MONTREAL -- Giant puppets, street parties and social media-savvy bridge lights are just some of the ways Montreal is planning to celebrate its 375th birthday next year.

The date coincides with the 150th anniversary of Canada's founding and, to celebrate, the city is throwing itself a $100-million bash that includes cultural and historical events, festivals and shows to run throughout 2017.

The commissioner of the group organizing the festivities says the city can do with a good party after a recent tough six or seven years that included the Charbonneau Commission looking into corruption in the construction industry.

"We needed that breath of fresh air," Gilbert Rozon said. "We needed to give some love back to Montreal, and also to bring some tourism to Montreal."

The year-long celebration, which will actually kick off in December, making it 375 days long, includes more than 200 events both lavish and local.

On the grander side of the scale is a $39.5-million plan to light the Jacques-Cartier Bridge beginning May 17, the same date in 1642 when a group of missionaries and French colonists founded what was then a mission called Ville-Marie.

The bridge will be fitted with 2,800 lights that will change colour according to the season.

The speed, movement and intensity of the lights can also be changed to reflect the current traffic, weather forecasts or what Montrealers are discussing on social media, in order to "reflect the energy of the city" in a subtle way, Rozon said.

The events kick off in December with a variety show, televised on several French-language networks and where the programming will be unveiled.

Highlights of the first months include outdoor winter games, a gathering of 50 top chefs and lighting shows to illuminate the frosty months.

The summer will feature daily outdoor theatre performances, a carnival in each of the city's 19 boroughs and a specially created performance by the giant marionettes of the Royal de Luxe street theatre company.

Outside the budget for the celebrations, the city has also earmarked about $300 million for a series of "legacy" infrastructure projects including renovations to Saint-Joseph's Oratory, improvements to green spaces, public art and a 3.8-kilometre pedestrian walkway to connect the St. Lawrence River to the foot of Mount Royal.

On a smaller scale, the city has also approved some 100 neighbourhood projects run by community organizations.

The projects are scattered throughout the city, and two-thirds of them have a historical component.

These are wide-ranging, from podcast walking tours of Notre-Dame-de-Grace to a country music festival in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve to the temporary revival of Belmont Park, a long-closed amusement park in Ahuntsic-Cartierville.

Not all Montrealers are on board with the lavish celebrations, and some of the anniversary projects have been met with criticism.

A planned series of sculptures on Mount Royal have been likened to granite tree stumps, and a petition against the project has garnered more than 2,600 signatures.

Others have criticized the $40-million price tag to illuminate the bridge, suggesting the money could be better invested in fixing the city's crumbling infrastructure.

But although the budget far exceeds the amounts spent by cities such as Toronto and Vancouver to celebrate various anniversaries, Rozon believes the event will turn a profit.

He says the $100-million budget has already generated more than $300 million worth of projects, by funding them partially and asking organizers to find private sponsors and other levels of government to fund the rest.

He says hotels are already selling out, restaurants will be full and jobs will be created.

"It's not just a party -- it's a business," he said. "It's more tourism, more sports, more tax, more employment.

"Let's showcase what we do best, let's put Montreal on the radar, and let's make sure the tourists who come will be blown away."

If you go:

Check out the event's website at www.375mtl.com.