by Samantha Schwartz

Sunday is a day of rest and hangover, no questions about it. Nearly every Sunday I can be found sleeping late, having brunch or trying to find some way to avoid the consequences brought on by too much money spent the night before. What is a poor, lazy, hungover gal to do? The answer: Tam-Tams.

Every Sunday from May to September thousands gather at the side of Mount Royal to enjoy sunshine and great beats. Drummers of all calibres set themselves up in a semi-circle and perform throughout the day; it’s a sound that can be heard blocks away, injecting rhythm and energy into the air and soothing your hungover nerves. The drummers play for dancing crowds that find themselves moved by the ever-changing beats as well by spectators enjoying the fete of the day. I confess I was too frightened to dance the first few times I went to Tams, but later learned to let go and kick up some dust of my own in the free-form dance party. For the ladies that are not of the drum-circle sort, check out the vendors set up on the sidewalk of Parc who sell anything from pressed flower jewellery and original art to fancy glass bongs.

The mountain itself provides the perfect diversity of landscape where sunbathers and picnickers can laze on blankets to watch the drummers, dancers and tight-rope walkers do their thing. When I first arrived at McGill I would take my readings to the mountain and convince myself that I would do work, but let’s face it, friends, sunshine and a good smoke always prevail.

There is a calm chaos that rules these afternoons; no one has paid to join the festivities and no one is excluded. Tams could easily be labelled a hippy event, but people from all walks of life, young and old, rich and poor, mix into the crowd seamlessly. I have never seen a single fight or arrest despite many joints being smoked and a huge crowd of people in attendance. With Tam-Tams, Montreal publicly embraces its avant-garde and liberal community in a way that you couldn’t hope for in another city.

Beyond the blankets en masse lies the most intriguing exhibition of Sunday in the park: the medieval battles. Called LARPing, (an adorable acronym for Live-Action Role Playing) battle is waged on a dusty plain with homemade weapons carefully crafted from cardboard, foam and duct tape. Here, Tams earns its reputation for the fantastic, as child-like ideals of war come to fruition with little or no harm done besides the hurt egos of those who perish early in a round. A word to the wise, it’s best not to wear clothes you don’t want to ruin in the dirt because players take no prisoners in this game of war. Next Sunday, make it your mission to waste a day on the mountain. Take in the awesome views at the look-out and enjoy the cultural anomaly that Montreal provides, for free no less! Don’t forget the wine, cheese and baguette for the perfect afternoon en plein air.