Ideas for going out without spending a dime

Dance, music, literature, cinema, visual arts… Montreal has something for everyone and for every budget. Here are eight suggestions for free cultural getaways, in the heart of the metropolis, to go out without emptying your pockets.

Laila Maalouf
The Press

Outdoor dance performances

The Quartiers Danses festival is back in force for its 20^e edition with a series of 30 outdoor shows — and completely free —, in addition to its indoor programming. From September 7 to 18, choreographies and performances are thus planned in various emblematic places of the city (Jardins Gamelin, place des Festivals, parc du Bassin-à-Gravier in Griffintown, avenue Bernard in Outremont, etc.) with artists from here and Besides.

Rhythms of the open world

From September 15 to 24, the L’Art en soi festival will offer six free dance evenings, with musicians live. The outdoor Esplanade of Place des Arts will be transformed into a large open-air dance floor, with Philippe Fehmiu in charge, while dancers and DJs will introduce you to samba, Guinean dance or the rhythms of Bollywood , among many others.

Meetings and literary exchanges

As part of the next International Literature Festival (FIL), the Diversity Space is organizing a series of five free Literary Lunches at the Quartier des Spectacles, in the Grand Salon of the Esplanade Tranquille pavilion. Every day, from Monday September 26 to Friday September 30, at dinner time, authors, including Jean-Paul Eid, Louise Dupré and Sophie Bienvenu, will dialogue around the imagination, love or ecological crisis.

Make way for emerging artists

The Pop Montreal festival is a must with its shows at low prices and its many free events in the Mile-End sector, from September 28 to October 2. Among the free-entry activities, an evening of readings at the Rialto which highlights Montreal’s French and English publishing houses, the opening of the exhibition At A Distance – From Within or the screening of three films on the diaspora at the Cinéma Moderne.

Cinema at the Grande Bibliothèque

Every Friday evening, it’s movie night at the Grande Bibliothèque. Films of all genres are screened free of charge as part of the Big Views series. One Sunday afternoon per month is also P’tites Vues time with the screening of children’s films. Please note that we cannot reserve (first come, first served). We also don’t want to miss the lectures in the series Paper memoryin particular on the theater of Molière in Quebec, the 1^er November (free with reservation).

Nordic culture in the spotlight

The Immersive Festival of Culture and Scandinavian and Nordic Art — FIKA(S) — is back in Montreal after a three-year absence. From October 17 to 23, the multidisciplinary event offers several activities where the cost of entry is a voluntary contribution ($5 or $10) – such as the discussion with the Icelandic writer Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir at the Gallimard bookstore, boulevard Saint- Laurent, or the concert of traditional Swedish music, followed by a workshop, at the Center de création O Vertigo at Place des Arts.

An exhibition by Michel Tremblay

Until October 9, the Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal invites us to discover the watercolors of writer Michel Tremblay for free. The exhibition Michel Tremblay – The painter of solidarity brings together 38 of his works painted during his stays in Key West, which he donated to the non-profit organization Center for Lesbian Solidarity. An ideal opportunity to discover this native of the Plateau differently.

When drawing meets circus

TOHU regularly offers free activities of all kinds. From September 7 to October 16, it will host the Espace Cascades exhibition Contortions, which was conceived this summer as part of a three-month residency at its premises. Artist Onira Lussier drew inspiration from her forays into rehearsal studios and circus performance halls to create designs that pay homage to the circus arts.