Four cultural picks for your Montreal weekend
From the Lachine Canal's free music festival to Stanley Kubrick retrospectives and a massive art biennial.
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Montreal's cultural calendar is packed this weekend with live music, cinema, and visual art across the city.
On the Lachine Canal, the Festival sur le Canal runs Friday through Sunday with a dozen-plus free performances. Edwin Raphael takes the stage Friday, followed by Chances and singer-songwriter Junes on Saturday, and Ska Sound System on Sunday. A voluntary contribution is encouraged.
Downtown at Parc La Fontaine's Théâtre de Verdure, hip-hop artist Waahli performs their Se7en Bubbles show Friday in an outdoor setting. The same venue hosts the Ensemble Obiora and multi-instrumentalist Joseph Sarenhes for an orchestral concert Saturday.
Cinema lovers have options across the city. The Cinémathèque's Stanley Kubrick cycle continues through late June, with screenings including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Paths of Glory, Full Metal Jacket (Saturday only), and Eyes Wide Shut (June 27 only). At Cinéma du Parc, Alejandro González Iñárritu's debut feature Amores perros returns for a limited run this weekend.
Visual art reaches monumental scale at the Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal, where XL7, a biennial showcase by the XL Art Montréal collective, runs through August 16. The exhibition features oversized paintings and sculptures that dominate gallery walls. The collective is expanding its footprint—the Maison de la culture d'Outremont will host part of the biennial starting July 8, with 35 artists showing across both venues.
Further east, the BleuBleu festival animates Carleton-sur-Mer through Sunday for its eighth year, with roughly 20 concerts spanning multiple genres. The Boulay sisters join Elliot Maginot, rising rapper Kinji00, and folk ensemble Fine Food Market featuring Sophie Perras. BleuBleu also offers free activities including intergenerational cribbage tournaments, cocktail workshops, needlework circles, hiking, and water-bouncing competitions.