QUEER MTL GUIDE: Fall in love with Autumn

Autumn in Montreal is the best time to fall in love with the city. After a fresh fun summer, the leaves start to burn with the colours of pumpkin spice, candlelight, and crisp nights. Montrealers start cuddling a little closer, ordering increasingly hot seasonal beverages, swapping their flip-flop-crop-tops for leather boots and knitwear, and begin feasting to pad our bodies for the winter months ahead. Fall in Montreal is hopelessly romantic, energetically busy, and comes and goes all too quickly…

DATE NIGHT IN MONTREAL: The natural beauty of Montreal in the fall is the most gorgeous backdrop for a casual Saturday date with a special friend. Small talk over lattes in the Mile-End, stroll through the brilliant foliage of Mont-Royal hand in hand, then find a place to sneak kisses in the brilliant Garden of Light at the Botanical Gardens. Grab a table for two at one of the romantic #TasteMTL partner restaurants in the Gay Village like Les temps nouveaux, Carte Blanche, Chez Ma Grosse Truie Chérie, and Le Grain de sel.

FASHION FOR FALL WALKS: During the fall, Montreal starts expertly layering the new season of fashion finds. Sweaters,  jackets, jeans, boots, bags, and scarfs, the combinations are almost endless. In the wake of Montreal Fashion Week, these local looks are strutting right off the runway and into the trendy boutiques of the Plateau, Mile-End, and Old Port. Check out designers like atelier b, UNTTLD available at Quai 417 in the Old Port, and Travis Taddeo at Unicorn on Saint-Laurent.

ART FOR THE EYES AND EARS: Immerse yourself in Montreal’s art, culture and music scene by checking out the incredible Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, or the Megaphone at Place-des Arts. Venues that fuse art and technology like the SAT are adding events throughout the autumn, so check out their full schedule to see the latest. The SAT will also be hosting a special performance and exhibition by local artist Yunus Chkirate on October 7- proceeds from the $5 entry will go to Maison Plein Coeur, a local organization that supports people living with HIV/AIDS. The exhibit will feature 20 large-format multimedia paintings, and a performance featuring a creative team of dancers, videographers, and live art! Find out more here. And the M for Montreal festival caps off fall at the end of November, bringing 100 local, Canadian and international artists performing at venues around the city.

EVENTS: One of the biggest LGBT events of the season is BBCM’s Black Blue, which takes place October 9-15 at Arsenal in Griffintown. The major rave party brings thousands to dance, enjoy live performances, and listen to the best house and trance in the world. Check out Faggity Ass Friday’s at the Royal Phoenix. Taking place the last Friday of every month, it is a slosh pit of cute queers and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Candyass Club Cabaret hosts a burlesque show at the iconic Club Cleopatra the third Friday of every month. The showtime is at 10 p.m and tickets are $15 at the door.

Follow QUEERMTL on Facebook  Twitter to keep up with new events being posted throughout the year.

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