Brighten up your winter with Montréal en Lumière

Whether you’re hungry, curious or looking to level-up your kitchen skills, the Village gourmand (presented by Miele in collaboration with Radio-Canada) offers plenty of workshops (including one for kids!), happy hours, a podcast for Quebec restaurant pros, a cooking competition and a mixology battle. Learn all about boreal plants, First Nations cuisine, caviar, vegan sushi, stuffing, risotto, pasta and pastries and, last but not least, one of our local specialties, ice cider. Above all, come taste what the village has to offer!

Winter is best experienced outdoors, so put on your toque and mittens and dive into the countless family activities available in the Quartier des Spectacles—for the whole festival, but especially during March break. Take in some breathtaking views with the Loto-Québec Skating Loop and the Intuit TurboTax Ferris Wheel, or climb aboard the Télé-Québec Little Train. Meet some larger-than-life characters: Gwendoline the Cloud Fairy and Zima the Snow Queen, giant illuminated puppets or the Télé-Québec mascots! Still got energy to burn? No problem! Take your pick of ice sculpting, hula hoops, winter circus workshops and giant games for all ages. And don’t forget the magical combination of interactive light art and skating with LUMINO’s Coffre à jouet dégivré!

Head out with your partner, some friends or just yourself to some of the festival’s high-quality shows. For the entire festival, Théâtre Maisonneuve presents the Marseille-based dance collective LA(HORDE). Meanwhile, MTELUS has a packed schedule with acclaimed rapper Loud on February 27, backing his latest album, Douze sur douze, with opener Rymz; the next night, February 28, the Barr Brothers enchant you with their sweet melodies; March 4, a poetic art-rock band from France, Feu! Chatterton, rocks the house; and on March 7, Louis-Jean Cormier delivers a moving solo show. Head to Studio TD for up-and-coming rapper Kinji00 on February 28, and Canadian indie rock legends Sloan on March 6.

February 28, join thousands of Montrealers and tourists and take to the streets for a night of activities, magic and indelible memories. Place des Arts hosts the third edition of the Nuit de la poésie, in which a diverse group of 25 poets put their words to music and dance. Over at Place des Festivals, be blown away by the No.10 Contest, where up-and-coming local DJs perform for an audience of more than 5,000 people at the Rogers DJ Station. And don’t miss LUMINO and the Esplanade Tranquille rink, open until 1 a.m. for the occasion.

All rosy-cheeked from your outdoor adventures? Take a break with some indoor fun! At the NFB Space, you’ll find a creative playground and a chance to explore the history of the NFB through an interactive installation called Archives : remixage, which lets you manipulate archival images in real time. Head to Espace OSM for some theatrical and musical improvisation to explore the evocative power of music. At the Monument-National, commemorate the 55^th anniversary of the death of poet and playwright Claude Gauvreau with second-year students from the Conservatory and the National Theatre School of Canada, under the direction of Lorraine Pintal. Lastly, to cap the night the right way, make your way to MTELUS, where the Moonshine collective will keep you dancing until 6 a.m.!