Shakespeare in the Park
Just bring a lawn chair or blanket and soak up the beautiful language of the Bard. Repercussion Theatre has been staging Shakespeare’s plays for free in parks across the city for years. Each year, they inspire a love of the language of Shakespeare, through sonnets, speeches, soliloquies and solid acting. Yours to enjoy, under the twinkling firmament.
McCord Stewart Museum Urban Forest
Say what? You read that right: urban forest. And what you’ll wander through is a flora and fauna of food trucks, pianos picnic tables and, of course, people, all downtown, on Victoria Street, between Sherbrooke Street West and President-Kennedy Avenue by the McCord Museum Stewart. You can sample delectable dishes from food trucks during the week. Concerts by up-and-coming groups are also featured. A great place to hang out and chill, for both locals and visitors. For the full schedule, click here.
Outdoor pianos
First introduced in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood in 2012, outdoor pianos soon caught on like wildfire and spread to a number of neighbourhoods around the city. Lovingly painted by local artists, these moveable music boxes change places each year to give as many people as possible access to them. This year, in particular, you can tickle the ivories on top of the mountain, at the Pointe-à-Callière museum, the McCord Museum, at the Canadian Centre for Architecture and an array of parks throughout Montréal’s many neighbourhoods. Whether playing Chopin or just plain old “Chopsticks”, in a solo performance, or with a captive audience, Montréal’s pianos have become a fun form of musical freestyling.
Rebecca Sellers
Hailing originally from the big country skies of Manitoba, Rebecca adopted Montréal over 20 years ago after living in Québec City and France as a student. When she is not writing, translating or teaching English, she can be found pedaling the city’s bike paths, strolling the streets in search of hidden gems, and striking up conversations with local merchants, creators and folks in the neighbourhood.