Tohu - Family Sundays

La Tohu is an organization affiliated with the Cirque du Soleil to promote circus arts in Montreal. During the summer they offer 'Family Sundays' which are described as big family parties filled with theatre, music, and running around! There is face painting, circus skills demonstrations, theatre, and many interactive workshops for parents and children. It has a wide range of activities for all members of the family and best of all: it's free!

Price: free!

Location: 2345, Jarry Street East (corner of Iberville) Montreal (Quebec) H1Z 4P3

Phone #: 514 374-3522

When:

• Sundays from July 26, 2009 - August 23, 2009
• activities start at 1:30pm and show start at 3:00pm

Website: http://www.tohu.ca/en/activities/item.aspx?aid=320

Matsuri Japon - A Japanese Festival

Matsuri Japon is an annual event celebrating Japanese culture. The festival will be held on Saturday, August 1 and is organized like a traditional festival that would be held in Japan. There will be presentations of traditional Japanese dancing (Bon Odori), Taiko drummers playing Japanese music, demonstrations of martial arts, free games for children to play, commercial booths and of course food! Participants are encouraged to participate in the dancing and drumming and can even try on a traditional Yukata!



Location:

• Old Port of Montreal (Bonsecours Island)

Price: free!

When:

• Sat., Aug. 1, 2009
• 2:00pm - 9:00pm

Website: http://festivaljapon.com/index.html

affordable, aug, big kids, little kids, outdoor, teens, wheelchair

Shakespeare in the Park: "As You Like It"

Free theatre in the park from July 24, 2009 - Aug. 16, 2009. Bring your older kids and teens to see a Shakespeare play right in your own neighborhood park. This year the repercussion theatre is performing the comedy "As You Like It". It is absolutely free (although donations are accepted) but are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the local food bank. Just bring yourself a folding chair and enjoy the show!

Location: various parks around the city

Price: free!!

Dates: July 24, 2009 - Aug. 16, 2009

Website: http://www.repercussiontheatre.com/en/
affordable, big kids, educational, aug, july, outdoor, teens, wheelchair

Italian Week Aug 7-16 2009

Italian Week is back! Various activities will take place all over Montreal. It kicks off in NDG on Saturday, August 8 with a full day of activities including soccer and bocce tournaments, inflatable games for children, concerts, car exhibits and more. Then other days there are events in Old Montreal, R.D.P., St.-Leonard, Lasalle and others. All have music, food and activities for kids. One show in particular that should be fun for children will be the Carpe Diem circus show on Saturday, Aug. 15 on St. Laurent Blvd in Little Italy.

Location: all over the city

Days:

• Aug 7 - Aug 16

Price: free!

Website: http://www.semaineitaliennedemontreal.com/index.php

affordable, aug, big kids, little kids, outdoor, teens, wheelchair

International Hot Air Balloon Festival

The International Hot Air Balloon Festival is an annual event about 30 minutes away from Montreal in St. Jean sur Richelieu. There are 115 hot air balloons, including many special shapes, major shows, and a huge site that hosts an incredible variety of animation activities. There is a fair with rides for older kids and adults as well as a designated area for toddlers. There is face painting, a petting zoo, mini putt, concerts... too many things to describe in one post. It's also a family friendly area with changing tables, breastfeeding room and stroller rentals available.

Address:

• 5, chemin de l'Aéroport, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec, J3B 7B5

Phone #:

• 450-347-9555

Price:

• 0-2: free
• 3-12: $7.00
• 13 +: $15.00
• **Family rates available
• **Nine day passes available
• Parking: $5.00

Hours:

• Aug. 8 -16
• Weekends: 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm
• Week: 3:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Website: http://www.ballooncanada.com/

animals, aug, big kids, little kids, outdoor, teens, wheelchair

Hydro-Quebec tours

Bring your kids to learn all about how we get electricity. Hydro-Quebec is offering free tours of their facilities all over Quebec. In and around Montreal you can visit their head office in Montreal or the Riviere-des-Prairies Generating Station. At the generating station the tour lasts about 75 minutes and after you can even enjoy the facilities on a bike path, walking trail or even go fishing! They recommend wearing flat and closed shoes for the tour.

Price: free!

Rivieres-des-Prairies hours:

• Wed.-Sun: 9:30am, 11:00am, 12:30am, 2:00pm and 3:30pm

Website: http://www.hydroquebec.com/visit/index.html

affordable, aug, big kids, educational, indoor, july, museum, outdoor

La Fete des Enfants

This is a free event for families with children 12 and under. It will be held mid-August in Parc Jean Drapeau on Ile Ste.-Helene. It has lots of activities for children of all ages including singing, music and dancing. There will be face painting, inflated structures and lots of games. There will also be free STM service on the Sat and Sun of the festival.

Location:

• Ile Ste-Helene

Price: free!

Hours:

• Fri. Aug. 14: 1 pm-6 pm
• Sat Aug. 15 - Sun Aug. 16: 9 am-6 pm

Website: http://www.fetedesenfants.ca/

affordable, aug, big kids, little kids, outdoor, summer

Lachine Fireworks

Here are some more fireworks to enjoy with your family. Lachine is offering fireworks courtesy of Croisière Évasion Plus. Fireworks displays at 10:15 p.m. on July 9 and 23, and on August 1st, 13 and 20. Bring your chair, the fireworks are visible from the waterfronts of lac Saint-Louis (between 6e Avenue 32e Avenue)

Address: St. Joseph, Lachine

Lachine is located off of Highway 20 (where it merges with Highway 13).

Price: free!!!

affordable, aug, big kids, july, outdoor, teens

Fireworks

Loto-Quebec is presenting the International Fireworks competition again this year. The competition runs from June 9, 2009 until August 22, 2009 only on Saturdays this year. They start at 10:00pm You can buy tickets to go see them at Laronde but there are many places around Montreal that you can see them free such as Longueil, on the Jacques Cartier Bridge, ot the Old Port of Montreal. Check out the website for the official schedule.

Website: http://www.internationaldesfeuxloto-quebec.com/en/

affordable, aug, big kids, july, outdoor, teens

Movies in the park

Virgin radio 96 is offering movies in the park this year in different parks across the city. All you have to do is bring your lawn chair and they provide the movie and even free food! Typically they are on Wednesday nights and the food starts around 7pm. Some of the movies offered this year are "Slumdog Millionaire", "Bride Wars" , "Mall Cop", "17 Again", "Monsters Vs. Aliens" and much more. Check out their website for dates and locations.

Price: free!!!

Website: http://montreal.virginradio.ca/events/29516

affordable, aug, big kids, july, outdoor, teens