Melt the winter chill at Igloofest! 🔥
It takes a lot more than a bit of snow and ice to keep Montréal from a good party, and here winter is embraced as a beautiful piece of the annual cycle. Each year, thousands of bundled-up revellers take to the Old Port of Montréal for Igloofest to dance the night away, winter chill be damned. Surely, Igloofest may indeed be the coolest (as in ambiance and weather-wise) party in the world! Across four weekends in January and February, a world-class line-up of DJs take to the decks and Montréal gets to the serious business of dancing in the streets.
Electronic music’s A-list
Created by the founders of Piknic Électronik, each edition of Igloofest features the cream of the crop of electronic music talent from top-tier international superstars to the latest and greatest up-and-comers. Past performers of note include homegrown hero Kaytranada, Ghislain Poirier, Modeselektor, Diplo, Green Velvet, the legendary Carl Cox, Four Tet, Adriatique, Mahmut Orhan, Bladee, Tiga and Rüfüs Du Sol amongst many others. And Igloofest’s expert programmers have scoured the most trendsetting new artists in the electronic music world, filling the schedule with your next favourites sure to warm up the crowd to boiling point in advance of the fest’s headline superstars. Tickets and lineup updates are always available at Igloofest’s website.
Party in true winter style
Sure, Burning Man may have the desert heat, but Igloofest brings the crowds together for an illuminating experience that is the ultimate in chill. There’s few finer ways to spend a winter evening than exploring Igloofest’s installations like the playful Igloovillage, while the eye-popping visuals and epic stages punctuate each performance with unforgettable wow factor. And where else can you be rewarded for your bulkiest winter wear? The annual tacky snowsuit contest brings the most unforgettable monstrosities in Igloofest fans’ closets out into the open for glory and prizes.
Tips for beginners
Winter in Montréal can get cold, but the city becomes a large-scale playground that’s as pretty as a snowglobe. For a fun and safe Igloofest, layer the most eye-popping winter wear you can find (Montréal’s stellar vintage shops are a great go-to first stop), and keep yourself cozy with regular visits to the open firepits (perfect for roasting marshmallows) and the ice bars scattered throughout the Quai offering warm drinks. And there’s no better way to keep yourself toasty than to just keep dancing.
Ring in the new year Igloofest-style!
Igloofest also caps off the end of one year and the start of the next with IGLOO NYE, non-stop beats from 8 PM to 2 AM on the Quai Jacques-Cartier. Count down to the new year in the heart of the Old Port, taking in some of the finest night vistas of the city. And best of all, admission is free to all!
Kicking off the year’s festival season right
Montréal is a city of festivals, with an internationally renowned annual calendar of unmissable events encompassing music, performance, fashion, film and comedy. And Igloofest starts off it all off with a snowy bang, with much more where that came from. From the world-famous Festival International de Jazz de Montréal and the landscape altering MURAL Festival, to the cutting edge Pop Montréal International Music Festival and image+nation festival film LGBT2SQueer Montréal, there’s something for everyone every season of the year!
Mark Hamilton
Mark Hamilton is the community director for QueerMTL, an internationally-touring musician with his projects Woodpigeon and Frontperson and a graduate studies student of history researching LGBTQ+ activism in the city. He’s lived in Montréal since 2015, during which time he’s most often spotted atop a BIXI bike usally running a few minutes late.