This Week:
Food Truck Friday at Parc olympique de Montréal
Fall Foliage in St-Donat
IN: Parc olympique de Montréal’s Food Truck Friday
The first Friday of every month (warm-ish weather months that is) is Food Truck Friday at the Esplanade Sun Life, on the grounds of the Big O. With Thanksgiving around the corner, and with our eyes set on stuffing ourselves silly, what better way to kick off the long weekend than to eat your way through a plethora of food trucks? This event has grown considerably over the years and pretty much every food truck in Montréal is now taking part. There are more than 30 trucks to visit, and literally every type of food for every type of palette. You can also enjoy some fine imported wines, craft beer and a multitude of child-friendly beverages. As well, you’ll have local DJs spinning your favourite Friday night music, and street performers entertaining your children whilst you gorge yourself. All of this glory, right downtown, outside under the early evening skies of Montréal. So get outside while you can and enjoy sweater weather at its finest (just be sure to bring a bib if you prefer your sweater… unstained).
The Good:
- Entry is free so you have total control over how gluttonous you get, both from a food standpoint and from a money standpoint.
- We’re in store for glorious weather tomorrow for this, the last Food Truck Friday of the year.
- The vibe here is always good, chill, amicable and “here-to-have-fun” so you will very likely make some new friends this weekend!
The Bad:
- If you do end up here for a few meals, it can hit your wallet pretty hard. I’d suggest either eating a little something before you go or, better yet, just go for it – it’s the last one of the year!
- The line ups at the uber popular trucks can get quite long at peak hours.
- If it does rain (it’s not supposed to), there’s not a whole lot of coverage for you to avoid getting soaked.
The Useful:
- Premiers Vendredis, 4141 Ave. Pierre-de-Coubertin (Metro Pie-IX), 514-659-6959.
- Official Website (and a link to Esplanade Sun Life’s calendar of events)
- Narcity’s rundown of the top 14 food trucks.
Pro Tip:
- Here’s your circuit: Grumman ’78 for a taco appetizer, Le Smoking BBQ Truck for your pulled pork poutine main, and finish yourself off with a chocolate cheese cake ice cream from Le Cheese. Or make your own.
AROUND: St-Donat’s Symphony of Colours
Québec’s annual autumn explosion of colour is here! Although the fall foliage season is coming to a close, you have plenty of time this weekend to get outside for some awesome autumn while you can! Most signs point to this weekend being the last to take advantage of this stunning, natural beauty in and around Montréal. To cap the foliage season, the town of St-Donat is closing out their annual Symphony of Colours this weekend so there’s plenty of activities to augment your leaf-peeping including chairlift rides, kids activities and tastes of local cuisine. Now, to really hammer home my recommendation for this region, and to fully engulf yourself in the region’s explosion of colour, I urge you to make your way to St-Donat via Chemin Nordet. You’ll cruise up and down through the valley surrounded by mountains of the Laurentians & Lanaudière on a beautiful, new, smooth 2 lane road (potentially the best road in Québec in my opinion).
The Good:
- Aside from the cost of gas, this activity can be totally free. You just need your eyeballs… and time.
- This weekend the chairlifts at Mont-Garceau will be open ($5-$10) so you can ride to the top and take in some breathtaking views with minimal uphill effort.
- It’s going to be a gloriously sunny weekend!
The Bad:
- The hot weather we’re experiencing right now will drop considerably this weekend (10°C-14°C).
- This being Thanksgiving weekend, you should assume that there will be some heavy traffic moving in and out of the region.
- Although this activity is technically outside, there’s the chance that you spend most of your time in your car. You’ll have to make a little extra effort to leave the comfort of your car, get out and get moving!
The Useful:
- Tourisme St-Donat, 536 rue Principale, 1-888-783-6628.
- Official Website (and a link to a great little video on Mont-Garceau’s Facebook page).
- Tourism Québec’s Foliage Report (seriously awesome).
Pro Tip:
- If you’re more into other regions of Québec to get your leaf-peeping on, check this link for more details on other regions’ fall foliage events. Also, if you’re without automobile and you still want to take part in fall foliage fun & festivities, the CRT Lanaudière (circuit 125) can get you there!
“Woodland in full color is awesome as a forest fire, in magnitude at least, but a single tree is like a dancing tongue of flame to warm the heart.”
– Hal Borland | b. 1900 | American Author & Naturalist
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