Top 50 Most Memorable Montreal Moments Of 2014
All the good, bad, and crazy of the last 365 days.
Photo cred - PartyWithSylvain
The new year is nearly here, and while we look forward into the impending future that is 2015, it is still important to take a glance back at the preceding year, to learn, recognize our achievements, and laugh at all our stupid mistakes. That's what we've done with Montreal's last 365 days, as we've compiled the 50 Best Montreal Moments of 2014.
Choosing 50 specific events wasn't too easy, as a lot happened this year, though we used a super non-scientific system of popularity, controversy, and our own biased perspective to create this list. Many of these moments are shining examples of Montreal's awesomeness, others...well not so much. What they all have in common, though, is being quite memorable.
All the big moments are on here: that day the city smelled like shit, all the 6am bar drama, the St. Paul street debacle, to name a few. And since life is nothing but a glorified sitcom, I took the liberty of naming each in the style of Seinfeld/Friends episodes, and lets be real, some of these moments are so ridiculous you'd think they happened on TV and not IRL.
Now without further ado, take a year-long trip through memory lane and remember the 50 most memorable moments we all shared in Montreal this year.
1. The Opening Of North America's First Ever Cat Cafe
Cementing the city's unhealthy adoration of all things feline
2. The Moment We Learned 6am Bars Were Going To Be A Thing
Coderre officially became our best friend when this news dropped
3. And Then The Moment When They Weren't Going To Be
The day before the project was going to launch, no less. Thanks Quebec.
4. The Women & Taxi Drivers Debacle
Some pretty gross stories surfaces, and the SPVM released a not-exactly-empowering statement to all females in the city
5. The Students Being Denied The Right To Vote Episode
Let's please never bring up the definition of "domicile" ever again.
6. The Quebec Language Debate On The Metro
Rants are okay, just not in confined public spaces
7. The Moment When Montreal Was A Complete Badass And Wanted To Screen "The Interview" No Matter What
One Montrealer's initiative put the city on the map (or at least the front page of reddit) on an issue that did end up blowing over anyway
8. The All Black Tim Hortons In Île-Perrot
An amazing prank and marketing strategy rolled into one.
9. The Biting Lady Bug Invasion
Proof that zombies shouldn't be at the top of our list for worrisome things that will take a bit out of our flesh.
10. The Day Montreal Smelled Like Shit
Otherwise known as #ShitStormMTL, needless to say, it was kind of a crappy day, at least for our noses.
11. The Dawn Of îleSoniq
Our very first EDM festival, which rocked Parc Jean-Drapeau, and lead to a hilariously large amount of drug busts.
12. The Second We Thought A Tornado Was On The Way
The whole thing blew over (pun!) but for a second we thought St. Jean Baptiste Day was gonna be ruined.
13. The Justin Timberlake Spotting On Saint Catherine Street
A wild JT appeared, and we all creamed our jeans.
14. The First Free Outdoor EDM Festival On Crescent Street
Villa Paradizo kinda came out of nowhere, but we're glad it did, and here's hoping it's an annual tradition
15. The Anti-Homeless Spikes Kerfuffle
Archambault removed the spikes, but the moment really portrayed how certain people view the city's homeless population.
16. The Morning After The Winnipeg Jets Got Wasted In The City
Proof 'peggy boys can't handle Montreal. Plus we schooled them pretty hard 3-0 later that night.
17. The Closing Of Chapters In Place Of Victoria's Secret
Bras beat books, unfortunately.
18. The Moment When We Learned A Nutella Bar Was Opening Next Year
We're still shaking with excitement, though that could be from all the sugar in the Nutella we've been eating in preparation.
19. The Saint Paul Cobblestone Street Debacle
When Saint Paul street's cobblestones were defaced by city workers, how much Montrealers care about the roadways and architecture of Old Montreal really shone through.
20. The SPVM Officer Who Gave Out $100 Bills
A veritable Christmas miracle.
