What is the point of a food festival when cooking is everywhere, all around us, in the newspapers, books, blogs and now prime time on television ?

What is the point of such a festival when the contemporary eater and professionals swallow, devour, gobble up everyday and at full speed chefs and trends much more than it takes to have eaten one’s fill ?

That is precisely for these reasons that Omnivore Food Festival is more useful than ever.

For six years indeed it has followed the development of cooking by inviting renowned people of French cuisine (Michel Bras, Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Ducasse, Alain Passard, …), often for the first time by giving famous foreign chefs the opportunity to become known (Ferran Adrià, Heston Blumenthal, David Kinch…) and especially by presenting tomorrow’s and today’s great chefs of world cuisine.

It is this sum of experiences, cultures and styles that the Omnivore Food Festival enables to share thanks to on stage demonstrations like a cooking rock concert but also through meeting the partners, exhibitors and festival-goers in the Omnivore village. By bringing several different and top-quality chefs, by giving cooking a public stage to be displayed, examined, discussed, the 6th Omnivore Food Festival continues to maintain the reflection and appetite for cooking.

Useful Information

Prices :

• Sunday 20th February Pass  : €10
• Monday 21st February Pass (Sunday free) : €20
• Tuesday 22 February Pass (Sunday free) : €20
• 2-day Pass (Sunday free) : €70

On-line booking: http://www.omnivore.fr/achat-pass-en-ligne/

Download the full programme: http://www.omnivore.fr/le-programme-2011-2/

More information: Deauville Omnivore Food Festival - www.omnivore.fr

Source: Press Release 2011 Omnivore Food Festival

The Pompidou-Metz Art Centre, which has been a very successful place since it has opened in May 2010 (more than 500,000 visitors in 6 months !), will present in 2011 several major exhibitions. Let’s have an overview of this annual programme with Toorismag…

Chefs-d’Œuvre? Exhibition

Both exhibitions “Chefs-d’œuvre dans l’histoire” (Masterpieces in History) and “Histoires de chefs-d’œuvre” (Stories of Masterpieces) will be shown respectively in the Grande Nef room and in Gallery 1 until July 4th, 2011; “Rêves de chefs-d’œuvre” (Dreams of Masterpieces) will be presented in Gallery 2 until November 7th, 2011.

May 2011: Daniel Buren

In collaboration with the Mudam (Museum of  Modern Art in Luxembourg), this major French contemporary artist will take possession of Gallery 3 with a project specially designed for this space called “Echos, travail in situ”.

September 2011: ERRE Exhibition

A journey to the heart of labyrinth theme in contemporary art. The exhibition will be shown in two rooms (Grande Nef and Gallery 1), i.e. over more than 2,000 m² (from September 10th).

October 2011: Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec Exhibition

First major monographic exhibition dedicated to both famous bretton designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec (from October 15th, in Gallery 3).

For children from 5 to 18 years old

Educational activities are very successful ! Since they have opened in September 2010, bookings pour in and workshops are always full. Suitable for children from 5 to 11 years old and adolescents aged 12 to 18 with prior booking, on Saturdays, Sundays and school holidays.

Price: €3 for a 1-hour workshop.

More information: Pompidou-Metz Art Centre - http://www.centrepompidou-metz.fr/

Source : Press Release Nouveautés 2011 en Lorraine

Then, the forest will tell us its secrets, its sounds and scents, some true cultural and natural essences giving us tales and stories related to plants, trees and animals that live here.

Explore the forest and play

Playing Hänsel and Gretel without getting lost ? This is easy in the forests of the Oise area ! There are many beautiful green places to have fun, to explore, to do sport, or to listen to unique stories : the forest of Ermenonville, 3,300 hectares, the forest of Halatte, 4,300 hectares, the forest of Chantilly, 6,344 hectares.

For children? All year round the Regional Natural Park organises all sorts of “nature” outings with treasure hunts, rallye du patrimoine (a fun way to explore local heritage), collecting clues and discovering small animals in the forest of Ermenonville, introduction to biodiversity through games, narrated hikes with a focus on the historic events of forests, bird feeders and nest boxes making in winter, green-citizenship workshops… a lot of funny activities to make children aware of nature and teach them to respect it.

