The city of Montreal is lively, no matter the time of day, and regardless of the weather. Your meeting or convention can coincide with one of the 106 festivals and will enable you to incorporate elements and theme to add a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that is something exclusive and unique to the city.
Here’s just a sampling of the city’s top events and festivals:
Montreal High Lights Festival (February 2012)
One of the largest urban winter festivals in the world features decadent delights, arts and culture, festivities, and outdoor family activities, hosted in a variety of venues. The Montreal High Lights—also known as Montréal en Lumière—is a cultural celebration of food and light, taking place every February.
Borrow the gourmet theme and organize a cocktail event at a local wine bar and then plan for your team to take in a play or enjoy a musical performance in the entertainment district. After the performance, enjoy dinner with your team at the Festival’s Finest Tables, a group of restaurants and chefs who are certified by the Festival. Or you can go even further and organize a Montreal gourmet cooking class that combines exciting food experiences with professional cooking lessons.
Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (June 2012)
The largest outdoor music festival in the world, the Jazz Festival is held over 11 days, during which over 650 concerts (450 of which are free outdoor performances) are presented. The legendary summer music festival hosts over 3,000 musicians from 30 countries, entertaining close to 2.5 million spectators. Located inside the Quartier des Spectacles (the new entertainment district) the festival features dozens of famous headliners and world class musicians playing the best sounds of Jazz, Blues, Soul, and more. Looking to add a twist to your business meeting? Use a jazz theme for a party night by using decor, cocktails and live music to recreate a musical era. Get hats, costumes, and necklaces for your guests to add a festive touch to the night! Many jazz performers are available in Montreal to perform live at your event for the entire night or at cocktail time. Montreal also has a number of famous jazz bars that you can use a venue to entertain your guests.
Montreal Just for Laughs Festival (July 2012)
In 2012, The Just for Laughs Festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary and will keep featuring some of the world’s greatest comedians in the world. From today’s biggest stars to tomorrow’s big names, sarcastic and smart humor invades downtown Montreal. Famous comedians such as William Shatner, Jerry Seinfeld, Howie Mandel, Seth MacFarlane and George Lopez have performed at the Festival in past. Why not hire a local comedian or street performer to run a team building workshop? They say that shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for breaking down barriers and building relationships. You could also join your fellow conference attendees in testing your amateur stand-up comedy skills!
Information provided courtesy of Colin Danby, of Cohn & Wolfe (www.cohnwolfe.ca).