Thursday, April 19
SCHECTER BOOK
Retired Université du Québec à Montréal sociology professor Stephen Schecter, now living in Vancouver, discusses his new book Grasshoppers in Zion: Israel and the Paradox of Modernity, at the Jewish Public Library, 7:30 p.m. The book is described as “an uncompromising look at Israel’s increasingly untenable position in the Middle East.” He’ll be introduced by Prof. Fred Krantz, director of the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research. Tickets, 345-6416.
LEARN MAH JONG
Bryna Frankel begins a six-session mah jong course at the Creative Social Centre at Congregation Chevra Kadisha, 10 a.m. to noon. 488-0907.
Friday, April 20
COTLER AT CUMMINGS
MP Irwin Cotler speaks on “The Gathering Storm: Iran, Syria and the Critical Mass of Threat” at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, 10 a.m. Joyce, 342-1234, ext. 7318.
ZUMBA CLASS
A nine-session, Friday-morning Zumba class begins at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, 9 a.m. Registration, Annette, 342-1234, ext. 7305.
Saturday, April 21
FILM SERIES
Texts of Light, a series on the films of the late Stan Brakhage, a pioneering experimental filmmaker, begins at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts at 8:30 p.m., the first major solo retrospective here in a decade. Screenings continue April 22, and May 3 and 5. Tickets, 739-7944.
SELF-HELP AUTHOR?
Robyne Diller, author of How Everything Changed: Not Your Average Self-Help Book, speaks at Congregation Beth-El at a kiddush following Shabbat services. This American psychologist made aliyah with her two young sons. She also appears at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom April 23 at 7:30 p.m.
BURLESQUE SHOW
Miss Sugarpuss Must Die! which follows a burlesque singers rise to fame, starring Holly Gauthier-Frankel and directed by Paul Van Dyck, is presented at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts at 8:30 p.m. The show won the 2010 Frankie Award for best production at the Montreal Fringe Festival. Tickets, 739-7944. The evening continues at 10 p.m. in the ArtLounge with the Holly GauthierJazz Quintet.
Sunday, April 22
MUCH MUSIC AT THE SEGAL
The New Orford String Quartet, all players with the Montreal and Toronto Symphony Orchestra, performs at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts at 2:30 p.m.
At 8 p.m., the Chateauguay Tenors, actually the saxophone-playing duo Al McLean and Cameron Willis, give a jazz concert. Tickets, 739-7944.
POLISH JEWISH MUSEUM
A program on the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, scheduled to open next year in Warsaw, will be held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts at 2 p.m. The speaker is Peter Jassem, the museum’s Canadian representative. The museum is being built on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. Jassem reveals his discovery of his own Jewish roots, which led to his involvement with this ambitious project. The event, which includes a musical interlude, is organized by the Polish-Jewish Heritage Foundation of Canada, with the Polish Consulate. Reservations, jola_duniewicz@ hotmail.com.
ISRAELI DANCE
Israel modern dance will be presented at a free show at Place des Arts’ Espace culturel Georges-Emile Lapalme, 2-3:30 p.m.
BED BUGS
Bed Bugs, a children’s play by Teen Tour Theatre, will be staged at the Jewish Public Library, 11 a.m. Aimed at three- to nine-year-olds, the play is about a little girl who likes to jump on her bed. For the bugs who share it, however, this is a catastrophe. Tickets, 345-2627, ext. 3012.
Monday, April 23
GOSPEL CHOIR AT SHUL
The Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir performs at Shaare Zion Congregation at 7 p.m. A fundraising cocktail reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, 481-7727.
MOMS & DAUGHTERS
The young adult novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the focus of the Mother-Daughter Book Discussion Group at the Jewish Public Library at 7 p.m. Led by librarian Penny Fransblow, the discussion is open to girls in Grade 5 and up. Registration, 345-2627, ext. 3028.
MUSICAL FUNDRAISER
Côte St. Luc city councillor Mitchell Brownstein and Just for Laughs Festival co-founder Andy Nulman are among the amateur performers taking part in Curtains Up! Hit the Lights! a musical benefiting the Segal Centre for Performing Arts’s youth programming, at 8 p.m. This tribute to Jewish Broadway composers and entertainers pairs volunteer amateurs with professional singers, dancers and actors. The wannabes get professional training and direction, and time on the Segal stage. The show will be repeated April 25. Tickets, 739-7944.
SEX ADDICTION
Chabad Lifeline starts an eight-week support group for partners of sex addicts, led by a therapist, from noon to 2 p.m., at 4615 Côte Ste. Catherine Rd. Registration, Karen Bresinger, 738-7700.
Tuesday, April 24
LIFE IN LEBANON
McGill University professor Jim Archibald lectures on “Living on the Razor’s Edge in Lebanon,” at a Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue Sisterhood event, 7:30 p.m. Rena Buenavida, 342-0033.
Wednesday, April 25
PALLIATIVE CARE
A free workshop on palliative care will be held at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, 6-8 p.m. Nurses and social workers from the Council on Palliative Care will speak on “Challenges of Caregiving: Caring for the Whole Person, Mind, Body and Spirit.” Registration, 499-0345.
ROSENBLATT IN CONCERT
D’Harmo and Jump Babylon featuring Jason Rosenblatt perform at O Patro Vys, 356 Mont Royal Ave., at 9 p.m.
Family law lawyer Ian Solloway has been re-elected to a fourth consecutive term as chair of the English-speaking section of the Bar of Montreal for 2012-2013. He is a fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and a past president of the Lord Reading Law Society… Rabbi Binyamin Pinkus, director of NCSY Montreal, and his wife, Shani, are going back to Chicago next month after five years here leading the Orthodox Jewish youth group. He will become associate director of Agudath Israel of Illinois’s camps. The couple felt it would be better for their four young sons (the latest born in March) to be raised among grandparents, great-grandparents and other immediate relatives.