Family outings? Every first weekend of June, there are many “nature” activities to do throughout the region. More than 100 original and unique ideas in total so that you can try other ways to explore the forest: guided tours, cycling, concerts and natural music instruments making workshops, tree-climbing as well as music and story walks are offered to the public at the heart of the forests of the Oise area.

Explore the forest and listen

Forest-style concerts, observing and listening to birds and red deers’ bellow… all you have to do is listen, wether you are a day-walker or a night-walker being on the lookout for a life signal or complete silence.

Themed-visits, guided tours with guides from the Ministry of Culture, hikes with commentaries by certified nature guides are frequently organised in order to fully enjoy the forest.

Event: do not miss the Forests Festival, featuring classical music in the natural settings of the forest of Compiègne. On programme: hiking-concerts, recitals, music workshops.

New!: night tours are organised to go listen to the great number of small animals of the forests of the Oise area : frogs, woodcocks and bats. In september, another unique outing will give you the opportunity to observe red deers bellowing. At dusk or dawn, immersed in the forest’s scents, walkers will be able to enjoy an amazing natural and musical sight. Actually, this is an awseome experience, and the word is well chosen, in order to better understand animal life and its mysteries !

More information: Picardie Region Tourist Office – http://picardietourisme.com/fr/index.aspx

Source : Press release Destination Oise Vivre La Forêt Autrement

The 9th Children’s Book Festival in Midi-Pyrénées Region will be held on January 28, 29 and 30 in Saint-Orens de Gameville (near Toulouse), with a focus on the following theme « girls, books and boys ». The festival will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Prince de Motordu with cartoonist Pef !

Girls who want to become a fireman, boys who like to play with dolls, a woman who does DIY, a man who cries and expresses his feelings, it does  exist ! What if we invented new games to hear and understand each other ? «The Merchant of monsters, princesses-rugby, acrobatic football, the pastry chef woodcutter and his chainsaw for cakes » (Are you a flower or a cabbage ?by Gwendoline Raisson, Rue du Monde editions).

Stereotypes about girls and boys in children’s literature are still very present. But there are books that help children develop their personality and their potential freely.

Here’s what this festival’s 9th edition offers through dozens of cultural events in the Midi-Pyrénées region: nearly 20 places will be dedicated to children’s books with more than 40 authors and illustrators, unique exhibitions, thousands of books will be presented at the library’s festival and many shows, workshops and activities …

Also, do not miss the 30th anniversary of the Prince de Motordu with Pef !

Useful Info

Free Access

Location: Pierre Paul Riquet High School in Saint-Orens de Gameville.

Phone: +33 5 34 63 98 83

More information: Children’s Book Festival in Midi-Pyrénées Region – http://association.flj.free.fr

Source : Presse Release FLJ 2011

From January 8 to March 23, 2011, Studio 13/16 at the Pompidou Arts Centre presents Play it yourself !, an exhibition with a focus on the virtual world.

Studio 13/16 is the first place that has been exclusively designed for teenagers in a renowned cultural exhibition centre. It is the opportunity for them to experience the relationship between actual creation and video games through a series of activites in which they can take part as well as workshops and events.

The exhibition offers a unique line-up made of meetings with many different artists (visual artists, dancers, DJs, choreographers, video directors, …), workshosps to try out arts in all its forms, unique experiences focusing on interactive works, festive nights and weekends (Studio Party…).

It is the opportunity to understand video games practice, their processes and their designers by taking part in different sorts of activities: trying out video games programming, Game Boy music composition or making their own game console while being with artists who made these practices their creation tool !

Useful Information:

Location: Studio 13/16 (ground-1), Place Georges Pompidou, 75004 Paris

Phone: +33 1 44 78 12 33

Dates : January 8 – March 23, 2011

Open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm to 6 pm de 14h à 18 and during school holidays.

Free access

More information : Play It Yourself !

With a focus on the German post romantics, La Folle Journée 2011 classical music festival spans a century of music from 1850 to 1950, from Johannes Brahms to Richard Strauss and the composers of the Vienna School.

Last major romantic musician and heir to the great German tradition, Johannes Brahms influenced many composers in the second half of the 19th century (Max Bruch, Max Reger in particular), and even Arnold Schönberg in the early 20th century.

