Downtown Montreal Will Host An Urban Culture Fest With Live Street Art & Breakdance Battles

Spray paint meets sports in Place des Arts. 🎤🏀

​Someone poses on stairs in Place des Festivals in front of a massive basketball. Right, People paint a mural in downtown Montreal.

Someone poses on stairs in Place des Festivals in front of a massive basketball. Right, People paint a mural in downtown Montreal.

Editor

Downtown Montreal is hosting a massive celebration of urban culture next month. From September 2 to 4, visitors to Places des Arts can catch rap performances, breakdance battles, live street art and a basketball tournament for free at Distrix Festival.

Two on-site bars will serve drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) while people take in the spectacle.

Friday afternoon kicks off with Beaux Dégats graffiti competition at 5 p.m. You can watch teams make art around a chosen theme, from design to completion, and then vote on which one you like best. The creativity continues at 4 p.m. the following day with live street art out in the open.

On Saturday at 2:30 p.m., you can catch three hours of breakdancing, from qualifiers to finals. It's the "ultimate meeting between art and sport," writes Distrix.

Meanwhile, three-on-three basketball games will be taking place throughout the weekend with 10-minute matches and non-stop music, including a dunk contest.


No dogs are allowed on the festival site (except for guide dogs). Free parking is available downtown from Friday at 6 p.m. to Sunday at 9 p.m., but if you can't find a spot there are nearby paid options in Place des Arts or Complexe Desjardins.

Distrix Festival

When: September 2 to 4

Where: Place des Festivals

Cost: Free

Website

  • Sofia Misenheimer
  • Sofia Misenheimer is a former editor of MTL Blog. She has an M.A. in Communication Studies from McGill University. In her spare time, she shares little-known travel gems via #roamunknownco, and can often be found jogging in the Old Port.

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