Three nights later, the Metropolitan Orchestra with Soprano Marie-Josée Lord, played beautiful Vancouver Park on Nuns’ Island. Another spectacular setting, another beautiful summer night!
Last week, our papers and websites were announcing a show in Lachine by percussionist Melissa Lavergne, a Shakespeare in the Park performance in Dorval, and LaSalle was preparing to swing to the rhythm of world music by the Sokoun Trio at parc Menard. Shakespeare in the Park, performing Macbeth this year, can be found pretty much all over town. On August 4th they’re in Verdun, then Westmount, NDG, Park La Fontaine, Pierrefonds, Kirkland, etc. Check their website www.repercussiontheatre.com for a complete schedule.
In Saint-Henri, locals will soon have the opportunity to enjoy cinema under the stars. Four excellent documentaries, among them one that I’m really looking forward to catching, À St-Henri le 26 août, will be shown at parc Vinet.
Whether they showcase dance, music, theatre or film, what do these fantastic events all have in common? They’re all free!
I hear so many of my friends complaining that going out is expensive (and yes, it can be, if all you do is dine at high-end restaurants and attend Osheaga), but if you stop complaining and look around you, this city is blessed with an overwhelming number of free events! And I’m not even talking about major festivals like Just for Laughs, Francofolies, and the Montreal Jazz Fest, which always come with an extensive line-up of freebies. I’m talking about local events we sometimes take for granted because they’re right next door, or venues like Théâtre la Verdure at parc La Fontaine, summer traditions like Tam-tams on Mont Royal every Sunday or free tango lessons on Île Ste. Hélène three nights a week.
Whether they showcase dance, music, theatre or film, what do these fantastic events all have in common? They’re all free! -
Simply glancing through my current schedule and all the things I want to see and do in the coming months, I sometimes think I’d have to either quit my job or at least leave on an extended sabbatical, if I’m ever going to be able to do it all. Montreal has so much going on in the summer one would need to be without gainful employment to truly take on the challenge!
This city is swelling with free events and green space and what says “summer” more than a blanket casually strewn on the grass, a picnic basket, a group of friends, music wafting through the air, and the sun going down on a perfect day, only to be replaced by a star-filled sky? There’s a joyful sense of community, a large-scale block-party feel that emanates from these perfect evenings and all you have to do is click on your borough website or flip through your local newspaper and find out what’s out there for you to take advantage. It’s free and boy, is it ever fun!
