Holiday activities in Montreal’s southwest corner

Anyone who wants to get in the holiday spirit has lots to choose from in the Southwest corner of the island this week.

A Christmas concert takes place in LaSalle tonight; political and humour retrospectives are happening in the Southwest and LaSalle tomorrow night; children can enjoy marionettes on Friday and Saturday in Verdun and the weekend is full of free tastings and concerts everywhere. Even the Maison Saint Gabriel and Pointe-à-Callière museums are getting into the holiday spirit.

Tonight’s musical performance will be performed by 24 musicians from the L’Association musicale de LaSalle. Richard Pomminville has been directing the orchestra for twelve years now, and he says that the Christmas concert has become a cherished tradition.

“We’ve been practicing every Wednesday night for two hours since the third week in September,” says Pomminville. “During the first part, we will play Frank Sinatra, Mancini, Samuel Barber, film music, and the music from different countries. The second part will be Christmas favourites like White Christmas, Saint-Noël, Christmas Recollections, Fantasy of Carols and Jingle Bells Fantasy.”

The concert will take place at 8 p.m. at the Henri-Lemieux community and cultural at 7644 Édouard. Tickets cost $15 at the door.

Tomorrow night, you have a choice of a political cabaret in LaSalle or a humorous round-up of 2014 by graduates of the École Nationale de L’Humour on Monk Street. Both begin at 8 p.m. and will be presented entirely in French.

The political cabaret, Révue 2013, takes place at the Henri Lemieux cultural centre and costs $18.

The Cuvée 2014 is a preview of an April 5 show due to take place in Lachine. It only costs $1.55 now, but will cost $15 in April. It takes place in the Marie Uguay Cultural Centre, 6052 Monk.

The marionette show is called “Des 3 petits cochons qui n’étaient pas si petits que ça.” It takes place at the Verdun Cultural Centre (the library), 5955, rue Bannantyne, on Friday at 10 a.m. and at the Elgar Community Centre on Nun’s Island on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost only $4.15.

For more information about, or to reserve tickets for, the cabaret, humour or marionette shows, visit Montreal’s Access Culture website.
Festive Shopping

The shopowners’ community organization SDC Wellington has created a festive atmosphere on Wellington Street in Verdun. The trees have all been decorated with lit balls and several of the stores are providing free tastings and other events between now and December 25.

This Saturday, for example, the La Tazza Café, 3922 Wellington, is holding a panettone day between 1-4 p.m.

Copette & Cie, 4650 Wellington, is also offering raclette tastings Saturday.

Angrignon Mall has been decorated for the holidays too, with lights, a train and Santa’s village. A gift-wrapping table also operates seven days a week, with profits going to the LaSalle Hospital Foundation. There’s even a free Marie-Élaine Thibert concert next Saturday in Target Court at 1 p.m.

For an old-fashioned sense of a Québecois Christmas, visit Maison Saint-Gabriel, the one-time home of the “King’s Daughters.” Located at 2146 Place Dublin in Point Saint Charles, the museum hold several holiday activities just before it closes for the season on December 22. Next Sunday, from 1 until 5 p.m., there’s even a workshop making wax baby Jesus dolls for a cradle display, just as Ursaline Nuns did in early Quebec. The fee for the workshop is $15, but it includes the museum entrance fee. For more information, refer to the museum’s web site or call [514] 935-8136.

Pointe à Callière in Old Montreal has an exhibit examining the historical roots of Santa in Turky, Sweden and other countries during the weekends between now and December 22. The exhibit will also open daily between December 24-29, excluding the 25th. For more information, check their website. Adults pay $20 to get in and children pay $7. Grandparents who bring their grandchildren on Sundays get free admission.