Our better(ish) half has seen his fair share of lady films on the big screen so we’re giving back by taking him to the Montreal leg of testosterone-filled Mountain Film Festival tour.

What we won’t tell him is that while the films are all themed around (mostly bromantical) mountain adventures – these are the best picks from the Banff Mountain Film Festival, after all – they also feature breathtaking scenery, moving storylines and heart-palpitation inducing scenes (like this image from the film Sfinga) that make them a delight to watch.

We love a win/win. —Christine Laroche

405 Ste-Catherine St. E., Montreal, 514-987-3456, www.banffquebec.ca

We never really feel like summer is in full-swing until we’re sipping beer in the hot sun listening to the music at the Osheaga Music and Arts festival, held this year from July 29 to 31.

This year’s line-up really rocks, with up-and-coming artists like feisty and fashionable, Janelle Monáe, orchestral pop band, Beirut, rockin’ Tokyo Police Club and poppy Smith Westerns peforming alongside headliners like Eminem, bringing his trademark irreverent rap and Elvis Costello and the Imposters’ country-folk sound.

Can’t wade through the lineup? Download the Osheaga app to make sure you don’t miss a show (and know where the beer stands and bathrooms are). —Jennifer Nachshen

Tickets (starting at $75.50 for a single day to $217.50 for a 3-day General Admission pass) available online.

With so many performances at the Just for Laughs Festival (from July 14–31), it can be hard to predict whether you’ll laugh ‘til you cry, or just cry. Montreal-based comedian Sugar Sammy is taking a break from the festival stage and we lucked out by getting his pro tips on how to get the best out of the fest.

1. You never know who’s going to be at the Best of the Fest, but according to Sugar Sammy, you may just find some big international stars warming up their sets (and having a drink with the crowd after).

2. Pick up a pass for the Comedy Conference ($99) from July 27-30 to attend panels, speeches, and discussions about the business of comedy. Way funnier than your industry conference.

3. “Discover” up-and-coming, alternative and underground comics at the bilingual Zoofest with a $39.99 pass for covering all shows.

4. Check out Cheat Live with Bill Burr, Robert Kelly and Joe DeRosa for the funny side of infidelity (guess there’s a funny side to everything).

5. If you’re French, or at least a franglophone, go see Mike Ward S’Expose, an edgy francophone comic who isn’t afraid to push boundaries.

Who knows? You may even bump into Sugar Sammy at one of the shows. But if his absence from the stage is making your heart grow fonder, just sign up at www.sugarsammy.com to be the first to hear about something big coming up soon in Canada (and, no, he didn’t give us any hints!). —Jennifer Nachshen

Festival Line-up and tickets at www.hahaha.com

For more of Jenn Nachshen’s interview with Sugar Sammy, see today’s Editors' Diary.

Did you know that 2011 celebrates the Year of India in Canada Festival? We’re celebrating by scarfing down some poppadom and buying ourselves a Ticket to Bollywood.

From Mumbai to Montreal’s Oscar Peterson Hall, this 90-minute musical organized by the Kabir Cultural Centre covers four decades of Bollywood history with over 400 costumes and 1,000 pieces of Indian jewelry (and plenty of dramatic dancing damsels in distress, we’re betting!).

Getting to experience India without having to leave Canada? Now that's the bomb-eh? —JN

Ticket to Bollywood, Friday April 1, 2011 at 7.30 PM, Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, 7141 Sherbrooke St West, tickets from $24 at www.admission.com

Is it just us or did everyone seem to be having way more fun in the Sixties?

We’re taking ourselves and our best Mrs. Robinson dress to the Wooly Weekend Festival, a three day celebration of music, film and fashion from the revolutionary era. Twist the night away to Montreal’s own The Gruesomes (August 6), rock-out to psychedelic throw-backs The Electric Prunes (August 8), then hunt for mini-skirts, records, and younger men at Saturday’s vintage trade fair. 

Coo coo ca choo.

August 6-8, Théâtre Plaza, 6505 St-Hubert St., Montreal, www.teenbeattakeover.com, tickets from $35/day at www.admission.com

Just when we thought that the Just for Laughs festival couldn’t possibly get any larger, it goes and adds even more guffaws to the mix.

For those eclectic off-the-grid performances, check out Zoofest, featuring theatre, music, dance, circus, and plenty of oddball comedy. Deconstruct a staged reading of MTV's The Hills (July 22-23, Mainline Theatre), dance while listening to music on headphones at Silent Disco (11:30 p.m., Loft du Musée Juste pour Rire), then head to the hotel Hyatt, the place to be after midnight, where you’ll find comedians celebrating (or drowning their sorrows) at the bar.

Zoofest and Just for Laughs Festival, until July 26. Tickets from $15 at Admission.ca.

www.hahaha.com

If your idea of heaven is tall, dark and handsome, this is the week to stay in the city. Lithe Argentine dancers have descended for the Montreal International Tango Festival.

Sign up for an intensive class at Tango Libre (from $35), try your hand at an evening milonga or pack a picnic and enjoy people watching at Parc Lafontaine’s weekly Tango in the Afternoon (Sundays, 2:30-6 p.m.).

Muy caliente!

Montréal International Tango Festival, until July 19, 514-527-5197, www.festivaldetangodemontreal.qc.ca

For every Arcade Fire success story, there are hundreds of bands just trying to get noticed.  

M For Montreal is a three-day event that does just that. Co-founded by Glastonbury Rock Festival’s chief booker Martin Elbourne, this intimate showcase gives local musicians the chance to schmooze with industry-types and strut their stuff.

This year’s line up includes 20 plus bands like Franco-popsters Pas Chic Chic (Nov 20) and Beatrice Bonifassi’s jazzy Beast (Nov 21). Each band is given 30 minutes to impress big wigs including TV music supervisors, festival bookers, record labels and music critics from Europe and the US.

Be there, or be a one-hit wonder.

M For Montreal, November 20 to 22, www.mformontreal.com
Three-day Showcase Passport, $40, available at www.admission.com

This week we’re clearing our schedules and taking to the night for Pop Montreal. Seven years in, this edgy-but-lovable fest makes use of charming venues (churches and social clubs) and offers an eclectic pairing of musical genres.

Our top pics include performances by Burt Bacharach, French synthesizer-and-drums duo Zombie Zombie, and experimental group Interceiving. We’re also jonesing for the Film Pop screening of Patricia Chica and Mike Wafer’s Rockabilly 514, about a Montreal sub-culture influenced by music from the 1950s.

Tired of cabbing it from venue to venue? Rent a bike and you’ll be Speedy Gonzales on two-wheels ($50/week).

Rock on.

Pop Montreal, October 1-5, www.popmontreal.com

The hand-crafted shoes of Bruno Magli.

The timeless style of Sophia Loren.

The cinematic oeuvres of Federico Fellini.

The Quattro Formaggi at Pizzeria Napoletana.

We adore all-things Italian and we’re finding our dolce vita at the 15th Settimana Italiana di Montreal.

Take a guided tour of Little Italy (2 p.m., August 15), see local designers strut their stuff at the Moda Sotto le Stella fashion show (10 p.m., August 16) and watch an open-air performance of Puccini’s La Bohème (9 p.m., August 17).

Bellissimo!

Until August 17, www.italianweek.ca