Digging up dirty laundry

Mysteries of Montreal: A Hidden History of Canada takes participants on a tour of Old Montreal and Griffintown for an alternative history lesson promising "all the grit and grime, blood and blackmail, fraud and felony left out of the official accounts." Balconville author David Fennario, who adapted this tour from his play Gargoyles, explains: "We always get the Westmount version of history, so the tour explores the Point St-Charles/Verdun point of view--we're banned in Westmount, by the way." Among other scandals, Fennario delves into the assassination of D'Arcy McGuee: "They know who did it, they hanged the wrong guy," he says, also promising "50 laughs," and "PG language."

"It's pretty far-fetched, some of this stuff, but it's all based on facts and figures I've been reading up on all my life." Tours depart from the de Mainsonneuve statue at Place d'Armes, Thursday-Sunday at 1 p.m., until September 5, $12. :

--Lorraine Carpenter

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