West? No matter, we’re into it. Take our money! (Stereogum)

What local laundries are doing to be places you actually want to be in

Cafes, plants, playtime and reading corners for the kids, Instagrammable interiors, proximity to a bakery, painting everything pink, a prime location in Little Italy: The places we used to think of for just doing our dirty laundry are reportedly becoming places you can actually enjoy spending time in. (La Presse)

Laval continues to do itself few favours

A rare house dating back to 1694 (that’s as far back as New France!), the oldest in Laval and the oldest in the entire region, is going to be demolished because it was never protected by the municipality, nor by the state despite its importance and being recognized as far back as 1927. Bra-f*cking-vo. (Le Devoir)

So, we’re getting an aquarium

Montreal’s upcoming Royalmount complex will be the home for the Aquarium de Montréal in 2024. Don’t expect Shamu, though: It will celebrate “healthy marine and freshwater environments… highlighting uncompromised animal care and the importance of conservation action.” (Journal de Montréal)

How Lachine is getting its groove back

Long been known for… well, not much since the 1970s, Lachine is experiencing some growth at last thanks to the arrival of the REM and an eco-park. Shopowners used to have customers complain to their faces about the obsolescence of the street, but apparently, that’s all turning around. (Journal Métro)

The best places in Montreal to… trespass on railway tracks

MTLTracks.ca allows anyone with an Internet connection to report the opening or closing of a breach in the barriers of railway tracks—even if it is being watched by the police. According to the site’s creator, in his opinion, pedestrians and cyclists use these gaps to save up to 20 minutes in travel time. (La Presse)

Tweets of the Week

The best local moments this week from out of the Blue:

i wanted the montreal canadiens to win the stanley cup https://t.co/oavuQXyaUU
— Natasha Girshin (@NG3400) March 13, 2023

its so cool that they have a huge permanent mural dedicated to anthony bourdain in downtown montreal pic.twitter.com/osadfC6Ddy
— the transsexual walter benjamin (@dmt4dmt) March 7, 2023

Just stop and think about this for a minute — what if YOUR city transformed a key main street this coming summer (like Montreal did with #MontRoyal, actually one of TEN such street transformations last summer) into a 2.5km long pedestrian promenade & living room with 2700 seats? pic.twitter.com/YeUnHp7Fqh
— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) March 16, 2023

That wraps up this week's edition. We’ll be back with more curiosities, local stories, and events to discover next week.

If ever you catch something we should know, reach out to us on Instagram.

Thanks for reading.

Maybe tell your friends about us if they're cool enough.

The Bulletin: Bootleg Chinese menus, dead ends in the Underground City, and a corporate casket for Montreal’s neon signs [Issue #15]

The Bulletin: AI tour guides, an Old Montreal ghost hotel burns down, and Leonard Cohen eats a cheese sandwich [Issue #17]

The Bulletin: What to do on Saint Patrick’s Day, summer announcements, and giving people the finger [Issue #16]