Heading to Montreal during winter? These winter festivals should motivate you to go outside and face the cold! Forget about the snow, and learn more about some of the best Montreal festivals.
From food festivals to outdoor parties, Montreal has enough events to keep you entertained during winter.
Old Montreal’s Happening Gourmand
There are many food festivals in Montreal, and Old Montreal’s Happening Gourmand is for all the food lovers that enjoy delicious food but also a great experience! From January 16th to February 9th, 2020, Old Montreal’s 10 finest restaurants will serve food for a fraction of the usual costs!
Their $25, $29, and $35 menus will give you a variety of cuisines and meals you can choose from and if you fancy brunch instead, you can have that for $17 during the weekends!
Small bonus – if you purchase Happening Gourmand table d’hôte, you get an Igloofest ticket for 25% off for the night of your choice! That sounds like a great deal, doesn’t it?
BARBEGAZI
Winter action sports festival that will help you fight the cold by the adrenaline games and challenges no matter the age! Barbegazi offers a big variety of outdoor activities like ice-skating, electric fat bikes, yoga on snow, axe and Christmas tree throwing and many more.
If you feel cold, you can warm up in one of the heat zones, get some food and drinks from the food trucks or dance to the DJ’s music! This festival is usually in mid-January and takes a week! The entrance is free, and it takes place in Montreal’s Olympic Park!
Igloofest
One of the coldest festivals in the world is taking place at the Quays of the Old Port of Montréal between January 16th to February 8th 2020. Igloofest is an outdoor electronic music event that is hosting some of the best local and international DJs and it’s one of a kind experience!
Put your dancing boots on, dance under the stars and join thousands of electronic music lovers who come from all over the world, just for this festival! Igloos, mind-blowing light show, ‘Iglooswag’ snowsuit competition are some reasons why is this festival so cool! But seriously, get your big coats and warm clothes out!
Fête des Neiges de Montréal
Are you looking for a family-friendly event where both kids and adults can have a fun time? If you answered yes, Fête des Neiges is exactly what you need! It’s a multi-weekend event starting from January 18th to February 9th, 2020 and it takes place in Parc Jean-Drapeau which turns into fun in the snow place to be!
Activities like snow tubing, dog sledding, wintery games, music, shows and much more are guaranteed! The event is free, but small fees can occur for renting the equipment.
Poutine Week
Poutine is Québec’s most renowned signature dish, and there is a full week dedicated to this dish! French fries and gravy topped with cheese curds with a different spin in a dozen restaurants that take part throughout Montreal.
Although Poutine Week is happening across 400 restaurants in Canada and it has 350k yearly participants which explains why it became a nationwide tradition by now! And if you think it’s only about these three ingredients, you would be surprised how every chef can make it their own. Definitely worth a try!
The festival starts February 1st until February 7th, 2020.
Montréal en Lumière
One of the largest winter festivals celebrates its 20th birthday, and the timing for the celebration was never better! From February 20th to March 1st, 2020, Montreal’s Quartier des spectacles will change into fine dining hotspot, illuminated art experience, outdoor activity park, and citywide all-nighter party!
Montréal en Lumière has over 1,300,000 festival site visits every year and admission is free! Take your friends, family, and enjoy the amazing atmosphere, try some delicious food, admire interactive lighting and cultural programs. Oh, and did I mention zipline, Ferris wheel, and a giant ice slide?
Le Fifa
Montreal is hosting the annual International Festival of Films on Art from March 17th to March 29th, 2020. For over three decades, people behind this festival have been working on the goals like increasing knowledge and appreciation of art among the public, promoting artists’ work in the fields of cinema, video and visual arts, but also encouraging increased production of films on art.
You don’t need to be an artist or director to come and join this festival! If you enjoy stories and visual art in different variations, you should definitely give it a go in 2020!
