Unlike much of the rest of the world, Montreal celebrates Pride in August because we’re awesome. The Montreal Pride Festival is in the Village from July 31 to August 10, and there are a huge number of events, parties, plays, workshops…
There will be concerts and performances by Bilal Hassani, Nicky Doll, Jasmine Infiniti, Ivy Queen, Tranna Couture, Rita Baga – the program is super-rich, and we’re going to fill our bags with band-aids because in 12-inch heels, the race between events is going to be sporting.
The full program is on the Pride website, but here’s what’s on our agenda…
Our agenda
July 16-September 13 : Sex Garage: 35 years later, exhibition at the Archives Gaies du Québec (free)
Where? 1000 rue Atateken, Suite 201A (Wednesday to Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.)
July 31-August 6 : Deux lignes, une histoire: Retracer le VIH à travers les archives de l’ACCM at Espace ONF
Where: National Film Board, 1500 rue Balmoral
July 31, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Lumières des Nations, aboriginal and bi.spiritual artists gather to open the Pride Festival with dance, poetry, song… (free)
Where? Esplanade Tranquille, 1442 rue Clark
July 31, 9-11 p.m. : Transcendance presents Jasmine Infiniti, trans and underground icon of the North American club scene .
Where? Esplanade Tranquille, 1442 rue Clark
July 31-August 6 : Dialogue Through Time exhibition (LGBTQ+ intergenerational sharing) at the NFB (free)
Where? National Film Board, 1500 rue Balmoral
July 31-August 9 : Lesbian wilderness retreat from HELL at Cabaret du Lion d’Or, interactive queer horror comedy(tickets here)
Where: Cabaret Lion d’Or, 1676 Ontario Street East
August1, 5 to 11 p.m.: FeminiX – an evening with Le Belladone (elle/iel/il), Soraï (elle/iel), Mansa (elle) and Maya Margarita (elle), the br0nz3_g0dd3ss who opened for Beyoncé (free)
Where? l’Esplanade Tranquille, 1442 rue Clark
August 1, 6-11pm: Nasty Gloss x Carnaval de Moh Dafok, Brazilian dj set and drag… (free)
Where? at Jardins Gamelin, 1500 rue Berri
August 2, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. : Mundo Disko at SAT(box office)
Where? SAT, 1201 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
August 6, 6-10pm : Sami et ses ami.e.s, with Sami Landri (iconic Acadian drag queen) and a lineup of fire… (free)
Where? at Jardins Gamelin, 1500 rue Berri
August 7, noon to 7 p.m.: Mémoire comme Méthode (Trans Archive), educational and cultural event on trans memory and history (free)
Where? Casa del Popolo, 4873 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
August 8, 6 to 9 p.m.: BIMBO, Le Bus-école, an after-school with “zero brainpower, 100% glamour (…) and a very, very bad attitude” (free)
Where: Scène Dovato – Rue Sainte-Catherine Est and Rue Saint-Christophe
August 9, 6-9pm: Pour que tu m’aimes encore: a tribute to the 30th anniversary of Céline Dion’s album D’eux, composed by Jean-Jacques Goldman, an iconic tribute to an iconic album with Bobépine (free)
Where: Scène Dovato – Rue Sainte-Catherine Est and rue Saint-Christophe
August 9, 11 am to 6 pm: Salon du livre en plein air / Fierté littéraire
Where? Sainte-Catherine Street East
August 10, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.: the iconic Pride Parade at 1 p.m. (free), starting on Boulevard René Lévesque,
…and after the parade, the Mega T Dance from 3pm to 11pm (free).
Where? at Parc Olympique, 4545 Avenue Pierre de Coubertin
And also…
Literary pride
There will also be literary pride events: diversity, transpoésie, an open-air book fair and a literary vagabondage activity…
Cinéqueer
For 3 days in theatres (August 4 to 6) and throughout the festival online, there will also be CineQueer at the NFB Space, presented by Fierté Montréal and Image+Nation. Queer cinema, Quebecois, international, established or emerging… There’s something for everyone, and we won’t miss the free online programming.
Rainbow Market
As part of the Festival des Fiertés, this large-scale market brings together LGBTSQ+ artists, creators and entrepreneurs.
Where? Montreal Village
When? August 1, 2 and 3, starting at 11 a.m.
How? Free admission
Practical info
Where? at the Village de Montréal
When? July 31 to August 10
How? Most events are free, but to see the full program and buy tickets for ticketed events, click here!