The world is celebrating hip-hop's 50th birthday. Montreal is about to join the party

As cities around the world get ready to celebrate hip-hop's 50th anniversary, some Montrealers are about to put on a party of their own — and they're trying to go big.

Things kick off Saturday with a free outdoor party at Vinet park in the city's Little Burgundy neighbourhood from noon to 11 p.m.

It will feature a wide range of performers from the worlds of DJing and MCing. Graffiti and b-boying, aspects that were later added to the culture, will also be showcased.

The event's organizer wants to recreate the atmosphere of the New York City block parties that saw the emergence of hip-hop culture in the 1970s.

"It's not like a festival where the stage is high up and you've got barricades. You have to feel like you're in the Bronx,'' said Kevin Calixte, referring to the New York City borough that holds bragging rights as hip-hop's birthplace.

"This is an opportunity to thank, to highlight and to celebrate hip-hop."

Hip-hop's anniversary will be celebrated by people around the world on Aug. 11.

On that day in 1973, a legendary block party featured Clive Campbell, most commonly known as DJ Kool Herc, pioneering the art of the break.

Hip-hop's 50th anniversary has already been celebrated at several award shows this year, including the Grammys and the Juno Awards. Legendary producer DJ Premier performed at this year's Montreal Jazz Festival, paying tribute to hip-hop.

But overall, Calixte felt not enough was being done in Montreal to acknowledge a culture he's been immersed in since he was five years old, one that he describes as "omnipresent."

"You go in your car [and turn on the radio], you go to a coffee shop, a lounge, a terrasse, a club or a wedding, and you hear it, it's everywhere," said Calixte, who has been involved in Montreal's hip-hop scene for years as a show promoter and is the co-host of a weekly podcast called Rapolitik, which features interviews with prominent and up-and-coming local hip-hop artists.

If hip-hop is the star of Saturday's show, the supporting acts will be a long list of the city's performers, including DJ Manifest, DJ Godfather D and Nicholas Craven, who will put the spotlight on the local scene's strength and history.

The block party will also include kiosks, food, activities for children and a live painting show.

Kayiri, a violinist and an MC, is slated to perform a tribute to Bad News Brown, an MC whose violent death in 2011 rocked the local scene.