Piknic Electronik finishes the summer season with two final dates and news on next year

Photos courtesy of Peter Ryaux Larsen

Piknic Electronik is a long running festival in Montreal stretching from May 22 to October 2. The party takes place on Jean Drapeau Park every Sunday all summer long and has for the past 14 years. Piknic Electronik occasionally happens at separate outdoor spaces in Montreal to extend the free concept. The brand now stretches over the globe to Barcelona, Lisbon, Dubai, Melbourne, and more.

October 1 and 2 will both be large events to celebrate the past summer successes and the growth of Piknic's popularity. The Saturday will see a series of back to back performances from some of the attendee's favourite local acts, like Laura Scavo and Nymra & Sofisticated. Mistress Barbara returns as well to play a selection of her favourite songs from over the past decade playing at Piknic Electronik. Montreal based artists Mike Larry and Gino G will play a dark techno set perfectly suited for the night time.

The Sunday is happening alongside Red Bull Music Academy, a month long adventure of culture, arts and music in Montreal. It is fitting that the final night be shared with an international audience of creative people. Mexican experimental artist AAAA will play a live set to start the Sunday sunshine. Race Banyon, a chilled out producer from New Zealand, will lead the music into the evening. Once the sun starts to set Detroit legends Theo Parrish and Depth Charge will take charge of the Solotech stage.

Bambii will start the day at the Videotron stage on Saturday at 3pm. She is an energetic DJ who will bring a blend of dance hall and house. Later on Afrobeat producer and vocalist Pierre Kwenders performs to a local crowd of fans and friends. Branko finishes the evening with a fire set of material, as he's sure to garner a crowd. Branko is originally from Lisbon in Portugal and runs the Buraka Som Sistema group there. Each stage is sure to bring a hot amount of fresh music with a large audience all weekend.

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Piknic crowd

The upcoming weekend takes place at Piknic's home for the past 14 years on Jean Drapeau Park. Next year however a majority of Jean Drapeau Park will be under construction in preparation for the park's 50 year existence since the World Expo in 67. 2017 is also a special time for Montreal's 375 year anniversary as a city in Canada.

St. Helen's island may or may not remain the temporary place for Piknic Electronik, which will put the organization in an interesting situation. Part of what makes the event so unique is the outdoor environment separate from the city where people can come to let loose. Hopefully the essence of the atmosphere on the island stays with the brand no matter what.

While Piknic Electronik comes to a yearly close, Igloofest is quickly approaching. The second popular outdoor party run by the same people takes place in Montreal's old port from January 12th to February 4th. The festival runs for the 11th year straight following a similar layout to what was in place at the start of 2016. Igloofest's 2017 lineup has yet to be announced, so stay tuned with the festival's online channels below.

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Igloofest Peter