Every year in July, there is the Just for Laughs Festival (Juste pour Rire) that happens in Montreal. This year was the 35th anniversary and coincidentally I had come to the amazing event back in 2012! The whole block in central Montreal turns into comedy venues and street events.
After walking around in the hot sun, we were definitely ready for a treat, so we visited Creme Glacee & Sorbets ($4.50) and Mr.Puffs ($7). Both were absolutely delicious! The ice cream tasted of wholesome ingredients – you could really taste the pistachio flavour from the nuts. Mr.Puffs is a popular dessert in Montreal and we tried the regular flavour. Though it looks like a Timbit (a popular mini-donut in Canada from Tim Horton’s), in reality they are freshly deep fried and have the perfect dough combination to melt in your mouth. We had the original flavour which was just coated with sugar, but they were perfect!
The streets were filled with vendors, actors and shows. I even ran into a Rabbid Bunny! While exploring, we found our way to the main booth where we could get last minute tickets and we got tickets to see the Laverne Cox Gala. She is the star that plays Sophia Burset in the Netflix Original – Orange is the New Black. I really didn’t know what to expect, but more details on the show after dinner!
For dinner, we decided to stay in the area and eat at the “Bouffons.” We had originally saw a really tasty Pork Roast on display so decided to go back for some Porchetta.
We love to share so that we can get to try more new foods, so we got a second serving of Paella ($9 for Chicken, $12 for Seafood). We had walked by the stall earlier and the aromas, and exciting large skillets attracted us back. We didn’t want to wait any longer and since we saw that the Seafood one was about to get finished, we opted for the chicken one! Unfortunately, there was too much salt in this so I can not give a good recommendation for this stall. If they added less salt, it would have been amazing!
Last but not least, we made it to our evening show at 9:45 to see Laverne! We weren’t allowed to take photos due to the filming, but I did get a snap at the end of the show as they were walking off stage.
We met up with our friends in front of the theatre and walked in. The venue was absolutely gorgeous, new and comfortable right at the Place Des Arts metro station. AND THE SHOW WAS AMAZING!!! Honestly, it was my first time going to one of these Galas and I was a bit sceptical, but Laverne was so sassy and entertaining. The comedians were equally funny and I pretty much laughed the whole entire time!
If you are looking to visit Montreal, I would definitely go in the SUMMER while there are all these amazing events happening!
happylamby 
