Travelsmartplanet

How special to be invited to a reception with The Honorable Terry McAuliffe, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the sumptuous Westmount, Quebec residence of the Consul General of the United States.Yes we met Consul General Nina Maria Fite there, too. Both were amazingly gracious and comfortable people to talk to. Virginia was showing off their Virginia wines and Virginia oysters. Quite a treat.

Tags: Canada, commonwealth, consul, consulate, General, governor, honorable, Nina Marie Fite, oyster, Quebec, reception, residence, roadtrip, state, Terry McAuliffe, travelblogger, treat, USA, Virginia, Westmount, wine

Here is the SeaRay, which is one of those pirate ship rides you see at amusement parks. You can ride it for free at the street festival at Just for Laughs in Montreal. You can also play board games and video games and human Foosball.

Tags: amusementpark, boardgame, Canada, comedy, festival, foosball, free, justforlaughs, Montreal, pirateship, Quebec, ride, roadtrip, streetfestival, summer, travel, travelblogger

Making friends with Victor, the mascot of Just for Laughs in Montreal. The festival is in full swing.

Tags: Canada, comedy, festival, friend, justforlaughs, mascot, Montreal, Quebec, roadtrip, summer, travel, travelblogger

You can get lost in the V8 Energie Labyrinth at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal. It’s free!

People taking part in a stationary bike race in the street festival at Just for Laughs in Montreal. You can also play board games and video games and human Foosball, and even go an an amusement park ride, complete with a small midway.

Tags: amusementpark, bicycle, boardgame, Canada, comedy, festival, foosball, games, justforlaughs, midway, Montreal, Quebec, race, ride, streetfestival, summer, travel, travelblogger

Why not have loads of belly laughs on your next trip? There are a few ways to cut costs and take in the hysterical Montreal Just for Laughs comedy festival inexpensively. Here’s all the FREE events:

On July  21st, Weird Al Yankovic is doing a free outdoor concert as part of  “The Mandatory World Tour”. The Scène Vidéotron will be presenting various free activites at 7pm every day and shows at 9pm.

The Street Arts Festival has acts performing for free in and around Place des Arts. Starting at 1 pm each day, the colorful Place de la famille le Lait will offer its load of shows and activities including a merry-go-round for kids and all the family

Also for your family entertainment, the Labyrinthe V8 will be open from 6pm during weekdays and from noon during weekends.

Every night from 4pm-3am, the Melting Pot, set on the Esplanade de la Place des Arts, invites party goers to enjoy great music presented by various international DJs.

From July 23rd to July 25th, the Zoofest Festival will take place on the Parterre des artistes. Nicknamed Le Spot, this 3-days outdoor celebration will feature the craziest, funniest and talented emerging artists.

At the Le Mondial des Jeux Loto-Québec set on Maisonneuve Blvd, you can get to play various table games and board games. In the center of the Complexe Desjardins, you are invited to discover and play the latest and the classic video games. Plus, you will have the opportunity to show off your skills in friendly competitions. Kids and grown-ups will also be able to show their talents at the Complexe Desjardins in a drawing contest.

www.hahaha.com
http://mondialdesjeux.com/en/

TICKET DEALS

The best deal by far is the OFF-JFL pass. It costs $49.50 and you get to choose 3 tickets to any of the 100 or so OFF-JFL shows. Also included is that each day from July 22-25, you get an additional free ticket for an OFF-JFL show.

OFF-JFL has a lineup of artists performing at smaller venues where the shows are much more intimate, The lineup this year is absolutely incredible. I really laughed at Ethnic Show headliners Alonzo Bodden, Ahmed Ahmed and Gina Yashere who are on this list.

There are a number of package deals for tickets. There are the tourism packages in which you can stay overnight in a hotel, be right downtown in the midst of all the action, and take in the Gala of your choice starting at only $200 (for 2). There are also multi-show passes available which cuts costs.

