🍦🌮 Win 100 Tacos , Fireworks, and a Missing Girl’s Miracle

Bonjour-hi to you today mon ami / amie,

This week, to beat the heat, I escaped to one of my favourite spots—Atrium Le 1000—where life gently unfolds. Brothers patiently guiding their little sisters, moms holding tight to the boards with quiet determination... and then I witnessed something truly special: a man on a mission, wobbling for what must’ve been hours until that magical moment when it all “clicked.” He stopped struggling and started gliding with purpose. Watching a grown man discover childlike joy on the ice? That’s Montreal magic.

In this week’s issue…

• 🏙️ City News: Montreal gets louder—venue crackdowns spark a funeral march for lost music spaces.

• 💗 Feel-Good: A 3-year-old found safe in the wild + couples finally allowed to stay together in shelters.

• 🤲 Non-Profit: Chez Doris is saving lives with 24/7 support for hundreds of vulnerable women.

• 🍽️ Food: Halo-halo, lemon hibiscus scoops, and wine-fueled patios—your summer eats, upgraded.

• 👩‍🔬 People of MTL: Nico turned hustle and heart into DaBest Taco—now he’s feeding the whole city.

• 🎟️ Events: Fireworks, poetry, poutine, K‑film, Pokémon cards—this weekend slaps.

• 🎶 Live Music: Jazz fest roars, Kid Koala stuns, and Turbo Haüs brings the heat.

Edited by Eleanor R.

CITY NEWS

🏙️ What's Happening Around Town

• Ville-Marie has decided we can be three decibels louder at night now, four during the day. I'm not entirely sure what a decibel sounds like, but festivals seem happy about it. The music venues are concerned about police enforcement, which makes sense. They measure something called "spectral emergence" now - how much a venue's sound stands out from the regular neighbourhood sounds. Side note: Spectral Emergence sounds like a pretty rad and unironically loud death metal band.

• Protesters organized a "funeral march for lost spaces" in The Plateau to speak out against recent closures of music venues. The march, led by Montreal artist collective Réverbérations d'une crise, began at Jeanne Mance Park and proceeded to sites of various closed music venues, including Le Divan Orange, which closed in 2017. Lead organizer Hubert Gendron-Blais emphasized the cultural significance of these venues, stating "When a venue closes, it's like losing a loved one"

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FEEL GOOD

💗 Stories That Make Me Fall In Like With This City

1. A miraculous rescue: A three-year-old Montreal girl named Claire Bell was found safe after four days alone in rural Ontario. The police officers discovered her near Highway 417, about ninety miles from home, via drone footage. Over two hundred people had been searching - officers, volunteers, helicopters, and dogs. When they found her, she was awake and told them "Mom told me to wait." Police indicated after that amount of time, it’s rare for a missing child to be found alive.

2. Montreal opened a new housing project in Lachine that lets couples stay together while getting help finding permanent homes. Before this, the shelters would separate people, even if they'd been together for years. The city decided that losing your housing shouldn't also mean losing the person you love. It seems like such an obvious kindness, the kind of thing that makes you wonder why it took so long to think of.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

🌮 It’s PlayMTL Taco-Takeover Edition 🌮

This week, meet the mastermind behind Montreal’s citywide taco festival in our exclusive interview. But don’t stop there—next week, we’re dropping our ultimate Taco Guide with 15+ restaurants serving up one-time-only creations. Get hungry. Get ready. It’s taco season in Montreal. This is not a drill! 🌶️

NON-PROFIT

🤲 A Cause Just Cause

Chez Doris - Supporting Vulnerable Women

Chez Doris is Montreal's premier women's shelter and day center, serving as a beacon of hope for vulnerable and homeless women since 1977. The organization was founded in memory of Doris Halfkenny Seale, a homeless woman who was murdered in 1974 after expressing the need for "a place to go without prying eyes and too many questions".

Current Impact and Services

Chez Doris has experienced significant growth and renewal in 2024, now offering 24/7 frontline services after temporarily scaling back operations in 2023 due to staffing shortages. The organization served 40,000 meals in 2024 and welcomed 40 new women each month since July 2024, in addition to the 150 women they were already supporting.

Key Services Include:

• Day shelter with free breakfast, lunch, and dinner

• Overnight emergency shelter with 24 beds

• Respite beds and shower facilities

• Indigenous and Inuit-specific programs

• Financial administration assistance

• Housing placement services

• Health services including medical, psychological, and therapeutic care

• Legal clinic services

FOOD

🍽️ Food & Drink Buzz

🧊 Beat the Heat: Some of Montreal’s Coolest Plates & Patios

When the city’s is sweating, we’re eating cold, sipping chilled, and hiding in the shade. Here are four spots doing summer right with fresh flavors, frosty drinks, and patios that get it.

Dalla Rose 🍨🍪
Ice cream bar serving up classic faves and fresh twists. Think lemon hibiscus scoops, dreamy red velvet cold foam, and loaded ice cream sandwiches cool enough to steal the spotlight from the sun.

