Sarah's Weekend List, June 4-6

Friday is Doughnut Day, so here is a list of delicious doughnut places in the city, compiled by food blogger Jason Lee. A recent addition to my personal list is Bernie Beigne, 23 Bernard St. W. 

Two scary sequels now in theatres and on demand: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is out Friday, joining recent release A Quiet Place: Part II. The former is based on the story of real-life couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, who investigated paranormal activities. In this latest chapter, they look into demonic possession as a murder defense, crossing paths with a curse and a satanic cult.  In the latter, real-life couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt return to lead their movie family, the Abbotts, through a treacherous world where to make a peep is to invite - death! 

Artists and friends Nadia Myre and Johanna Nutter present a double bill that asks hard questions about reconciliation in Canada and what form it might take. Myre, an Algonquin visual artist, and Nutter, a theatre creator with settler roots, join forces at the MAI this week for A Casual Reconstructoin + Strike/Thru. The first piece is a literal reconstruction of a dinner conversation recorded by Myre between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, performed by audience members. And then Myre and Nutter perform a playful exchange building on the difficult themes that have arisen. The shows will have a live, sold-out audience, but you can view online from home, Friday and Saturday at 3pm.  

Singer Macy Gray livestreams songs from her sixth studio album, Covers... featuring her spin on songs like Here Comes the Rain Again and Creep. Sunday at 8pm. 

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is launching workshops for kids and families this weekend. Starting Saturday, check out The Secret Life of Trees, a printing and drawing workshop using a slice of log. Inspired by one of the works by Jean Paul Riopelle, who is the star of a major show right now. Saturday and Sunday, until July 25, and Tuesday to Friday from June 29 until July 25. 

The GrandPoutine Fest drive thru party comes to Laval, at the Duo Centre Laval Parking Lot. 20 poutines, from six trucks. Money raised for the Amino Foundation. Until Sunday.

The Montreal Fringe Festival is back! The DIY arts festival presents its 30th annual edition, with online and in-person shows. Many shows begin June 10, but there is online content available to stream via FringeTV. Book your tickets as soon as possible, as there is limited seating due to spacing in venues. 

Gorgeous views and photo opps abound as the cherry and magnolia trees are blooming at the Chinese and Japanese pavilions at the Botanical Gardens. The Space for Life complex is open, including the Biodome, Botanical Gardens and the Planetarium, but make sure to reserve and buy your ticket in advance.  

Pointe-a-Calliere Museum's new show is Italian Montréal. Drawing on loaned treasures from local families, the show touches on culinary traditions and how first-generation families fared after arriving in the city. A quarter of a million Montrealers count themselves as having roots from Italy! (While you are there, visit A Railroad to Dreams, all about trains!)

In the Old Port, the Voiles en Voiles adventure park features archery, aerial circuits, inflatable games. And MTL Zipline and The Observation Wheel in the Old Port has reopened, open daily 11am to 7pm. (Each carriage is cleaned after use.)  

OASIS immersion is a new, 'touchless', next-level experience on the ground floor of the Palais des congrès. There are 105 laser projector, 119 surround sound speakers and a LED lighting setup. You begin in the Anticipation Room, proceeding through a set of different rooms and wind down in the Decompression Chamber. Current exhibitions include: stepping into the worlds of pianist Alexandra Stréliski, and astronaut David Saint-Jacques's recent trip to space. There is also a tribute to hygge, the Danish tradition of finding coziness in the everyday. Each visit is about 75 minutes.

Consider checking out a museum, now that they are open to the public: you pick your entry time in advance, so visits are socially distanced. Demand is high as well, so you will want to select your date in advance. Visit the McCord for the Dior haute couture show (today is the anniversary of the debut of the New Look!) or the MAC for Des horizons d'attente, its bundle of recently acquired works that address today's sense of malaise. The Museum of Fine Arts presents Riopelle: The Call of Northern Landscapes and other shows.

And if you don't want to leave the house, several museums are still offering virtual shows... including the MAC, which has updated and expanded their sensational exhibit on Leonard Cohen, A Crack in Everything. Cohen gave his blessing for the show, which features pieces inspired by his life and work, back in 2015, and it went on display around the time of passing in 2017. The show has been enriched for online viewing, available until February 2024. The Louvre has also just put its over 480,000 items online. From the world's most-visited museum, check out the antiquities to Islamic art to medieval decorative arts, to modern sculpture and beyond.