Music Day, also known in other countries as World Music Day, is held every year in France. This year, for its 29th anniversary, the event will put the spotlight on women… So let’s meet on Monday 21st June !

Be they music composers , opera singers, conductors, street singers, songwriters or DJs, the focus will be put on their creativity, their struggles and the deep and true nature of their music.

Since ancient times, women have always been an endless source of inspiration that has inspired the greatest melodies. Muses, singers or musicians, they take a leading part in the practice of this art. In order to pay a tribute to them, the 29th edition of Music Day in France will be focused on “music and women”.

This unifying theme will provide an opportunity for all artists, whether they are amateurs or professionals, to celebrate Music Day and women by interpreting compositions made by or for women … A large selection in prospect !

For one day and one night, French cities and towns will be swept away by all kinds of music, with concerts, free events and also the possibility of discovering amateur music players or singers in pubs and cafés.

More information: 2010 Music Day – www.fetedelamusique.culture.fr

Source: presse release “Fête de la Musique 2010″

Spring will soon be here and so does the festival season ! Without necessarily giving you an comprehensive list, here is an overview to our selection of France’s coming festivals…

• In April:

Printemps de Bourges, from April 13 to 18, will start proudly the festival season by celebrating its 34th anniversary. More info: http://www.printemps-bourges.com/en/home/welcome.php

• In June:

Hellfest open air, from June 18 to 20 for its 5th edition in Clisson, Western France. This 2010 edition already promises to be THE  major metal event ever organised in France! More info: www.hellfest.fr

Solidays, from June 25  to 27, at the Longchamps-Paris racecourse, this festival will bring together many artists all commited to the fight against AIDS. More info: www.solidays.org

• In July:

Eurockéennes of Belfort, from July 2 to 4 : this rock festival will bring together 80 artists on 5 different stages. The must-see artists: Jay-Z, Mika, The Hives, Charlotte Gainsbourg. More info: www.festival.eurockeennes.fr

The Avignon Theatre Festival from July 7 to 27, is a major and must-attend event of the european art life. For 3 weeks, this the festival will please theatre lovers with its 64th edition.  More info: www.festival-avignon.com

Francofolies, from July 13 to 17 , in La Rochelle, western France. New places, new names, new artists on stage to give you more fun and emotions!  The must-see artists: Phœnix, Diam’s, Émilie Simon, Cœur de Pirate. More info: www.francofolies.fr

Vieilles Charues, from July 15 to 18, in Carhaix, Brittany. The must-see artists: Muse, Mika, Indochine, Alain Souchon. More info: www.vieillescharrues.asso.fr

Musilac, from July 16 to 18, in Aix-Les-Bains, Esplanade du Lac, southern France, will celebrate its 9th anniversary. The must-see artists: Pony Pony Run Run, M, ZZ Top, Peter Doherty, Luke, Indochine, Cœur de Pirate. More info: www.musilac.com

• In August:

Route du Rock, will take place from August 13 to 15, in Saint Malo – Le Fort Saint Père, Brittany, for its 20th edition. The must-see artists: Massive Attack, The Flamming Lips, Yann Tiersen. More info: www.laroutedurock.com

Rock en Seine, will be held in the Saint Cloud gardens from August 27 to 29 for its 8th edition. The must-see artists: Blink 182, Arcade Fire, Cypress Hill, Queens of the Stone Age, The Kooks, Foals and  Massive Attack. More info: www.rockenseine.com

On the occasion of the International Women’s Day (March 8th) and the World Poetry Day (March 21st), this 12^th edition of the Poetry Festival « Le Printemps des Poètes » in France will focus on the theme of women.

The inauguration evening will take place on Monday, March 8 at the Opéra Comique, with Dominique Blanc, Brigitte Fontaine and Carolyn Carlson.

Celebrated throughout France, the event will especially highlight the work of Andrée Chedid with the 2^nd Andree Chedid’s sung poem contest with Matthieu Chedid as the  president of the jury. The actress Dominique Blanc will be the sponsor of the event.

