The best Saint Jean Baptiste Day events in Montreal

If you plan on partying for as long as possible during the weekend, start it off right by checking out the free outdoor concerts at any one of the seven stages surrounding the Quartiers des Spectacles downtown on June 22. Lineups are booked solid from late evening to midnight with a wide range of musical styles from francophone artists. Start with some soothing acoustic sets by Alicia Deschênes or Sam Harvey before rocking out with bands like Barrasso later at night.

Every Saint Jean Baptiste Day weekend, there’s always one great big show that’s put together by official organizers, one that has singers performing solo or together with a metric ton of blue and white fanfare. This year on June 23, Quebec’s national holiday will be inaugurating Parc Jean-Drapeau’s new Espace 67—intended to be a major festival hub on the island moving forward—with another huge concert series. Some of our favourites include Éric Lapointe, FouKi, Guylaine Tanguay and Rozane Bruneau.

Whether or not you make it out to the huge concert on Parc Jean-Drapeau, you can’t miss out on the equally huge parade on June 24. It’ll be taking Saint-Denis Street until it ends up in the Place des Festivals downtown for a giant, final party. This year marks the 185th edition of the parade and will be featuring tableaus from scenes od Quebecois life like sugar shacks, snow removal, bonfires, loggers and dancing.

Every year, Saint Jean Baptiste Day celebrations are far from being exclusive to the big concert and parade that always take place. If you check in at major parks around the island, you’re bound to find some festivities taking place that are family friendly and full of fireworks. A couple parties planned so far include: Parc des Hirondelles on June 23 at 12pm, Parc La Fontaine on June 24 at 3pm, and Parc Saint-Laurent on June 23 at 2pm.

What better way to celebrate Saint Jean Baptiste Day than a tribute show to Éric Lapointe and a poutine dinner? Enjoying it at a Quebecois bar that serves towers of beers and booze! La P'tite Grenouille bar is hosting their event on June 24 with advance tickets going for only $10 for the first 100 people—after that it’s $15 at the door—with a VIP option for groups. The show starts at 7pm, but we recommend you go earlier and enjoy as much of the bar’s happy hour specials as you can.

Grabbing a couple cold ones to enjoy on a terrasse is essential to a good Saint Jean Baptiste Day in Montreal, so why not go where the deals are good? Coming from the 3 Brasseurs chain which began in France, it’s landed in Canada—let alone Montreal—with a huge impact, and the location on Saint-Denis Street has got plans for the bash on June 23.

Planning on spending the holiday weekend with the kids? Up on the northern half of the island, Ville Saint-Laurent’s got a lot of fun planned for them in Saint-Laurent Park. On June 23 from 2pm onward, there’s going to be face painting, balloons, clowns, a magician and music. Best of all? It’s free, and that includes the buffet at dinnertime.

Seeing as the day before Saint Jean Baptiste Day lands on a Sunday, for some Montrealers that can only mean one thing: Hitting up the outdoor electronic music event Piknic Électronik. On June 23 from 2pm to 9pm, four Quebecois DJs will be playing sets across two stages—Kora, Sinca, DJ Sunset and Lou Fre$h—to keep the summer vibes alive with incredible smooth music. Expect exceptionally chill sets, none of that bone-shaking bass stuff. Presale tickets are going for $16, $18.70 day of at the gates.

Fans of African urban music, ranging from Afrobeat and hip-hop to zouk and kompa, should be looking to the downtown bistro Essence on June 23. There’s some dining to be had before the drinks and dancing start at 11pm, but you could opt to swing by a bit later than that when the kitchen’s closed and room is made for people to shake what their mommas gave ‘em. Keep in mind that there’s an entry fee that start at $10.

Seeing as Montreal was declared a heavy metal city by the powers that be in April 2019, what better way to spend June 23 than with some headbanging and beers? The Katacombes Coop, a central site in the city for a lot of amazing metal acts, will be hosting their own party that’ll feature four bands for the low, low price of $7.

The dancing party organizers C’est Extra are planning their own gettogether on June 23rd, and this one’s promising to be just as swingin’ as all of their other events: A free (!) dance-off at La Tulipe that will feature a full range of classic French crooners like Jacques Dutronc, Charles Aznavour, Michele Richard, Françoise Hardy and more. Celebrate Saint Jean Baptiste Day by Dancing Frenchy!