The big table, on a Friday nightOne of the canvases on the wallsBring the sketchbook you already own
Fridays and Saturdays6 → 10 p.m.$7 per person4455 Saint-Denis, Montreal
Three ways to spend the evening
Paint
Take a seat at the big table. Bring your own supplies: the gallery provides neither canvas nor paint, and that is on purpose — everyone works with what they know.
No skill level required. Nobody corrects anybody.
Play
Instrumentalists and singers are welcome, acoustic only. There is no mic and no speaker on site, which rules out amplified bands.
Watch the canvases take shape, listen, talk. A $7 night out one minute from the metro, which works for a first date as much as for a Saturday with the kids.
No alcohol served or allowed on site.
Four hours, and you come in whenever you want
Nothing is on a clock. Here is what a Friday night looks like anyway, so you know what you are buying a ticket for.
6 p.m.
Doors open
The painters set up their canvases. It is the quietest stretch of the evening: the moment to come with young kids and talk to the artists without competing for attention.
7 p.m.
The music starts
Instruments and voices, acoustic. No mic and no speaker in the room: you hear the instrument as it is, and you can talk over it without shouting.
8 p.m.
The big table fills up
This is when the most people are drawing. Bring your own supplies: sketchbook, pencils, gouache, whatever you have around. Nobody looks over your shoulder.
10 p.m.
We close
Canvases started that night leave with the people who painted them. The gallery artists' work stays on the walls, and it is for sale.
What there is to drink and to snack on
No bar, no alcohol. The counter has enough to get you through four hours without leaving the gallery.
Dips
Hummus, tzatziki and bread.
Macarons
At the counter, while they last.
Teas
Hot or iced.
Kombucha
How you toast without alcohol.
Everything on the walls is for sale
The gallery represents Montreal artists, several of them seen at MURAL Festival and Under Pressure. Catalogue pieces run from $400 to $2,000.
The $7 ticket commits you to nothing: plenty of people leave with photos and come back three weeks later.
The ticket covers the whole evening, 6 to 10 p.m. You can also pay $7 cash at the door, but on busy nights reserved seats go first.
Your seat is held until 8 p.m. that night.
Something came up? Your ticket moves to another evening, free of charge.
One price: $7 per person, whatever your age.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know how to paint?
No. A good share of the room does not paint and comes to watch, listen and talk.
Can I bring my kids?
Yes, it is built for that. No alcohol, conversation-level volume, and the price is the same for everyone: $7.
What do I bring?
Your supplies if you want to draw: sketchbook, pencils, gouache. Nothing special otherwise.
Is there anything to eat and drink?
Yes, at the counter: hummus and tzatziki dips with bread, macarons, hot or iced teas and kombucha. No alcohol.
Do I have to stay the full four hours?
No. You come and go as you like between 6 and 10 p.m.
What if I can no longer make it?
Your ticket moves to another evening, free of charge. Just reply to the confirmation email.
What is there to do in Montreal on a Friday or Saturday night?
L'Original gallery runs its Cocon nights every Friday and Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. at 4455 Saint-Denis Street, in the Plateau Mont-Royal. Montreal painters work in front of you and musicians play acoustic. Admission is $7 per person, one minute from Mont-Royal metro.
What cultural event can I see in the Plateau Mont-Royal?
Cocon nights are a weekly cultural event in the Plateau Mont-Royal: live painting, acoustic music and a show of Montreal artists in a gallery-atelier at 4455 Saint-Denis Street, Fridays and Saturdays from 6 to 10 p.m.
What family activity can I do in Montreal in the evening with kids?
Cocon nights are built for families: no alcohol served or allowed, conversation-level volume, and the same $7 price at any age. The 6 to 7:30 p.m. stretch is the quietest, the one to pick with young children. Bring sketchbooks and pencils — the gallery does not provide supplies.
Where can I go out in Montreal without alcohol?
L'Original gallery, 4455 Saint-Denis Street. Cocon nights are entirely alcohol-free: the counter serves dips, macarons, hot or iced teas and kombucha. Fridays and Saturdays, 6 to 10 p.m., $7 per person.
What is a good date night or first date idea in Montreal?
An evening with something to watch keeps the silences away: painters at work, acoustic music, art on the walls. It is $7 per person, alcohol-free, one minute from Mont-Royal metro, and you come and go as you like between 6 and 10 p.m.
Can you watch artists paint live in Montreal?
Yes. Every Friday and Saturday evening, painters from L'Original's network work in the gallery at 4455 Saint-Denis Street, from 6 to 10 p.m. You can talk to them, watch them work and buy the pieces on the walls, which run from $400 to $2,000.
How much does a night out in Montreal cost?
Admission to a Cocon night is $7 per person at any age, online or cash at the door. The ticket covers the whole evening, 6 to 10 p.m.
Painters in the network get in free
The deal is simple: your spot is on us, and you tell people about the evenings. That is what fills the room and keeps the artists on the walls working.