PLENGKE (Ang Pamilihang Bayan du Montreal) 🍧🌺
Filipino Grocery + Eatery with halo-halo piled high with ube, leche flan, beans, jellies, and coconut—an icy escape that hits all the right notes.

Ratafia 🍷🧊
Wine & Snack Bar boasting shared plates and seasonal pastas and fish paired with crisp natural wines and cocktails perfect for melting heatwaves.

Bar Henrietta 🍸🌿 
Portuguese-inspired Bar Al fresco sipping on crisp spritzes, classic cocktails, and sharing bites like ceviche and popcorn-topped Manchego under a breezy terrace.

Got more? Reply to this email and tell us!

🐍🦔 PETS OF THE WEEK 🦄🐢

Coco: Your Coffee Date and Cuddle Expert

Meet Coco, a 13‑year‑old calm, affectionate, and sunshine‑obsessed doggo who would love nothing more than to laze on the couch and accompany you on coffee runs. Coco’s dream home is a kid‑free zone filled with quiet walks and snuggles on demand. Are you ready for a loyal, low‑key companion who’s all heart? 🐶🛋️☕

Oscar: Seeking a Forever Home with a Side of Chill 🐾🧶

Meet Oscar, a sweet gentleman with a heart full of love and a penchant for peace and quiet. He’s been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride lately, moving homes twice in less than a month. He’s ready to find a calm, loving home where he can finally settle in and relax. If you're looking for a mellow companion to share your space with he will be bring warmth, comfort, and a lot of love into your life.

Visit Coco and Oscar at the Montreal SPCA and see if they’re your perfect match!

PEOPLE OF MONTREAL / GENS D’ICI

🧍Nicolas Espinosa Arboleda

The Hustle, the Heart, and the Heat Behind DaBest Taco

When Nicolas Espinosa Arboleda was a kid in Colombia, he sold candy to his classmates. Years later, after moving to Montreal at age 11, he was hustling water bottles from the dépanneur to festivals at Parc Jean-Drapeau. “I’ve always had that itch to create, to move, to build,” he says.

His drive comes from somewhere deeper, from his stepdad Fransisco, from best friends who inspired him, and most of all, from watching his mom. Back in Colombia, she held a PhD in psychology. Here in Montreal, she had to start over, working at a makeup counter and then as a kindergarten teacher. “One day, she said she’d get her degree back,” Nico says. “Five years later, she was a child psychologist again. Now every week, a kid or parent tells her thank you. That stuck with me. That you can start again, and build something better.”

Nico studied psychology, then sports marketing. He rap-battled in three languages, represented Canada in Chile’s underground scene, helped launch an entrepreneurship club in college, and worked in restaurants and gyms before finding his rhythm. “Whatever I do, I want it to come from love,” he says.

That love fuels his latest project with co-founder Andres Obregon: DaBest Taco, a citywide competition where Montreal taquerias create a one-week-only taco. Customers taste, vote, and help crown the city’s winner. It’s joyful, delicious, and uniquely local.

"This city raised me," Nico says. "And the crazy thing is, every time I asked for one thing—a bit of help, some support—people gave me way more. I asked for A, and they gave me A, B, C, D. It made me realize success is a circle. The more I grow, the more I want to give back."

🔥 The taco battle is on. Join us next week for the conclusion of our Taco Take Over Edition. Get out there and vote!

EVENTS

🎟️🎪 Weekend Plans That Don't Suck

THURSDAY (JUNE 26)

🎆 International Fireworks Loto-Québec — Viva Latino
Old Port / Parc Jean-Drapeau · 10 PM

🎬 The Velvet Queen
Cinéma Sous Les Étoiles · 9 PM
Outdoor movies from now until September 🐆

🎤 Sterling Scott at Comedy Nest
Comedy Nest · Thu–Sat, Jun 26–28 · various times
Laughs and smiles guaranteed every night 😄😂

FRIDAY (June 27)

SATURDAY (June 28)

SUNDAY (June 29)

LIVE MUSIC

🎶 Music & Nightlife

For those still possessing the energy for after-dark activities:

🎺🍹🌇 Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
Downtown Quartier des Spectacles · June 26–July 5
Big crowds, bigger sound 🎷🔥

🎶 Kid Koala – The Storyville Mosquito
Cinquième Salle, Place des Arts · Thu–Sun, Jun 26–29 · 8 PM
🤯

🎸 Sons of Arrakis + Ecstatic Vision + Acid Mammoth
Turbo Haüs · Thu, Jun 26 · 8 PM (doors at 7 PM)
Doomy riffs, psychedelic chaos

🎺 Miranda Ceara & The Odd Fellows Orchestra + Lotus White
Turbo Haüs · Sat, Jun 28 · 8 PM
Hokum-fueled, wildly whimsical jam 🎭🌟

🎤 Charlie Cunningham
Le Gesù · Mon, Jun 29 · 6 PM
Indie-folk for wistful hearts 💔 

OUTRO

Well I had fun, did you? If you found something useful, please share it with someone you know. If you didn't, then share this with someone you detest. Maybe that friend who returns your texts after a week or the one who “forgot” to water your plants. 🌵

Until next week,

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