Art Festivals in Montreal

Montreal’s Divers/Cité Festival is an international arts and music festival that takes place each year in the heart of downtown Montreal and Montreal’s Gay Village. It is considered to be one of Canada’s largest and most festive gay celebrations. This week-long arts and music festival features parades, wild parties, music and cultural activities celebrating sexual diversity. This annual Gay Pride Celebration attracts nearly one million people to Montreal.

Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival (Festival International de Films Fantasia) is the largest genre film festival in North America. Taking place every summer in downtown Montreal, the Fantasia Film Festival features various fantasy, horror, sci-fi, manga and action movies from all over the world. Around half of the films presented at the festival originate from Asia.

Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma is an annual film festival dedicated to new trends in the field of cinema and new media. It offers a springboard for original and largely unseen works, placing emphasis on promoting cinema d’auteur and digital production.

Montreal’s Festival International Montréal en Arts (FIMA) is the largest open-air art gallery in Eastern Canada. The goal of the International Montreal Festival of the Arts is to promote the visual arts in the heart of the city of Montreal. The FIMA’s open-air art exhibition provides a relaxed atmosphere where artists and the public can mingle. This annual festival takes place in the heart of Montreal’s Village area.

Montreal’s Festival International Nuits d’Afrique is a 10-day world music festival that features music from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. Remaining at the forefront of promoting musical creativity and the arts, the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique annually deploys a wide range of mixed talents here and across the ocean from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. It is considered to be the largest festival of its kind in North America.

Montreal’s International Circus Arts Festival (Montréal Complètement Cirque)is an international festival celebrating circus arts. Hundreds of circus artists from around the world participate in this summer festival. The festival features performances, showcases, conferences and exhibitions all over the city of Montreal. You’ll find circus artists, magicians, clowns, acrobats, makeup artists and much more.

Montreal’s International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA – Festival International du Film sur l’Art) is an annual event that features ten consecutive days of films on art. With almost 300 films from 30 countries showing at eight Montreal theatres, it is the largest annual festival of films on art in the world. FIFA’s mission is to increase public awareness and appreciation of art. It thus promotes artists and professionals working in the fields of cinema, television and video, as well as the world’s finest productions of media art and films on art.

Montreal’s International Fireworks Competition (L’International des Feux Loto-Québec presented by TELUS) is an annual fireworks competition that takes place during the summer months in Montreal. The Montreal International Fireworks Competition has been taking place since 1985 at La Ronde and is one of the most popular summer events in Montreal. The fireworks competition runs from mid-June till mid-August. Each year, over 3 million people attend the fireworks displays. The festival uses more than 6,000 fireworks.

Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival (Festival Juste Pour Rire) is a comedy festival that runs for 11 days during the month of July. The festival features hundreds of comedians and events throughout the streets of Montreal. Besides featuring many comedy shows, the festival features free street shows, dance acts, circus arts, street dancing and so much more. The Just For Laughs Festival features both English and French comedians.

The Montreal Fashion and Design Festival (Festival Mode & Design Montreal) is a popular event that turns the streets of Montreal’s downtown area into several free outdoor fashion shows. This fashion and design festival takes place on McGill College Avenue, at the heart of downtown Montreal and features hundreds of fashion labels and designers.

The Montreal Nuit Blanche (All-Nighter) is an all-night event that takes place every year to mark the end of the Montreal High Lights Festival (Montreal en Lumiere).

Montreal’s Osheaga Music and Arst Festival (Osheaga Festival Musique et Arts) is a two-day music festival held each year on Île Sainte-Hélène at Parc Jean-Drapeau. This popular annual festival has become one of the most anticipated summer events in Montreal since it was first introduced in 2006. The purpose of the Osheaga festival is to showcase Montreal’s most talented artists along with Internationally-known artists.

The St-Ambroise Montreal FRINGE Festival (Festival St-Ambroise Fringe de Montréal) is a unique fringe festival with an unbeatable neighborhood feel! Block party and performing arts collide every June in the Plateau Mile-End for this celebration of creativity without limits that includes music, comedy, dance and theatre from over 500 performers. The St-Ambroise Montreal FRINGE Festival is bilingual, and includes local, national and international artists from Montreal to Greece to Japan!

The Montreal World Film Festival (le Festival des Films du Monde) is also known as the Montreal International Film Festival. The goal of the Montreal World Film Festival is to encourage cultural diversity and understanding among nations, to foster the cinema of all continents by stimulating the development of quality cinema, to promote filmmakers and innovative works, to discover and encourage new talents, and to promote meetings between cinema professionals from around the world.