Montreal International Fireworks Competition
Every Saturday night for six weeks, top-tier fireworks companies from around the world battle for victory over the world’s largest fireworks competition. From late June through early August, groups can watch this stunning visual storytelling at La Ronde, an amusement park in Montreal.
Teams from Croatia, Hong Kong, the United States and other locations show off their pyrotechnic skills to reach the highest distinction in their field. At the park, onlookers can watch the fireworks set to carefully chosen synchronized music.
Fireworks have lit the night sky during the festival ever since 1985. The festival filled La Ronde to capacity its very first year, and has grown leaps and bounds since then. One of the most popular summer events in Montreal, the fireworks competition attracts more than 3 million people and uses more than 6,000 fireworks.
Once a week, a different country presents a 30-minute fireworks show evaluated by judges. Groups can choose front-row seats at La Ronde or opt for one of the popular free locations at Montreal’s Quays of the Old Port or the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. Various other spots along the St. Lawrence River will also provide unobstructed views.
Montreal en Lumiere
When the cold and dark starts to feel unbearable in Montreal during mid-February, the city suddenly wakes up with a blaze of light during Montreal en Lumiere (Montreal’s Festival of Lights). Giant light installations throughout the city encourage locals and tourists to brave the weather for the dazzling spectacle.
The party goes on inside and outside, so groups don’t have to spend the entire time in the February winter. Mostly free outdoor events include local DJs, live concerts, a 361-foot-long ice slide and a zip line spanning two city blocks.
Montreal’s Underground City connects buildings across downtown in the largest subterranean complex in the world. The festival continues in this space with about 75 art installations. Indoor workshops, musical performances and culinary offerings also occur in the Underground City and at various Montreal museums.
Each year, the festival chooses an international city with which to partner, which influences the festival’s art and cuisine.
“It’s really unique every year because the city changes every year,” said Desrosiers. “With local chefs partnering with chefs around the world, you get to taste something unique. There is little chance you will find those two chefs working together again.”
Groups can taste customized festival cuisine at some of the festival’s fine-dining evenings prepared by guest chefs flown in from the Festival of Light’s partner city.
For more information visit the Tourisme Montreal website at www.tourisme-montreal.org.
