Montreal Tam-tams

After my week in Burlington, I made a short, first visit to Montreal. I must admit, I had a few preconceptions about Montreal. I don’t know if my preconceptions were because Montreal is the largest city in Quebec, and I associate French speaking with more cosmopolitan or because of some of the history and politics of Canada and Quebec. In any event, I’ve been to Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Halifax, and a few other places in Canada, but I wasn’t sure if I would like Montreal as much as I have liked the other places. All my preconceptions about Montreal pretty much flew out the window mainly due to the fact that one of the first things we visited on the first day of sightseeing was the Sunday afternoon Tam-Tams in Parc du Mont-Royal. I had read about the Tam-tams in Lonely Planet, and they are sort of scheduled spontaneity of drumming and a few other musical instruments. People just come and start making lovely music, and then other people come and start dancing to the music. It seemed like a bit of a hippie-fest, and that characterization is not meant to be derogatory. I had no idea so many hippies lived in Montreal. It was really fun to watch, and if you are ever in Montreal on a summer Sunday afternoon, I encourage you to go to George-Étienne Cartier Monument in Parc du Mont-Royal. Just don’t blame me if you start dancing around like a nut.

This child was watching the adult dance with clear curiosity.

Adults brought little drums out of nowhere to try to get these kids to drum. The kids were not clear on what they were supposed to be doing.

I loved his mobile drumming setup, complete with bicycle wheel and I think frying pan.

This guy seemed like a very serious drummer.

There seemed to be a “main” group of drummers on the benches and then “back up” drummers sitting on the wall.

I assume he did not cart the drums because people were throwing trash in the drums, but this guy was the epitome of a cool drummer.

Yes, there was cowbell.

The “main” band.

Also, the tam-tam was not the only activity occurring in that area. There were people walking on a tightrope (attached to two trees) and a group of people doing some sort of yoga, gymnastic, balancing thing. Also, there was a guy creating very large bubbles.

Tightrope walker with yoga gymnasts in background

Guy creating some really large bubbles.