McSweeney’s List (30 October 2024)
While you're putting the final touches on your costume and trying not to eat the candy before the kids come, I want to add a couple more celebrations to your schedule. There's a trifecta of holidays hitting tomorrow, so get ready to party!
Let's start with the basics: Samhain is on October 31. Pronounced Sow-un, it's the Celtic harvest festival, and used to mark the New Year. It's the last shindig before embracing the “darker half” of the year. Bonfires, feasts, the slaughter of the last beasts, it was a hella good time. All Gaelic festivals are seasonal, and Samhain falls right about halfway between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. Like Beltane in May (also replete with feasts and fires to mark the start of spring), Samhain is a liminal space in which veils and separations are at their thinnest. With that in mind, it's the night where Druids and other seers could make particularly good predictions about the future, the path ahead temporarily cleared of illusions and boundaries. Seen as portals, burial mounds would be opened so the spirits could travel easily. Families would set an extra place at their dinner tables, expecting passed loved ones to pop in for a bite. It's the perfect day to give thanks to your ancestors. While we might not feel compelled to offer gratitude to our own bloodline for a variety of reasons, we can expand this concept to include other lineages that have made us who we are. For instance, give thanks to those who inspired your artistic practice, or those whose written words have reached you across generations to bring you comfort and strength. Yes, Halloween adopted many of Samhain’s traditions, but it rolled in a whole bunch of Christianity too, and added some saints, so it's not the same.
This year the Hindu festival of Diwali also falls on Halloween. It's the festival of lights, the victory of good over evil, of knowledge over ignorance. Different sects and geographical areas celebrate it differently in honour of different Gods and stories, with the party lasting between 3 days and 2 weeks. It's primarily associated with the God Ram saving his kidnapped wife Sita from a demon with the help of the super cool flying monkey Hanuman. It's also associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and abundance, and Ganesh, the elephant god who removes obstacles. To celebrate, light candles and coloured lights. Offer sweets to the God or entity of your choice. Once you've given your thanks, and performed any rituals you feel called to, the sweets are then considered blessed by that God, and returned to you. So you get divinely blessed candy. How cool is that?! This will really improve your leftover tiny chocolate bars.
These are of course cursory overviews. My intention is not to diminish these celebrations or to make them seem frivolous, but rather to expand our capacity for celebration and devotion. For those who celebrate these holidays regularly (dare I say, religiously), these are really big festivals. For instance, these holidays would be considered “high holy days”, to use the Judaic vernacular. To put it loosely, these would be the holidays you take off from work and school; the big ‘uns. And the same way you don't have to be Christian to put up a Christmas tree, you don't need to be of any particular faith to embrace new traditions. And much like Christmas or whatever you usually celebrate, none of these days have any hard and fast rules; they're open to the interpretation of your heart and your family’s vibe. Only a few generations ago when the world was bigger, we might’ve never learned about these holidays, and now they've been gifted to us as an opportunity for gratitude, joy, bright lights, and blessed candy.
Have a wonderful trifecta.
halloween poetry
McSway Poetry Collective is back with a Halloween edition of their Open Mic. Read or listen. Spooky or not.
WHAT: McSway Poetry Collective Halloween Open Mic
WHERE: Yellow Door, 3625 Aylmer St, Montreal, Quebec H2X 2C3
WHEN: Wednesday, October 30 @ 6:30PM
METRO: Place des Arts (Green)
trick or trivia
The World's Smallest Comedy night presents an amazing night of terrifying trivia, comedy and prizes! Show up in costume for bonus points! PWYC!
WHAT: Halloween Trivia
WHERE: Hurley’s Irish Pub, 1225 Crescent St, Montreal, Quebec H3G 2B1
WHEN: Wednesday, October 30 @ 8PM
METRO: Peel (Green) / Lucien-L'Allier (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
CITY STORIES
Between the construction cones and bustling nightlife, we rarely give thought to the history of Montreal. And we certainly never give thought to the city’s g-g-g-ghosts.
From forgotten cemeteries to tragic deaths, it's no surprise that Montreal has a piping hot haunted history. The Haunted Downtown ghost walk visits loads of locations where ghosts have been spotted!
Learn the twisted and sickening “Legend of the Red Cross”, and hear about the new Concordia University student residence -- the former Grey Nuns’ Motherhouse -- with its mysterious crypt just underneath.
There's the old funeral home that has been converted into one of Montreal’s trendiest nightclubs where clients sometimes get more than they bargained for.
Discover the old Saint-Antoine Cholera Cemetery to hear tales of deranged doctors and overzealous priests. Learn about Mark Twain’s only recorded paranormal experience, and discover the strange hauntings at the luxurious Queen Elizabeth Hotel.