Last minute tickets can be purchased at the box office on the corner of Jeanne Mance and Sainte-Catherine.

www.hahaha.com

FOOD

Bouffons! Mtl is a gourmet novelty set on Sainte-Catherine street so festival-goers have the chance to experience a full range of new flavors that will definitely live up to anyone taste buds. Meet chefs, enjoy local products and taste delish dishes from the best food-trucks in the city. The festivities will start at noon every day, inside and outside. For the inside action, look for the Bouffons sign near Clark.

At the Melting Pot on the Esplanade de la Place des Arts, there will be a DJ set every evening and look for the 2 for 1 deal on the burger trio. At Arthur,  during Happy Hour 5-7, you can find 2 for one liquid deals.

www.hahaha.com

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Odysseo, the horse centric show, is awesome family entertainment which will WOW every member. If you can imagine taking Cirque du Soleil up a notch by marrying it with a team of gifted equestrians, this would be their offspring.

The show has acrobats, blade-running acrobats and horse acrobats – each team outdoing the other in their antics. However, at the same time, all the way through you will see members giving each other the high five in appreciation of each other’s work. Sweet.

There are raucous horses racing through jumps and quiet ballet-like riderless horses dancing to the whims of their female horse whisperer, Elise Verdoncq.

The carousel pole acrobatics is  a charming setting for the melange of horse and rider/acrobat but the white fabric/rope acrobatic act is the perfect “10” for each of the costume designer, set designer, lighting, and the acrobats themselves.

It’s hard to imagine it fitting into a tent setting, but horses appear on mountaintops, in ice caves, the woods, walking down hills, galloping as fast as the wind and even and splashing in a waterfront finale.

Don’t wait, book tickets now.  Great idea for Dad for Father’s Day.

Location: Odysseo White Big Top at the corner of the Metropolitan & Decarie Boulevards
1425 Dion Street, Montreal (QC), H4N 2C3
Tel: 866-999-8111
Dates: June 17-July 19
www.cavalia.net
www.facebook.com/cavalia

Tags: acrobat, ballet, blade-run, carousel, cave, Cirque du Soleil, costume, Dad, design, entertainment, equestrians, family, female, gallop, Hill, horse, ice, jump, lighting, mountain, Odysseo, offspring, racing, rider, set, splash, tent, ticket, Waterfront, whisper, wind, wood

An international idea celebrated in 50 countries, Restaurant Day is a food carnival created by food-loving people setting up one-day restaurants. The idea of the day is to have fun, share new food experiences and meet others in our community. People offer their family cuisine, favorite recipes, desserts or whatever in their backyard or a park.  Prices are very inexpensive.

Check the maps to see if there is one in your city.

Date: Sunday, August 17
http://www.restaurantday.org/

Tags: carnival, city, countries, cuisine, dessert, family, food, map, people, recipe, Restaurant

If you keep driving North on I-95, cut off onto the  NY Thruway and then straight up I-87 you will arrive right in Montreal. Only 6 1/2 hours from NYC, you will find the Festival City.

The summer starts on the edge with the Fringe Festival (www.montrealfringe.ca), then lights up with the Fireworks Festival (www.internationaldesfeuxloto-quebec.com/en/), jives to the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal  (www.montrealjazzfest.com) , and then giggles into the Comedy Festival (www.hahaha.com), and mov(i)es in to the World Film Festival (www.ffm-montreal.org/en_info_fest.html).

The newest kids on the street are the International Startup Festival (www.startupfestival.com/en/) and Circus Festival (www.montrealcompletementcirque.com/)l .

The International  Startup Festival  (www.startupfestival.com/en/) is a two-day conference (July 14 & 15) on the business of internet startups. It brings together industry veterans and fresh faces, thought leaders and technology giants from around the world, The festival brings a global audience together to cover the entire startup lifecycle: early-stage innovation; scaling the business; and achieving a successful exit.  Here you can mix some learning with the fun city’s other festivals.

In the home of Cirque du Soleil, it is logical that the city would hold a circus festival to highlight about 2 dozen circuses from around the world. From July 7th to August 24th, the entire city becomes a big top showcasing every different kind of circus possible.

Tags: circus, Cirque du Soleil, comedy, festival, film, fireworks, fringe, jazz, Montreal, Quebec, startup