Headline Performers To Montreal's International Jazz Festival 2008

Montreal Jazz Festival

On Friday, June 26, 2008, the 29th edition of Montreal's Jazz Festival will start.

The 2008 scheduled artist line-up are the following:
Leonard Cohen
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Katie Melua
Joe Lavano
Dave Liebman
Ravi Coltrane
Chick Corea
Stanley Clarke
Al di Meola
Lenny White
James Taylor
Coral Egan
Omar Portuondo
Woody Allen and his New Orleans Band
Charlie Haden
Anat Cohen
Catherine Russell
Ladytron
Aretha Franklin
Glenn Miller Orchestra
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra

Mount Royal -- Montreal's Mountain

A View From The Chalet du Mont Royal Overlooking Downtown Montreal (in winter)

From Mountreal.com/parks
The jewel of Montreal’s city parks is, without question, Mount Royal. This 101-hectare park occupies part of the mountain that lies in the midst of Montreal island, and includes the highest spot in the city (234m).

In the 1860s, mass cutting of trees on the mountain for firewood outraged the populace and led to the area’s designation as a park in 1876. It was originally landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, perhaps best known for New York City’s Central Park. The western lookout was first built in 1906 and is now officially known as the Belvédère Kondiaronk, named for the Huron chief who signed a major peace accord with the French regime in 1701.

The Georges-Étienne Cartier monument, where the tam-tam gatherings are held on Sundays, was inaugurated in 1919 and the illuminated cross in 1924. The lookout chalet (1932) and Beaver Lake (1938) were the fruit of work projects created to help workers left jobless by the Depression. In 1954, many trees were cut down to try to “discourage immorality” in the underbrush, which is why so few of the park’s trees are more than half a century old.

Aerial View Of Mount Royal

1958 saw the addition of the Beaver Lake pavilion, a sweet bit of retro-futurist kitsch that functions as changing room in wintertime for skaters and tobogganers. This building has recently been renovated and its rather tacky snack bar upgraded to a bistro and cafeteria with proper food.

Beaver Lake On Top Of Mount Royal

Over the years, the perimeter of the park has been nibbled at by surrounding construction. Many trees were lost to the January 1998 ice storm. Mount Royal was made a permanently protected site by a joint decision of the Quebec and Montreal governments in February 2003, and the demolition of the Park-Pine interchange has made access to the park more direct from Park Avenue. But there is still stress on the park from surrounding institutions: the enlargement of Molson Stadium is likely to cause some damage to the mountain's ecology.

Useful Links

Mount Royal -- Official Site
Mount Royal Cemetery
Parc Du Mont-Royal -- Montreal Plus
Mount Royal Park -- Bonjour Quebec
Saint Joseph's Oratory Of Montreal

Steel Cross On Top Of Mount Royal

An Aislin Cartoon For Today

St. Jean Baptist -- What is Open / Closed / Activities For The Day

Many businesses and government services will be closed or operate on different hours for the St. Jean Baptiste holiday.

Here is a partial list of those affected:

All banks will be closed tomorrow but open today.
All federal and provincial government offices, including immigration and unemployment centres, will be closed tomorrow.

Most city of Montreal departments, including Access Montreal offices, will be closed tomorrow. Many services in other municipalities are reduced; consult your city hall for details.

Most supermarkets will be open tomorrow but operating hours may vary. Many retail stores will be closed.

Most Société des alcools du Québec stores will be closed.

There will be garbage, curbside recycling and large-item pickup in some districts of Montreal. Many boroughs have altered their schedules, however. Contact your borough.

Montreal Municipal Court, at 775 Gosford St., will be closed.

The Biodôme, Botanical Garden and Insectarium will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Planetarium will be open today from 12:30 to 5 p.m. and tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Pointe à Callière museum of archeology will be closed today, but open tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bonsecours Market (350 St. Paul St. E.) will be open today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Atwater, Jean Talon and Maisonneuve public markets will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. All public markets will operate according to regular schedules.

Montreal arenas, swimming pools, sports centres, libraries and cultural venues will operate according to schedules set by the boroughs. For information, check with the venue or confirm schedules in each borough at www.ville.montreal.qc.ca

In Laval, most municipal services, including libraries, are closed today and tomorrow. There are some exceptions: For example, garbage and recycling will be picked up according to the regular schedule. For a complete list, visit the website www.ville.laval.qc.ca

Montreal Transit Corp. buses and métro trains will operate on a holiday schedule tomorrow, but métro service will be increased to meet demand. Bicycles will be prohibited on the métro system all day. Several bus routes will also be modified at night. For information, call 514-288-6287, or consult www.stm.info

The Metropolitan Transit Agency will operate the Montreal/Dorion-Rigaud and Montreal/Deux Montagnes commuter trains on a Sunday schedule tomorrow but on a normal schedule today. There will be no service on the Montreal/Blainville-St. Jérôme, Montreal/Mont St. Hilaire or Montreal/Delson-Candiac lines. Call

514-287-8726 or visit the website www.amt.qc.ca for more information.

Laval Transit Corp. buses will run on a Sunday schedule tomorrow. Call 450-688-6520 for information.

In Longueuil, most buses will operate on a Sunday schedule tomorrow. For details, call 450-463-0131 or visit www.rtl-longueuil.qc.ca

Parking meters will remain in operation.

There will be no regular collection or delivery of mail tomorrow. Post offices will be closed. Privately owned retail postal outlets will be open, according to the operating hours of those businesses.

The Montreal Exchange will be closed tomorrow but the Toronto Stock Exchange will be open.

Montreal Jazz Festival: June 26 - July 6, 2008

Montreal Jazz Festival

On Friday, June 26, 2008, the 29th edition of Montreal's Jazz Festival will start. This edition is dedicated to jazz giant, Montreal pianist, Oscar Peterson, who passed away December 23, 2007.

The 2008 scheduled artist line-up is Steely Dan, Leonard Cohen, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Red Earth, Katie Melua, Joe Lavano, Dave Liebman, Ravi Coltrane, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al di Meola, Lenny White, James Taylor, Coral Egan, Omar Portuondo, Woody Allen and his New Orleans Band, Charlie Haden, Anat Cohen, Catherine Russell, Ladytron, Aretha Franklin, Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in addition to the ever present local talent.

The official site for Montreal's jazz festival is here.

The performers at this years Jazz festival are listed here.

To purchase tickets, the list of venues are here.

Some useful links for Montreal's Jazz Festival are the following:
Montreal Jazz Festival -- Wikipedia
Montreal Jazz Festival -- Google News Results
Restaurants Near The Jazz Festival
A Passion For Jazz
Montreal Jazz Festival Videos -- YouTube

Who Am I

Montreal Skyline

I am an English Quebecer who has lived on the Island of Montreal for his entire life. I decided to start this blog as a diary for all of my friends who left Montreal a long time ago, and who are curious on what is still happening in Montreal.

This blog will also be a source of information and news to people who may wish to come to Montreal as a tourist, who are interested in living or studying at one of our many Universities, or someone who just wants to keep some form of contact with this city.