Things to do in Montréal: May 8 to 14

Mom is queen this week (but isn’t she always?), which means amazing food, mimosas galore, good times over high tea and evenings of entertainment. Luckily the city is glad to oblige, with options ranging from classical music concerts to acrobatic burlesque – not to mention about a gazillion indie music shows.

Springtime feasts

With the return of the food trucks and the reopening of terrasses, good food is easier than ever to get in Montréal. Enjoy the view from the SAT’s reopened Food Lab terrasse and order the special Québécois Spring tasting menu (complete with buttermilk-dressed wedge salad), conceived by chefs Michelle Marek and Seth Gabrielse and offered between Tuesdays and Fridays from 5 to 10 p.m. Mother’s Day, on May 10, is the year’s best excuse for a decadent brunch, so if you’re heading downtown, you know where to go. Beat the morning rush and treat mom to lunch or dinner instead at one of these deliciously affordable spots, or if you want to go all-out, nothing beats the excessive experience of an all-you-can-eat-buffet. (I love you THIS MUCH, mom!) High tea at the Ritz or at XO in Hotel Le St-James are favourite mom-honouring rituals, but if your ma likes things more casual, find a cosy nook and catch up at one of these lovely cafés.

Classical culture

Soothe your soul with contemporary American classical airs – from Barber’s Adagio for Strings to an excerpt from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess – as Jean-François Rivest conducts the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal on May 8, at Maison Symphonique. Then, on May 12 and 14, Kent Nagano conducts the Montréal Symphony Orchestra as they celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the birth of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius by playing his romantic Symphony No. 2, also at Maison Symphonique. On May 9, find your way to Repentigny for a fun show by the Atelier Lyrique de Montréal, uniting some of its favourite extracts of operettas, directed by Alain Gauthier and Pascal Blanchet. It’s at the Church of La Purification-de-la-Bienheureuse-Vierge-Marie de Repentigny at 8 p.m.

Spectacular shows

May 14 marks the launch of the latest opus by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Death and the Maiden, a choreography by Stephan Thoss inspired by the eponymous score by Franz Schubert and presented at Théâtre Maisonneuve. Based on a Greek myth about the abduction of Kore by the God of Hell, expect German expressionism at its best, with lots of emotional power and perpetual movement. An hour before each performance, don’t miss the free pre-show talk, hosted by journalist Shelley Pomerance. Starting on May 8, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea kicks off at Mainline Theatre; it’s a play about two strangers who meet at the end of their ropes and develop a unique kind of intimacy. At Phi Centre, don’t miss the opening of His Blood, In Search of A Face, on May 9 at 5:30 p.m.; the happening unites eight major screen works from the Poetry for Excitable [Mobile] Media (P.o.E.M.M. Cycle), a series of poems written and designed to be read on touch devices, from large-scale exhibition surfaces to mobile screens. Empire, presented by Spiegelworld, continues to wow from its tent on the corner of René-Lévesque and Bleury with a unique blend of circus, comedy and vaudeville, until May 24. The interactive spaces, visual and audio performances, immersive experiences, 3D productions, cutting-edge electronic music, vernissages and world-class events of Digital Spring also continue until June 21.