• Tourisme-Montreal
• The Guess Who
• Arcade Fire
• Montreal High Lights Festival
• Pink Martini
• Ensemble Arion
• The hip music store
• Eating at the festival
• Local ethnic eats
• Montreal bagels
• Montreal poutine
• Annual Celebration of Light

Canadian Melodies

Sure, Paris might be peachy in the springtime, but if you're itching for a quick winter getaway that's packed with culture, there's no better destination than Montreal -the closest European-like big city this side of the Atlantic. The chilly town has produced countless highly acclaimed bands in recent years, from The Guess Who to Arcade Fire.

So, if you're a music lover, the best time to visit this northern "ville" might be during the Montreal High Lights Festival (aka Montreal En Lumière), the city's yearly February music festival.

Despite its reputation as the coldest time of the year in this region of Quebec-the temperature regularly dips well below freezing-this event still draws thousands of locals and tourists out of hibernation to enjoy ten days of music and dance performances from around the world. This year's festival will feature Pink Martini a 10-piece band from Oregon that specializes in Latin jazz and Cuban rumba.

If you're in the mood for something a little more baroque, the musicians of Ensemble Arion will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart with an instrumental soiree devoted to the impish Austrian composer. What to do after the music ends at night? Well, you can try to get yourself invited to the cool post-gig parties-we suggest striking up conversations with the folks hanging out at Steve's Music store downtown to find out where they are.

Or, you can eat! As part of the "Wine and Dine" program of the festival, the regional cuisines of Vancouver and France's Alsace will be celebrated at the festival with guest chefs all around the city sharing their culinary creations. (Or, if you'd rather experience local flavor, just head to any corner and sample the city's famous bagels and "poutine"-French fries and curds of cheese soaked in gravy. Yum!)

The event culminates on February 26 with the Annual Celebration of Light, an evening where Montrealers and visitors alike are urged to head to the heart of downtown to see dancers perform by the light of bonfires until dawn.

Whether it's because of the artistic beauty or because of the frost, one thing is sure: goose bumps are guaranteed.

 

Posted on January 16, 2006