At the same time, taking its cue from Liszt’s later work and given impetus by Richard Wagner, who championed “the music of the future”, a strong artistic movement sought to develop a completely new musical language. The Austrians Anton Bruckner (a fierce opponent of Brahms), Gustav Mahler, Hugo Wolf and Alexander Zemlinsky, and the German Richard Strauss (whose long career stretched from the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the period after the Second World War) were part of this movement.

The Vienna School, founded by Arnold Schönberg in the early 20th century and joined by his followers Alban Berg and Anton Webern, was a synthesis of these two antagonistic currents. It seemed to be influenced simultaneously by Brahms and by Wagner, Mahler and Richard Strauss while developing its own aesthetic, which in turn influenced the German composers Paul Hindemith, Carl Orff and Hanns Eisler.

Useful Information

Dates: from Wednesday 2nd to Sunday 6th February

Location: Nantes, at La Cité des Congrès Events Centre

Tickets will be on sale from Saturday, January 8th 2011

Phone: +33 892 705 205 (€0,34/min)

Access : see map

More information: La Folle Journée Classical Music Festival – www.follejournee.fr

Source : Press Release La Folle Journée 2011

In her beautiful private mansion transformed into a guesthouse located in the heart of Carpentras, Gina, warm and passionate owner, invites you to discover the flavours and traditions of Christmas in Provence and will be pleased to have you as a guest in her home to spend the holidays « among friends » .

From December 23 to 26, 2010, enjoy an unforgettable four days and three nights stay :

Thursday, December 23

By late afternoon you will be welcome home with a welcome drink. The feast begins with a delicious « Truffle dinner ».

Friday, December 24

It is market day in Carpentras. What is worth seeing is the truffle market. Be free to discover the town’s Christmas Market and the Nativity Scenes Fair. In the afternoon, you will meet a truffle grower on his land, which will be the opportunity to bring truffles to prepare a Christmas lunch. Then, back at the house where things finally get serious, but always in a good mood: cooking workshop and« Big Dinner » before the midnight mass at the Cathedral, the visit of Santa Claus and the tasting of the famous thirteen desserts.

Saturday, December 25

It is Christmas day, we get up a little late, then we go back in the kitchen to prepare the stuffed chicken for lunch. After a nice walk in the countryside and the surrounding villages, we can now prepare the the recipe of « l’Aïgo Boulido » , a lean soup from Provence so that we can stay fit for the upcoming festive days by eating a light meal.

Sunday, December 26

Gina had kept aside a few truffles. She will help you prepare a brunch and a brouillade (scrambled eggs with truffles) just for leaving with good and tasty memories .

Useful Information

Price per person: from €395 – including double bedroom, breakfasts, diners, 3 cooking classes.

Not included: wines, drinks and transport

Contact : Maison Trévier ‐ Chambres et table d’hôtes – Clévacances 4 Clés – 36, place du Docteur Cavaillon – 84200 Carpentras

Phone +33 4 90 51 99 98 ‐ +33 6 61 48 02 52

Email : contact@maison‐trevier.com

Website : www.maison‐trevier.com

More information: Vaucluse Tourist Office – www.provenceguide.com

Source : Press release Noël en Provence

For those who feel like trying someting else than traditional skiing, the Vosges mountains offer a large range of unique activities. So, let’s have a quick look with Toorismag …

Snowshoe Trekking with Nordic dog

Enjoy a snowshoe hike pulled by a Nordic dog (harnessed to the dog by a belt). It is an ideal activity for small groups wishing to explore snow-covered landscapes.

Dog Sledging

This is a dog sled ride during which you will have the opportunity to discover the mountain and its secrets through forests and glades : tales and legends, fauna and flora … This service includes a sleigh ride of about 1h30 long, a snack and the opportunity to feed the dogs in their parks. It is an ideal activity for families!

Try the trapper experience. After an afternoon full of emotions, hikers have the opportunity to take a snack in a real tipi tent, comfortably seated by the fire, and even spend a “tales and legends” evening to discover the goblins who live in the deep forests of the Vosges.

