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An exciting August in the Quartier des Spectacles!

August 10, 2015

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Summer is far from over, and one of the best places to enjoy it to the fullest is Sainte-Catherine St., the Place des Festivals and the surrounding area. Creative interactive installations, along with plenty of mini-concerts by up and coming artists, will keep the area hopping all day long.

Here are five ways – all free – to escape the daily grind and make the most of the last days of summer.


This August, the Quartier des Spectacles is the perfect place to…


Make beautiful music

21 balançoires (21 Swings)


Promenade des Artistes
Until October 18, from 10 a.m.

Montrealers and visitors will be thrilled by the return of this installation that has become a true Montreal icon. Whether you’re trying them for your first time or your hundredth, whether you're young or just young at heart, the 21 musical swings by the creative duo of Daily tous les jours are sure to put a smile on your face. This is the first time the swings have returned after the peak of festival season, and they'll be open well into the fall.


Dance

Live music


Sainte-Catherine St.
August 13 and 14 at noon and 4:30 p.m.; August 15 and 16 at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.

With the aim of creating the perfect atmosphere for the city’s most popular pedestrian zone, a long list of local independent performers will take the stage to introduce you to their music with a casual, intimate concert series that's sure to delight you. The artists, from four Montreal labels, include: Ludovic Alarie, Adrian Underhill, Hein Cooper, Colin Moore, Orkestar Kriminal, Foreign Diplomats, Choses sauvages, Saratoga, Rosie Valland, Benoît Paradis, and Les Guerres d’l’Amour.

Dream

Maëstro


Place des Festivals
August 28 to September 9

Monday to Wednesday and Sunday: noon to 3 p.m. and 4 to 7:30 p.m.;
Thursday to Saturday: noon to 3 p.m. and 4 to 8:30 p.m.

If you love classical music, fountains and new technology, Maëstro is just for you! Pick up the sensor-equipped baton and conduct the Place des Festivals fountain spouts in time to music by Bizet, Tchaikovsky or Beethoven. For a few minutes, you’ll be the orchestra conductor you always dreamed of being.

Play

Giant chessboards


In front of Place des Arts
Until September 7
Noon to 7 p.m.

Whether you’re a novice or a master, come challenge your friends to a game on one of the four giant outdoor chessboards, back for a second season. If you’d rather study strategy and plot how to checkmate your next opponent, feel free to sit back and watch the experts play.

Be amazed

9 x [MTL]


Nine building façades in the Quartier des Spectacles
Until September 6
Tuesday through Sunday after dark

If you haven’t yet seen the video projections by Gabriel Poirier-Galarneau and Vincent Bilodeau, there’s still time. On the walls of the Grande Bibliothèque, UQAM's Pavillon Président-Kennedy, the newly-added Place Dupuis (overlooking Place Émilie-Gamelin) and six other permanent projection sites in the Quartier, the projected images and scenes will give you an amazing and colourful new look at Montreal.

…and share

To invite your friends to join you, share your photos, or buy tickets for the season’s shows, go online with the Wi-Fi network available in the following locations: Les Jardins Gamelin, Place des Festivals, Place de la Paix, Promenade des Artistes and Sainte-Catherine St. between Bleury and Saint-Laurent.




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