21. The Ranking Of Montreal's Women As #8 Most Beautiful In The World
Honourable mention: all the other world rankings the city received.
22. The Opening Of Montreal's First Urban Acrobatic Park
Also a first in all of North America.
23. The Start Of The Village Ephemere By Jaques Cartier Bridge
Partying under a bridge is no longer just for trolls.
24. The Prank Call To Bell Mobility By A Quebec Man
Finally, someone gave phone companies a taste of their own medicine.
25. The Opening Of Brutus, The City's First Ever All Bacon Bar
Even 'merica got jazzed for this moment in Montreal history.
26. The Habs-Themed McDonald's
Fast food and hockey, joined in unholy matrimony.
27. The Google VS Montreal Woman And Her Breasts Case
Even against a corporate giant like Google, the little guy/gal can win, even when it comes to cleavage.
28. The First Ever Free Vegan Food Festival In Montreal
Finally, a food event catering to all of the city's vegan, and there are quite a few.
29. The Mayoral Hockey Bet
It was team vs team, city vs city, Coderre vs whatever the hell the mayor of Boston is called, in a hockey wager to end them all. Thank Odin we won this one.
30. The Sugar Sammy Metro Ad
Some old crusties hated Sugar Sammy's poignant attack on the OQLF. All of us with a funny bone loved it.
31. The Montreal Money Hunt
Probably the best idea for a scavenger hunt, ever.
32. The Time A Drug Dealer Called The Cops To Help Him Escape His Customers
Honestly, the whole thing sounded like an article from The Onion. The fact that it took place IRL makes the whole moment all the more memorable.
33. The Woman On The Metro Eating A Bird Saga
So much intrigue, all for a female eating some foul.
34. The Mysterious Green Orb Above The City
Was this ever fully explained? I'm still saying a wizard did it.
35. The Moment We All Learned Romados Delivers
Even if the crack chicken joint delivered pre-2014, we don't care, because we learned this year and it changed our lives forever.
36. The News Of Montreal's First Doggy Cafe
To be fair, it's not opening 'til January, but folks still went wild when the news got out.
37. The Saint Sulpice Makeout Drama
Some say the two gents were kicked out for being gay, others say because they were being a innaproriate. Whatever the case, the whole thing was a shitstorm of drama.
38. The Franco In Montreal
You may not think it was that big a deal, but when JF hit up Chapters in Montreal, you know the ladies (and me) went nuts.
39. The Montreal Officer Sex'ing It In The Front Seat Of A Cruiser Scandal
Everybody's gotta get some, so we can't judge.
40. The City's First Vape Bar
One of the many e-cig establishments to pop up throughout this year, this moment embodies the vape-hype of 2014, and its visible waning.
41. The Videotaped Laptop Theft On Saint Laurent Street
An inside look at an issue that worries all of us with a computer in a cafe.
42. The Firefighters Taking Over City Hall
Actually quite intense, the video footage was pretty raw, and included a guy taking an opportunistic selfie
43. The Squirrel With A GoPro Video
One squirrel, one camera, and a whole lot of excitement from the general public.
44. The Memory Of Jean Beliveau
A true legend was lost to us this year, though Beliveau's memory will certainly live on.
45. The OQLF On Facebook
Everyone's favourite linguistic watchdog took to social media, and everyone was basically all "seriously?"
46. The Metro Getting Cellphone Service
2014 finally saw a working cell network on parts of the the green line. Fingers crossed 2015 we'll be able to text everywhere on the network.
47. The "MTL" Sign On Mount Royal Debate
A cool idea we hope to see happen in the future, although the idea has been denigrated by all the traditional/old people who want the cross to remain strictly as a religious symbol.
48. The Atwater Metro Homeless Fight
Not exactly a shining moment for the city, but it happened, and people watched.
49. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Takeover
We could feel the turtle power when our inner eight year old's beloved TMNTs took to the streets of Montreal.
50. The Olympic Stadium's Free Public Skating Rink
Because we all like it when things are free.