Over the last several weeks I have talked a lot about traveling on a budget with examples from various destinations but with this post I want to do something a little different. This is still about traveling (obviously) but it is also about seizing opportunities. I recently took a free trip and I think it is worth including it on my blog.

The Opportunity

You can plan a getaway for weeks, months or even years in advance but sometimes opportunities come your way and you just need to live in the moment and go for it. Recently I was invited to go to Montreal for Osheaga Music Festival. The festival is held on Parc Jean-Drapeau, an island near downtown Montreal, and features a lot of artists from various genres and levels of popularity. Over 65,000 people gather to this island every year to attend the festival.

A friend of mine who works in the industry invited me to tag along for a work trip. Not only would it mean that I would get to go to the festival but also that all expenses would be paid. It was pretty much a no brainer and all I had to do was work it out with my schedule. Luckily I had no major obligations for that weekend and was able to make it. Bonus, shortly before leaving Toronto I found out that not only were we getting passes to experience Osheaga (for the first time in my case) but we were going to have All Access passes!! I was pretty excited and was definitely not going to miss out on the opportunity.

Life is a highway

First off we had to get to Montreal. The city is only a 5 hour drive from Toronto so it was an easy decision on how we were going to get there. I ended up renting a car on Priceline, my go-to website for car rental. Considering that it was a long weekend and also quite last minute, I surprisingly got a decent deal on the rental. Off we were to La Belle Province!

We arrived in Montreal in the afternoon of the first day of the festival. After we checked in at our hotel, Hotel Zero-1, which was also paid by my friend’s employer, we decided to head to the island. We picked up our passes and decided to explore the grounds a little bit. There are 5 stages at the event along with multiple vendor and sponsor areas. There is a lot to see and do.

Behind the scenes

One of the major perks that we had was to have access to the backstage areas, including the “Artist World”. This is the zone where all the bands trailers are but also the big relaxing area with catering provided by renowned chef and Iron Chef winner Chuck Hughes. Free food and free beverages is something that is obviously very appreciated at a festival. We all know how expensive those can be at these events. The food selection was amazing and I fully understand why the artists have been saying for years that Osheaga has the best catering of all the festivals in North America. There were so many things to choose from. Everything was homemade and fresh. I was very impressed by the number of vegan options available too. Very well conceived.

It was kind of funny to have dinner sitting next to one of my favorite bands – Interpol. The fan girl in me had to stay composed! haha.

One of the things that I thought was really cool is that we had access to golf carts to go from stage to stage! We had pick up and drop off points and just didn’t have to go through the crowds at all. I won’t lie, it was simply amazing! Never in a million years did I ever thing that I would be able to experience this type of VIP treatment. Fun fact, I hopped in a golf cart right after Céline Dion’s son got out! Haha

As if the backstage was not enough, we found out on the second day that we could also watch concerts from the stage itself! I have never done that before and it was pretty special. It is a totally different musical experience when you see it up close from the side rather than the front.

VIP patios

In a big festival like Osheaga, there are several sponsored areas for Gold, Platinum and All Access passes.  The terraces all have a great view point. Elevated and strategically placed on the site, they offer a great way to enjoy the day, either to watch a concert from it or to just sit back and relax. The organizers really made sure that the “VIP” clientele (either via guestlist or just the fans that paid premium money to be there) were well taken care of.

The days of the basic and quite often muddy festivals are definitely over. Nowadays, it is all about the “experience” and also in some cases, just to be seen. It was no surprise to see plenty of influencers all around the vip areas taking pictures. Some had fully planned photoshoots! This is 2019, social media is a massive business and Osheaga, dubbed the Coachella of the North, is a paradise for those in search of “Likes”.

Front of the stage

As is the case with many international events, one of the perks of the upgraded passes is that pretty much all the stages have a designated VIP section right on the fence.  No need to wait for hours in front of a stage to have a good spot anymore, you can just stage hop and always be at the front.

In recent years, several artists including Kendrick Lamar complained publicly about the VIP zone. Artists are saying that it is not fair for the real fans. Also that quite often the VIP area just becomes a big mingling zone with people spending more time talking than actually watching the show. It is apparently quite distracting to some artists. After that outburst, several major festivals redesigned their vip zone to push them a little more to the side and make them smaller.

I will admit, I have been guilty of paying a little less attention to the band performing sometimes but when I do, I tried to keep back. I have to say, this weekend has been pretty great to just walk in the zone and be able to have an amazing spot right on the fence, even when the main act was already playing their set. It is another level, another game. I spent years doing the “chicken run” to get to the front of the stage and waited countless hours for my favorite bands to start. This weekend was my reward for all those years of dedication! Haha

Food and drinks

Something that is important to mention when talking about all day events is the food. Big festivals have upped their game in recent years and now there is endless options for the junk food lover, the healthy folks and for the vegetarians/vegans. Osheaga was no different. There were hundreds of  stands and food trucks. Free samples and reasonable prices. One of the cool thing was from the people at Uber Eats. They had a kiosk where they would give you one free meal per day as long as you downloaded the application, posted about your free food and tagged them on social media. That’s a pretty smart way to get people to join their services. Good marketing stunt.

As for the drinks, they simply had everything you could ask for. Either with or without alcohol. As is always the case in Quebec, the prices were extremely reasonable. Mixed drinks, coolers, beer or wine were all under $9 and the water, pop, energy drinks were all under $5. In Toronto, the cheapest beer will usually cost you $13 and a bottle of water is up to $6 at places like the Scotiabank Arena for example. Kudos to Evenko (the promoter) for keeping Osheaga a pretty affordable event!

Merci Montréal

Montreal is always a fun city and this past weekend was no exception. I am really glad that I was able to jump on the opportunity and enjoy a weekend of music and fun in the sun. I saw bands like Interpol, The Lumineers, Flume, Louis The Child, Logic, City and Colour, The Chemical Brothers and more and spent less than $100 during the whole weekend! Amazing experience with a very low price tag, just how I like it! Thank you Osheaga, I will be back!