ITALFEST MTL 2025 • 8 > 17 August 2025

The entire team of ITALFESTMTL

FRANÇAIS app de traduction à gauche

Cannoli, Couture, and La Dolce Vita: ItalfestMTL Returns to Montreal

There’s a certain kind of magic that settles over Montreal in August, when the warm air hums with music, espresso machines hiss on every corner, and the streets of Little Italy transform into an open-air ode to la dolce vita. Beginning tomorrow, August 8, ItalfestMTL—Montreal’s beloved celebration of Italian culture—returns for its 32nd edition, promising ten days of open-hearted revelry, tradition, and yes, some of the finest cannoli this side of the Atlantic.

Spanning from August 8 to 17, ItalfestMTL takes over Little Italy—the stretch between Rosemont Boulevard and Jean-Talon Market, where Montreal’s Italian soul pulses most vividly—as well as neighborhoods across the city. Organized by the National Congress of Italian-Canadians (Quebec region), the festival brings together generations of Italian-Canadians, newcomers, curious foodies, and fans of Fellini-esque flair for an entirely free program that includes concerts, fashion shows, film screenings, culinary events, and art competitions.

From left to right: Lawyer Maria Battaglia, president of Congrès national des Italo-Canadiens, Senator Tony Loffreda, Luc Rabouin of Ville de Montréal, Consul Général Enrico Pavone 

At its heart, the festival is more than just a party—it’s a living history lesson, a celebration of Italian immigration that stretches back to the 17th century, when artisans and merchants first arrived with the Carignan Regiment. Later waves in the 19th and 20th centuries brought families fleeing war and poverty, who helped build Canada’s railroads, cities, and its multicultural identity. Their legacy? Still visible in every espresso bar, every Nonna-run bakery, and in the smell of tomato sauce wafting down rue Dante on a summer afternoon.

This year’s program is more ambitious than ever. Among the highlights is Moda Sotto le Stelle, a glamorous outdoor fashion show that turns a city street into a Milanese runway. On the other end of the age spectrum, Il Piccolo Leonardo, an art competition for youth, encourages budding Michelangelos to put brush to canvas. There are outdoor concerts, film screenings, lectures, and enough culinary tastings to leave your palate permanently Italianized.

This year's First Prize Winning artist: Ella Jade Verillo for her work Modern day Mona Lisa. The prize is handed to her by Maria R. Battaglia, Ad. E. and Francesca Sacerdoti. 

But for many, the true joy of Italfest lies not in marquee events but in the small, serendipitous moments: stumbling into an accordion-led singalong in a back alley, discovering the best sfogliatella you’ve ever eaten at a pastry stand, or sharing a bottle of red with strangers at a communal table as opera echoes down the street.

The festivities will reach their crescendo on August 17 with the grand finale concert, À la découverte des merveilles du monde, held at Parc Wilfrid-Bastien in Saint-Léonard. Think orchestras under the stars, children dancing, and the kind of collective joy that feels both timeless and fleeting.

In an era of cultural homogenization, ItalfestMTL remains defiantly, deliciously specific. It’s an invitation to slow down, to eat well, to remember where we came from—or to imagine where we might belong. Whether you’re Italian by blood or simply by appetite, there’s no better place to be than Montreal’s Little Italy this weekend.

For full program details, visit italfestmtl.ca —and bring an appetite.

LENA GHIO   

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Photos © LENA GHIO, 2025

 *A few suggestions from MONTREAL SECRETS :

For the complete Italfest 2025 program, click here!

There will be a huge number of concerts, workshops and events during the festival, and it’s completely open to all and free of charge.

Our 10 favorite events, and the ones we’re looking forward to, are;

• August 9, 9am : activities at Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, soccer: Italy vs the World
• August 9, 10am-12pm: food writing workshop at Casa del Veneto (7995 Avenue Blaise Pascal)
• August 9, 9:30pm: Moda Sotto le Stelle fashion show (fashion under the stars), presented by the Consulate General of Italy in Montreal
• August 10, 3 p.m.: cannoli competition, presented by Les Délices Lafrenaie
• August 10, 9:30pm: opera gala
• August 12, 1pm-3pm : conference on the Italian pavilion at Expo 67 at MEM -Centre des Mémoires Montréalaises (1210 Boulevard Saint-Laurent)
• August 12, 7-9pm: writing workshop on memories at Casa del Veneto (7995 Avenue Blaise Pascal)
• August 13, 8:50pm: open-air cinema, screening of L’Abbaglio (2025) at Parc Dante
• August 15, 1-4pm: live music by FM Radio, Sir Gio and Gianni Bodo at Promenade Fleury
• August 15, 7pm: cinema, screening of “Un mondo a parte” (2024) at Casa d’Italia (505 rue Jean-Talon Est)