Contact : +33 6 70 34 71 89 – Email : la.fee.polybotte@orange.fr – Website : www.odysseepolaire.com

Unique nights : sleeping in an igloo or a teepee tent

After a walk in snowshoes, there is nothing like further enjoying the day while sharing a good meal with mulled wine and melted Munster cheese with friends or family by the fire, and spending a good night in the heart of the countryside in an igloo or a teepee tent (from 6 people). In the tepee, a floor was installed for comfort and reindeer skins act as insulation.

Contact: Bureau de Montagne des Hautes Vosges – 5 rue Paul Claudel 88250 La Bresse – Website: www.bmhv.com

Fun hike : in search for the Yeti !

“The group of explorers walks deeper into the forest, following tracks that neither seem to be bear tracks, nor those of a human being but rather a mixture of both: large, deep, with long claws! … Sometimes you can see two or four… When it is time to set up the camp a long frosty scream sounds from the top of the mountain. Since then, we have never seen the explorers again… “

Teams of walkers will leave in search of these lost explorers. Throughout the journey, they will solve riddles, follow tracks and then go back to the root of the scream and find out  the explorers‘ latest writings , which will lead them to the lair of the Yeti …

Contact : mountain guides of  Gérardmer – Phone: +33 6 27 03 64 00 – Website : www.rando-gerardmer.fr

Following mugglers and merchants’ trail

Enjoy a nature focused hike in the Vosges mountains with a mountain guide. 5 days and 4 nights to explore the white desert that covers the peaks, magical landscapes shaped by ice and wind. The stay from 400€ per person includes full board accommodation in hotel or mountain lodge , daily 10 km hike with a professional, snowshoes and poles, luggage portage

Contact : séjours Randos nature à La Bresse – Phone: +33 6 79 33 31 35 – Website: www.randos-sejours.com

In the town of Gérardmer

Gérardmer ski resort also offers night ski sessions on lit slopes with sound system, snowrun, ice karting, snow motorbike or even ice diving. The ski resort has the longest ski slope in the Vosges Mountains,  with more than 3,200 metres !

In the town of Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle

“French pancakes and chalet” focused hike: after a snowshoes night hike with a guide, let’s end the day and have a snack break with crêpes and friendly atmosphere. The evening keeps on at candlelight whilie listening to tales.

Contact : Jean-Louis Fretti – Phone: +33 6 70 55 73 37 – Website: www.rando-vosges.com

More information:

Lorraine Tourist Office – http://www.tourism-lorraine.com/en

Vosges Mountains in Lorraine – www.vosges-lorraine.com

Source : Press release L’Hiver dans les Vosges en Lorraine

We can now start making our Christmas crib. This is an important time for family life in Provence where Christmas crib figures are transmitted from father to son. This beautiful tradition from the Provence region soon spread all over France.

Originally, the crib is a “manger box-shaped more or less long and fitted up, which if necessary could be used as a bed.” The crib is in fact a representation of the ideal Provençe region village where everyone has a place, including pets. The decor is a two-part projection : on the one hand, community life with houses, wells, the oven, water of the mill, snow, pine trees, olive trees and the floodlit sky… and on the other hand, a stable with the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the donkey and the ox, the comet-tailed star, which later will guide the Wise Men, and the people who came to visit them.

Walks from crib to crib

• December 22 and 29, 2010

Start from Carpentras bus station at 1 pm. Bus tour towards the villages of Comtat Venaissin commented by a guide.

Price: €4/pers.
Information and booking : Carpentras Tourist Office – Phone +33 4 90 63 00 78 ‐ www.carpentras‐ventoux.com

• From Saturday 4th Decembre 2010 to Saturday 5th February 2011

Start from Pernes les Fontaines for the cribs path: at the Maison Fléchier, the Comtadin Costume museum, the Church of  Valayans. At the collegiate Church of  Notre Dame de Nazareth from December 20 daily from 9.30 pm to 6 pm.
Contact : Touriste Office ‐ Phone +33 4 90 61 31 04 ‐ email : ot.pernes@wanadoo.fr

Beautiful Nativity Scenes

• Grambois

Church of the village ‐ from Decembre 18, 2010 to February 4, 2011 – Phone +33 4 90 08 97 45
All crib figures represent the locals (Graille, the crib figure maker, has been making these for years, including famous characters too)

• Saint Saturnin les Avignon

Church – from December 25, 2010  to January 3, 2011 from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm and from January 3, 2011to February 1, 2010, every Sunday from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Phone +33 4 90 22 55 16
Discover a Christmas crib over 50 m2 with 25 to 80 cm high animated figures made of carton, stone or wax from the Carmel d’Avignon. A play of light creates day and night effects.