Led by a professional actor and storyteller, this ghost tour is sure to please ghost hunters, history buffs and Hallowe’en lovers with its creepy tales of paranormal activity and the ghostly spirits that haunt the unlikeliest of places – in the heart of Downtown Montreal.
WHAT: Haunted Downtown
WHERE: Norman Bethune Square (in front of Guy-Concordia Tim Hortons)
WHEN: Saturday, November 2, @ 830 PM
METRO: Guy-Concordia (Green)
TICKETS: Eventbrite
BRING SUGGESTIONS
Enjoy a 100% improvised show featuring this city's funniest pros, rising stars, and surprise drop-ins. Watch comedians dismantle and create magic on stage with whatever you wrote down and put in a bucket. Hosted by wild card funny man George Assily.
WHAT: Who Wrote This? Hosted by George Assily
WHERE: 3rd Floor Comedy Club, 1337 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal, H3G 2R9
WHEN: Saturday, November 2, @ 11 PM
METRO: Guy-Concordia (Green(
DETAILS: Facebook
epic used book sale
Calling all Montrealers! After our most successful edition yet, Concordia's EPIC Used Book Fair is back and better than ever!
Invite your friends, family, colleagues and students! Our last edition set a new record with $43,000 raised to support Concordia students. Don't forget your $2 cash donation and reusable bag!
Tuesday, November 5, from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Wednesday, November 6, from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
J.W. McConnell Building Atrium, 1400 Maisonneuve Blvd W, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8 (the library building). On the metro? Get off at Guy-Concordia.
It's not too late to donate books; our collection centres are open Monday to Friday: https://bit.ly/47TG9IU
Lend a hand and join our fantastic volunteer team: https://bit.ly/bookfairvolunteer2024
More details: https://bit.ly/CUBookFair2024
WHAT: Used Book Fair
WHERE: 1400 Boulevard de Maisonneuve O, Montréal, QC H3G 2V8, Canada
WHEN: Tuesday, November 5 @ 8AM
METRO: Guy-Concordia (Green)
DETAILS: Facebook
LOVE ANIMALS?
My daughter Shaina has a heart as big as the world, so it was no surprise that in her travels she fell in love with a project called All People for Animals Cuba. Stray and suffering animals don't understand embargos or natural disasters, and they need help. And right now more than ever, the people need help too. Each time she goes to Cuba she brings an absurd care package to this group, and her psycho organizational skills are just making it bigger everytime. I say that with pride and love of course, plus the girl cannot adopt every animal she finds and loves -- though she's trying -- so let's help the animals where they are, ya feel?
Here's what APAC needs:
• Puppy & kitten formula
• Dog and cat kibble
• Veterinary medications & supplies
• Leashes, collars, harnesses (sizes S-M)
• Pee pads
• Blue Dawn dish soap
• Gauze, self-adherent medical wrap
• Dewormers, tick & flea protection
• Multi-vitamins (for people)
• Bug spray (for people)
• Cold & flu medications (children & adult)
• Medical supplies for people (delivered to local hospitals)
Contact her on Facebook so she can arrange pickup. Tell her her Mom sent you.
FEATURE FRIDAY
Forget The Box Presents: Feature Fridays - Your Spotlight Awaits!
Calling all Montreal artists! Forget The Box is proud to present "Feature Fridays," a new initiative dedicated to showcasing the incredible talent within our diverse artistic communities.
Every Friday, we'll be featuring a curated selection of local music, comedy, spoken word, and visual art. Our curators are active members of their respective communities, passionate about supporting and amplifying the diverse voices of Montreal's vibrant arts scene. This is your chance to shine and share your work with a wider audience.
How to Get Featured:
It's easy! Simply submit your work through the Forget The Box website. Our curators will review submissions and select artists on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit our Feature Friday section to find the submission forms!
Deadlines:
To be featured on a particular Friday, make sure to submit your work by Wednesday of that week. Any submissions received after Wednesday will be considered for the following Friday.
Ready to share your art with Montreal?! Submit your work today!
Join the family!
Forget The Box is growing, and we’re looking for new contributors to join our family! (Re)launched in Spring 2023, Forget The Box is Montreal’s leading arts magazine, focused on ground level, underground, and marginalized local art.
We’re looking for writers who want to build their portfolios while covering some of Montreal’s best (and most hidden) art scenes! And we’re also looking for other creative talents like designers and photographers who want to share their skills and unique perspectives to the cause!
Visit Forget The Box to check out Montreal’s most in-depth arts magazine, and reach NOW to start spotlighting our local arts community, and to join our family! DM us directly, or email forgetthebox@forgetthebox.ca
McSweeney’s List drops every Wednesday with the best events, workshops, and more, each week in Montreal!
