Things to Do in Montreal: September 13-19

Entertainment continues to enhance Montreal’s outdoor spaces this week as the weather holds, with bike races and light shows, multimedia art and dance. And all manner of popular culture comes to town with Comiccon, the iF3 ski-film festival, and lots of live music…

(nature enhanced) The speed and excitement of world-class pro-cycling comes to Montreal in speed-and-endurance race Grand Prix des Cyclistes de Montreal, this Sunday, September 15 at Mont-Royal Park – spend the day in the park or cheer on the riders anywhere along the route. Use your voice in another way at  multi-media installation Megaphone, installed downtown outdoors at the Quartier des Spectacles: speak your mind into the megaphone and see your words brightly and colourfully projected on the side of a building. Evening is also illuminated at the Montreal Botanical Garden’s Gardens of Light exhibition: lanterns and light displays illuminate the plants, trees and walkways of the Japanese and Chinese gardens. Earlier in the day, see the plant-based, large-scale work of international horticultural artists at the Mosaïcultures Internationales exhibition.

(comic book mania) Big names in comic book culture – and by extension in television and film such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and The X-Files – come to Montreal Comiccon, September 13-15. Alongside the convention’s massive exhibition hall and marketplace, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes talk about Jay Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Movie, while George Takei, Christopher Lloyd and Gillian Anderson greet fans, Carrie Fisher joins fellow Star Wars actors Dave Prowse and Billy Dee Williams, Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff of hit TV show reboot Battlestar Galactica make an appearance, along with many more celebs.

(thought-provoking photos) Dedicated to power of the photographic image, Mois de la Photo features 25 exhibitions at 14 venues around the city until October 5. Among world-class exhibitions at galleries in the Belgo building (372 Sainte-Catherine West), the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and other venues, see films on the theme of drone photography at Cinémathèque Québécoise, and join in on a multimedia event and discussion about theories of the Uncanny. Coinciding with Mois de la Photo is the stunning, internationally-touring World Press Photo exhibition, at Marché Bonsecours.

(new film feats) Watch some of the world’s best freestyle skiers take on some of the world’s toughest mountains at International Freeski Film Festival (iF3), September 11-14 at the Quartier des Spectacles. The biggest ski film festival in the world, iF3 brings together filmmakers, photographers and athletes from more than 20 countries. On top of daily film screenings, often with directors present, the festival adds more social fun times to the program with  autograph sessions and parties – including an album-launch concert with band Misteur Valaire and a ‘70s-ski-style retro party. The Montreal International Black Film Festival screens features and short films from around the world, September 18-29, opening with an appearance by Danny Glover and Norry Niven’s film Chasing Shakespeare. In high-tech feats, SAT Fest’s imaginative short films explore the audio-visual possibilities of the surround-sound, 360-degree Satosphere dome at the Society for Art and Technology.

(performance moves) Find contemporary dance in the streets of Montreal this week as festival Quartiers Danses presents performances, films and exhibitions around town, including free outdoors performances at Place des Festivals all afternoon on September 13 and at the Olympic Stadium Esplanade (near the Biodome, Planetarium and Botanical Garden) on September 14 starting at 12:30 p.m. International performance festival Les Escales Improbables moves indoors this weekend to present collaborative creation Le Recours aux Forêts, a multimedia mix of drama, dance, music and art by Montreal artists Jean Lambert, Jean-Luc Therminarias, Michel Onfray, Carolyn Carlson and and François Royet. to September 14 at factory-turned-theatre Usine C. And see dance pros move their feet fast and furious at Montreal Flamenco Festival.

(live music) On Friday night, Portland, Oregon electronic outfit STRFKR turns the Corona Theatre into an all-out electro-indie-rock dance party, while British multi-instrumentalist Richard Youngs keeps things interesting in a quieter way at Casa del Popolo. On Saturday, the LuzArts festival celebrates Portuguese culture and music with an all-afternoon event at Mission Santa Cruz (60 Mont Royal W.) and an evening show by Rogério Boccato, Jean Rohe and Trio Bruxo at Casa del Popolo, followed by Isaac Neto and Bombolessé on Sunday night at Sala Rossa. On Sunday afternoon, don’t miss Piknic Electronik’s  penultimate weekend. On Monday, September 16, hear new music by Thurston Moore and his band Chelsea Light Moving, at Sala Rossa, while Scout Niblett returns with a new album to Casa del Popolo. Portland’s Grails play otherworldly sounds September 16 at Il Motore. On September 15 and 17, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kent Nagano, performs Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust. Soprano and pop-music star Sarah Brightman makes an ethereal appearance at the Bell Centre on September 17, while the great Pere Ubu returns with their style of experimental rock, at Cabaret du Mile End. Peter Hook performs New Order’s “Movement” and “Power, Corruption and Li
es” at Club Soda, September 18, while Black Joe Lewis brings the funk to Sala Rossa and on Tuesday, famed German musician Herbert Grönemeyer at Le National.