Thousands of drum players, dancers, vendors and visitors come together every Sunday afternoon throughout the temperate months, occupying much of the open space on the eastern edge of Mount Royal Park. Jeanne-Mance Park (also known as Fletcher's Field), located directly across Avenue du Parc from where the Tam-Tams take place, serves as the city's main outdoor sporting ground. As such, the entire area is generally quite popular on Sundays in the summertime, drawing an exceptionally diverse crowd to myriad activities. The Tam-Tams typically start around 10:30am and continue until sunset. It is not an officially sanctioned nor sponsored event, simply a regular if technically spontaneous event. As such, it is difficult to pinpoint when it started or what motivated the first drum circle.
Spending Sundays in Mount Royal Park has been popular since the park was inaugurated in 1876, and the nature and design of Fletcher's Field has always made it a popular spot for picnics and sunbathers. Musical performances have been a staple since time immemorial, as brass bands, military and marching bands were popular entertainment until around the time of the Second World War. Moreover, the location of the Tam-Tams isn't too far from where Montreal's first permanent exposition hall, the Crystal Palace, was located. As such the location of the Tam-Tams is well rooted in the history of Montreal public life and festivities.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the first people to begin regular drumming at the base of the Cartier monument back in the mid-1960s. A group of students from the West Indies who lived in the area arranged to meet at the monument and practice in a public place to avoid disturbing their neighbours.
However, alternate anecdotal evidence suggests more recent beginnings. Quoted from an Ottawa-based musician and educator: "...1992, it started with four ceremonial guard guys (me included) meeting up to buy pot from some guys we met at Steve's music store. They were buying djembes and we had just attended a clinic with Memo Ascevedo, and bought traditional go-go bells, tambime (not tambourine), clave, talking drum, etc. He had a Cuban buddy who played bongos, and we met at the statue to exchange rhythmic ideas. We shared an apartment on l'esplanade with 6 other army guys, all drummers. 3 of us were on leave at alternate times, 6 days of work, 3 days off. So there was always someone at the house. We agreed to meet every Sunday at the park, get high, and jam. Other guys started coming, it watered down the quality of the jam, but it got bigger and bigger..."
But it would be many years before the Tam-Tams became an element of the Montreal counter-culture scene. In this respect, anecdotal evidence suggests the Tam-Tams' origins date back to Saint Jean Baptiste Day 1976 when the City of Montreal located festivities related to the day entirely within the 'mountain domain'. In this case the mountain became a playground for the city's youth and counter-culture, with music throughout the day and many bonfires throughout the night. Damage to the park was so extreme the city would never again use the mountain for large-scale organized festivities.
Today's Tam-Tams are still centred on the drum circle, but have evolved to also include artisanal vendors, DJs, performance artists, exhibitionists and a battle-royal for fantasy role players.
Because of the 'laissez-faire' attitude that characterizes the festivities, drug dealing, drug use and public drinking are tolerated to a degree. The Tam-Tams is strongly associated with cannabis culture, and though Montreal police are generally present they tend to disregard consumption of alcohol and cannabis. The general rule observed by Montrealers and respected by the police is discretion, moderation and not consuming in view of children.
^. Montreal Gazette. May 23, 2008. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tam-tams du mont Royal.
Online documentary Tam Tam Montreal: Sunday in the Park, CITIZENShift
Tam Tams! – A short film
January 13, 2023
tams, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, february, 2016, learn. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Tam Tams news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Coordinates 45 30 51 N 73 35 07 W 45 514226 N 73 585262 W 45 514226 73 585262 The Tam Tams is the informal name of a weekly free festival around the George Etienne Cartier Monument in Mount Royal Park in Montreal Quebec Canada Its name imitates the sound of drums and refers to the drum circles that form the focal points of the gathering 1 Tam Tams with the George Etienne Cartier Monument topped by a statue of a winged Liberty in the background Contents 1 Events 2 History 3 Present day 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEvents EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Thousands of drum players dancers vendors and visitors come together every Sunday afternoon throughout the temperate months occupying much of the open space on the eastern edge of Mount Royal Park Jeanne Mance Park also known as Fletcher s Field located directly across Avenue du Parc from where the Tam Tams take place serves as the city s main outdoor sporting ground As such the entire area is generally quite popular on Sundays in the summertime drawing an exceptionally diverse crowd to myriad activities The Tam Tams typically start around 10 30am and continue until sunset It is not an officially sanctioned nor sponsored event simply a regular if technically spontaneous event As such it is difficult to pinpoint when it started or what motivated the first drum circle History EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Drummers near base of the Cartier monument Spending Sundays in Mount Royal Park has been popular since the park was inaugurated in 1876 and the nature and design of Fletcher s Field has always made it a popular spot for picnics and sunbathers Musical performances have been a staple since time immemorial as brass bands military and marching bands were popular entertainment until around the time of the Second World War Moreover the location of the Tam Tams isn t too far from where Montreal s first permanent exposition hall the Crystal Palace was located As such the location of the Tam Tams is well rooted in the history of Montreal public life and festivities Anecdotal evidence suggests the first people to begin regular drumming at the base of the Cartier monument back in the mid 1960s A group of students from the West Indies who lived in the area arranged to meet at the monument and practice in a public place to avoid disturbing their neighbours However alternate anecdotal evidence suggests more recent beginnings Quoted from an Ottawa based musician and educator 1992 it started with four ceremonial guard guys me included meeting up to buy pot from some guys we met at Steve s music store They were buying djembes and we had just attended a clinic with Memo Ascevedo and bought traditional go go bells tambime not tambourine clave talking drum etc He had a Cuban buddy who played bongos and we met at the statue to exchange rhythmic ideas We shared an apartment on l esplanade with 6 other army guys all drummers 3 of us were on leave at alternate times 6 days of work 3 days off So there was always someone at the house We agreed to meet every Sunday at the park get high and jam Other guys started coming it watered down the quality of the jam but it got bigger and bigger But it would be many years before the Tam Tams became an element of the Montreal counter culture scene In this respect anecdotal evidence suggests the Tam Tams origins date back to Saint Jean Baptiste Day 1976 when the City of Montreal located festivities related to the day entirely within the mountain domain In this case the mountain became a playground for the city s youth and counter culture with music throughout the day and many bonfires throughout the night Damage to the park was so extreme the city would never again use the mountain for large scale organized festivities Present day EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Today s Tam Tams are still centred on the drum circle but have evolved to also include artisanal vendors DJs performance artists exhibitionists and a battle royal for fantasy role players Because of the laissez faire attitude that characterizes the festivities drug dealing drug use and public drinking are tolerated to a degree The Tam Tams is strongly associated with cannabis culture and though Montreal police are generally present they tend to disregard consumption of alcohol and cannabis The general rule observed by Montrealers and respected by the police is discretion moderation and not consuming in view of children See also EditDrum circle Hand drumReferences Edit Cartier returns Montreal Gazette May 23 2008 Archived from the original on 8 November 2012 Retrieved 31 March 2010 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tam tams du mont Royal Online documentary Tam Tam Montreal Sunday in the Park CITIZENShift Tam Tams A short film Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tam Tams amp oldid 1116521506, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