• Séguret

Sainte Thècle Chapel ‐ from November , 2010 to January 31, 2011, on Saturday and Sunday from 2 pm to 6 pm and from December 18, 2010 to Januarty 1, 2011, daily.
Contact: Mr. FARAUD +33 4 90 46 91 08 ‐ Town hall: +33 4 90 46 91 06

• Saumane

80th Crémade great crib ‐ from December 25, 2010 to February 2, 2011. Open every afternoon from 2 pm to 6 pm ‐ Contact: Mrs MONTAGARD – Phone +33 4 90 61 64 74

• Valréas

Church of N‐D. de Nazareth on November 13, 2010 to February 5, 2011 daily from 9 am to 6 pm. Tourist Office – Phone +33 4 90 35 04 71

A 57 m2 crib showing very old figures sometimes hundred year-old figures, from 3 to 120 cm high.

• Pernes les Fontaines

Church of N‐D. de Nazareth – from December 1, 2010 to February 2, 2011. Daily from 9.30 am to 12 and from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm ‐ Phone +33 4 90 61 31 04

• Carpentras

St Siffrein Church ‐ from December 25, 2010 to February 2, 2011. Tourist Office – Phone +33 4 90 63 00 78

A crib with about thirty wax figures from 20 to 60 cm high on several levels.

• Beaumes de Venise

Saint Nazaire Church – from December 18 to 31, 2010 ‐ Tourist Office ‐ Phone +33 4 90 62 94 39

• Avignon

Saint Agricol and Saint Didier Churches ‐ wax figures from December 20 ‐ Phone +33 4 90 82 25 02

At Notre Dame des Doms – from December 20 – XIXth century figures – Phone +33 4 90 82 12 24

Palais du Roure Chapel  ‐ Location: 3, Rue Collège du Roure – December 11, 2010 – February 5, 2011 ‐ Phone +33 4 90 80 80 88

• Monteux

Nazareth Church – from December 4, 2010 to February 5, 2011 from 9 am to 12 h and on request during the afternoon. Phone +33 4 90 66 21 58

• Sault

2nd Génie Foreign Regiment ‐ December 24, 2010

Worldwide cribs exhibition. Open from 2 pm to 6 pm – Phone +33 4 90 64 01 21

• Blauvac

Notre Dame de Bon Secours Abbey – from December 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011 – Phone +33 4 90 61 81 17

Crib exhibition over an 80m² area

• Châteauneuf du Pape

Notre Dame de l’Assomption Church – from December 14, 2010 to January 31, 2011. Phone +33 4 90 83 71 82

17 figures of about 70 cm high dating back to the 19th or beginning of the 20th century, some of them are made of wax, others of roman carton. For visiting, please contact Father Roux.

More information: Vaucluse Tourist Office – www.provenceguide.com

From December 1, 2010 to January 2, 2011, the company of the Horse Living Museum (Musée Vivant du Cheval) presents its brand new Christmas show called « the Horses of the Wind Odyssey », which will transport the audience into the mystery of mythology.

Useful information

Access: http://www.museevivantducheval.fr/fr/se-rendre-a-chantilly.p15.html

Information and Bookings: +33 3 44 27 31 80

Price (adult) : €22
Price (child): €16,50 (from 4 to 17)

Dates of shows:

• 2.30 pm : December 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16
• 2.30 pm and 4.30 pm : December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and January 2, 2011
• 3 pm : December 25 and January 1

More information:

Picardie Tourist Office – http://picardietourisme.com/fr/actualite/spectacle-noel-chantilly-odyssee-des-chevaux-du-vent.aspx

The Horse Living Museum (Musée Vivant du Cheval) – www.museevivantducheval.fr

Source : Press release L’Odyssée des Chevaux du Vent