Nuit Blanche all nighter celebrations now in its 6th year is a weekend-long arts festival that is a main component of the Montreal Highlights Festival. Party goers can design their own itinerary from more than 165, mostly free indoor and outdoor activities with an art/dance and performance focus.
To accommodate participants, the metro runs all night and a free shuttle service covers four routes and 55 stops from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. The action takes place in Old Montreal, the Old Port, downtown and the Plateau area with Place Jacques-Cartier in Old Montreal as the official starting venue.
The big draw is Art Souterrain (underground art) with more than 80 Photos, videos, installations and performance pieces from 110 contemporary artists in two miles of corridors of the underground city.
Other major sites for art installations include the UQAM Pavillon Hubert-Aquin and the Musee D’art Contemporain (Contemporary Art Museum) at the corner of Ste. Catherine and Jeanne-Mance Streets in downtown Montreal.
Activities for teenagers (aged 12 and over) can be found in the Grande-Place of Complexe Desjardins downtown. This special youth night features an iPod battle in a ring with artists and dancers, rock band duels, video, lighting and sound effects, and milk snacks from 8 p.m. until midnight.
For more info call: 514 525-5990; Toll free: 1 888 477-9955.