Free Sundays at the Observatoire de la Capitale

A 40th edition. The Coup de cœur francophone festival holds its 40th edition from November 5 to 15, 2026 (site in French). Founded in Montreal in 1987, it's dedicated to French-language song in all its forms, with a lineup that leans toward emerging artists and new work, according to its official description (in French).

In Montreal, and beyond. The festival takes place every November in Montreal and in nearly 45 Canadian cities, through a network of partners in francophone communities. In all, it presents around 200 shows from coast to coast.

How to pick your shows. The online program (in French) can be filtered by city, date and genre, from chanson to rap, folk or electro. Each show has its own page, with the venue, time and a link to buy a ticket. On Thursday, November 5, for example, Catherine Leduc (with Perma) plays L'Esco at 9 p.m., and Alice Bro plays Quai des Brumes at 10 p.m. The festival also offers an app, FEST, to follow the program.

Getting a seat. If one concert matters to you, buy your ticket ahead of time from its page, rather than counting on the door that night.

Good to know for newcomers. Seeing local artists live is an enjoyable way to get used to the French spoken in Quebec, and to discover local artists. Our guide to practicing French in Quebec suggests other everyday ways to do it.

The dates. The 29th Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) runs from November 19 to 29, 2026. Forum RIDM, the program for film industry professionals, takes place from November 20 to 25. As every year, the festival's headquarters are at the Cinémathèque québécoise.

The lineup arrives October 28. The festival will unveil its full program on Wednesday, October 28, at an evening event at the Cinémathèque québécoise, and post it online the same day. A few titles have already been announced.

The passport: best to decide before the 28th. According to RIDM's ticket office, the passport giving access to all screenings costs $120 until October 27 at 11:45 p.m. From October 28 at 11 a.m., it goes up to $150, or $125 taxes included for students and people aged 65 and over. New this year: with the passport, you can book up to five screening tickets in advance. For other screenings, you get in by showing your passport, subject to seat availability.

You don't need a passport to go. The passport is mainly for people planning to see several films. For a single screening, individual tickets are also available: the online ticket office lists prices and times once the program is out.

Good to know for newcomers. A documentary festival is a good way to discover Quebec and the rest of the world through the eyes of filmmakers from here and elsewhere. Before booking, check each film's page for the screening language and subtitles. Our guide to cultural festivals in Quebec covers other events throughout the year.

An annual event. Quebec's intercultural encounters week (Semaine québécoise des rencontres interculturelles) runs from November 2 to 8, 2026, under the theme "Le Québec en commun" (Quebec in common), according to the official page for the week on Québec.ca (in French). Organized every year by Quebec's immigration, francization and integration ministry (MIFI), it highlights the contribution of Quebecers of every origin and encourages dialogue between them.

Across Quebec. Activities are offered in every region by the ministry's partner organizations, and also by municipalities, schools and businesses. Everyone is invited to take part, whether you arrived three months ago or were born here.

How to find an activity. The activity calendar (in French) lets you filter by region and show only virtual events. Activities appear as organizers register them and they are approved, so check back in the days before the week starts. On each listing, check the location, the schedule and whether you need to register in advance.

What these activities look like. The ministry suggests simple formats to organizers: lunch talks, recipe exchanges between people of different origins, book clubs on literature from here and elsewhere, classroom exhibits about students' countries of origin. These are ideas, not a program: each organization picks its own. To be approved, an activity must foster intercultural connection and living together, in French.

Three awards presented during the week. This is also when the government presents the Charles-Biddle, Maurice-Pollack and Solange-Chalvin awards. The Solange-Chalvin awards have existed since 2023 and replaced the Mérites en francisation.

A diverse Quebec. According to figures published on the same page, 17.1% of Quebec's population was born outside Canada, and more than 400 ethnic origins were counted in the 2021 census.

Organizing something? A community organization, municipality, business or school can add its activity to the calendar from the official page, which also lists the eligibility criteria and free promotional material (posters, social media visuals).

Good to know for newcomers. Since the activities take place in French, this is a concrete chance to practise the language in a welcoming setting, with people who expect to meet others from all over. It's also a way to discover the organizations active near you. To go further, see our guide to cultural associations for immigrants and our guide to volunteering in Quebec.