Bridget, Charlotte and I are headed up to the Great White North tomorrow for a four-day getaway to Montreal. We had a great time on our last visit to New York City back in February, but it was recent enough that we felt like we wanted to go someplace different. Montreal is just about the same distance from Boston as New York, so it’s enitrely drivable in four or five hours, which makes a big difference when you’re travelling with a little kid.
I asked around at several of my online haunts for recommendations of things to see and do that would be appropriate for small children. You can always tell if someone has a kid or not by the things they seem to think are kid-appropriate. Pro tip: titty bars on Rue St. Catherine — not appropriate. But there were a few suggestions that a little research did confirm as perfect. We’ll probably spend most of Saturday afternoon at the Biodome. That’s near the Olympic Park and you can even include tickets to go up inside the tower that holds the roof over Olympic Stadium as part of the price of admission. On Sunday we’ll check out the Old Port and Old Montreal. Within the two adjoining areas there are some museums, historical sites, and various outdoor events, so I expect it will be possible to spend just about all day (with time off for good behavior). With these little trips, it is simply impossible to do more than hit a couple of significant attractions, so we’ll have to be satisfied with those and leave some of the other must-do Montreal attractions for another visit.
I’d like to find something interesting for Saturday evening. The Montreal Fringe Festival begins this weekend, but it’s hard to know what, if anything, would be kid-appropriate. We’re not very uptight about a lot of things, but sometimes the vibe of “alternative” theater is a little more than I’d want my little girl to see. An online acquaintance happens to be involved with one of the productions, and even he wasn’t sure which things might be okay. We might just have to take our chances…or skip it entirely in favor of some other event.
I also need to put a little thought into where we might like to try to eat. Montreal is a world-class restaurant city, but circumstances will insist that we scale down our gastronomic expectations. I refuse to go away for a weekend and eat in crap chain restaurants or Le Poulet Frit Kentucky, but it is usually possible to find interesting places that won’t refuse you service because you have a kid with you. Bridget wants to make sure we go to a poutine palace, so I suppose we’ll have to do that. And I do want to visit Schwartz’s Deli; Montreal is famous for having great delis and bagel shops, and Schwartz’s is like the Katz’s Deli of Montreal.
To help us flesh out our itinerary a bit, we bought a copy of the Rough Guide to Montreal. On our trip to Europe a few years ago, we found the DK series of travel books to be the most suited to our interests, but we couldn’t find a DK book about Montreal at our local Barnes & Noble. So after a bit of grousing, we settled for the Rough Guide. This morning, though, this comparison chart from GOOD Magazine specifically refers to the Rough Guide Montreal book as being only so-so. If we were going on a longer expedition and were really going to do some serious exploring, I’d probably go back and look for a better guide book. The guide book they liked best, City Secrets, only covers four cities and none of them are Montreal, but I’d probably search harder for the DK books.
Photos a plenty will be taken, I’m sure, but you’ll have to wait until late next week for them to appear on my Flickr page. If you’ve got any Montreal suggestions, especially for good restaurants, speak up quickly.
It’s hard to advise on kid’s shows at the Fringe since
no shows start until Friday. There was a time when
some tried actual children’s shows, but because of
the overall tone of the festival, they got lost.
Dance has always struck me as having more potential
to children than is pursued. For the small, they
are deeply involved in movement, and there it is
on stage. The lower ticket prices, and generally
short lengths are a plus, since if they aren’t
interested it’s not too painful.
Influxxdance is back for their third year, and
their previous pieces have often had a child like
tone to them. It’s not aimed at children, but they
do specifically mention children being welcome. I
really haven’t looked enough at the schedule to see
what else might work. I’ve not heard of anything
exotic like aerial dance that was performed one
year.
One piece is performed outside in the park, and
is free, “Hanging By A Branch…”. Something
about a Tibetan fairytale, with acrobatics
and trapeze.
One reviewer one year asked about children’s shows
because she wanted to take her child, but generally
nobody really qualifies shows in terms of interest
to children, which is a shame.
SHows don’t even really start till 6pm on Friday, and
I may try to ask around but there isn’t much time.
I always liked the Redpath Museum, at McGill University,
but it is a rather static display and nothing that you
aren’t likely to find closer to home.
Michael
If you’re in Montreal this very weekend, come out and support your home team: Big Moves Boston is performing at the Fringe Festival AND our show Lard (like grease, but thicker) is kid-friendly. We are an award-winning troupe of dancers and performers, and our show is a 1950s musical parody. Definitely suitable for down to age 10, at least (I think there are two s-words for swearing, and that’s it).
Look us up on the Fringe web site, and if you make it, make sure to say hi!
Marina
I’d recommend seeing “Hanging by a Branch: A Circus-Theater Fairytale”. The show starts outside at the main tent (St Laurent & Rachel) and travels Jeanne Mance Park. It’s clowning, acrobatics and theatre mixed together.I haven’t seen it yet myself but it’s one of the show I’m most looking forward to seeing.
http://www.montrealfringe.ca/en/spectacles/hanging-a-branch-a-circus-theater-fairytale
If it’s raining, you can also come see our improv comedy show “Argument with a Dolphin”. We’ve listed it as All Ages and we love having kids interact with us.
http://www.montrealfringe.ca/en/spectacles/argument-with-a-dolphin
Or you can try some of the dance shows. “Lard…” (see Marina’s post above) looks like a lot of fun as well as inFluxDance has “Identity Crisis”, which might be a little more serious but it’s always a visual feast.
http://www.montrealfringe.ca/en/spectacles/identity-crisis
Enjoy the Fringe and, as a Montrealer, I hope you have a great time!
Hello Folks
I am in the production called “Hanging on a Branch”; a circus-theatre interpretation of a Tibetan fairy tale. I do the Face/Body Painting, built the Masks & Headpieces, decorated & I sing through out the piece while providing sound effects.
I do believe that if you come out to our show you will have alot of fun no matter what age you are. We do have low-grade video up on You-tube but you can’t see the face/body painting or what the masks look like but it gives you an idea of what the experience is. Photographs from the event will also be posted up on my website very soon.
If you do come out to see the show, please feel free to come by and introduce yourself!! I hope you enjoy the show!!!
Cheers;
April-Anna
The Art of April-Anna – http://www.aprilanna.com
“as you slide down the banister of life,
may all the splinters be facing the right way.” – irish blessing
Hi April-Anna!
By the time we were done with the Biosphere, we were too tired to go see your show. :(
Hope you’re having a great time with the Festival.
Thanks!
It is a lot of fun doing the show…. It runs until Sunday but due to the popular response, we may do more shows later on on a slightly larger scale; not sure yet…
I am sure you will have tons of fun at the Biosphere!!
Cheerio;
April-Anna
The Art of April-Anna – http://www.aprilanna.com