An original exhibition, entitled “au fil des mots”, will present a selection of poems having a focus on the theme of hope, body and love. These poems have been reinterpreted by designers and artists who bring their own graphic layout of a short text. The set will be embroidered by women of Swaziland, sick of HIV. This work will give them an income. About thirty works will be exhibited throughout the year 2010.

More information:

2010 Poetry Festival: www.printempsdespoetes.com

Come and attend one of the numerous Christmas festivals.

To access some of them the entry fee can be a toy so that the most disadvantaged children can have a present for Christmas. Others will even make your toys. Others will make you dance (metal, rock, etc.).

Let’s discover our selection !

« Les rockeurs ont du cœur » Festival in Nantes…

… is a three day concert festival taking place in three different places. The entry fee is a €10 toy. The toys collected will be given out to the region’s disadvantaged children by French charity « Les Restos du Cœur ».

The programme : well known French artists and bands such as Jeanne Cherhal, Chasseloup, Monsieur Mouch, Lili Marto, Le mystère des voix de garage and a guest star…

More information:

« Les Rockeurs ont du Cœur » Festival : www.lesrockeurs.com

For toys lovers…

« Noël au Pays du Jouet » Festival in the Jura region

« Noël au Pays du Jouet » is an artistic, educational and playful event especially dedicated to children and takes place from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th December.

This event conveys the cultural identity of the region with an original programme : more than 30 shows with a focus on tales, music, puppet shows and creations from a dozen artists (Zic Zazou, Carton Louf, 7Zarts, Les Zanimos, Gérard Dalton, etc.).

Educational and playful workshops for children (from 4 years old) will stress on discovering, creating and experimenting. At the end of the workshop session, the children will be able to take their work with them as a souvenir of this memorable event.

The Christmas market remains a must-see attraction with local foods and items, brass bands, cultural exhibitions and many other surprises.

More information:

Office de tourisme Jura Sud : www.jurasud.net

Contact : office.tourisme@jurasud.net

Adresse : 2, place Robert Monnier – 39260 Moirans-en-Montagne

Phone : +33 3.84.42.31.57

And also…

Limoges 17^th Christmas Festival :

This festival, organised by the execution management association and the local cultural centre, is dedicated to discovering metal music on December 18^th and 19^th at the John Lennon cultural centre.

The programme:

December 18^th: let’s rock with local groups such as Dark Night, Exorciser, Unsafe, Land of Unicorn and Jam’s année 80

December 19^th: Top billing folk-metal band ELUVEITIE will make you tremble as well as progressive trash modern band HACRIDE, trash death metal band DESTINY and also two guest stars !

Prices:

€20 full price

€17 with a booking and for the members of the cultural centre

More information:

Cultural Centre: +33 5.55.06.24.83

The « Jeune Public » Festival in Serre Chevalier, from December 21^st to 25^th

For one week, the town of Serre Chevalier will be fully decorated for Christmas and will give way to imagination, dream in relation with the theme of Santa Claus. The « Jeune Public » festival, this year focused on « the Wonderful World of Christmas », is the opportunity to discover every year renowned artists for children.

More information :

Serre Chevalier Tourist Office: www.serre-chevalier.com

Phone: +33 4.92.25.55.00

Rock for Christmas, December 19^th in Berck sur Mer

The Rock en Stock association offers an international programme with 4 bands: PAPERBACK FREUD, a heavy rock’n'roll Swedish band ; DEE’N DEE, a French band ; JOHN CARRIE, an Irish band (mix of rock, pop, blues and roots) ; LES SPLENDIFICS, a French band.

Entry: €5, on-site booking

Phone: +33 6.48.71.38.79

More information:

Association Rock en Stock : www.rockenstock.org

]]> http://www.toorismag.com/en/christmas-festivals-let%e2%80%99s-dream-let%e2%80%99s-help/feed/ 0 http://www.toorismag.com/en/20-french-cities-will-host-the-%c2%ab-culture-bar-bars-%c2%bb-festival-on-november-26-27-and-28-2009/ http://www.toorismag.com/en/20-french-cities-will-host-the-%c2%ab-culture-bar-bars-%c2%bb-festival-on-november-26-27-and-28-2009/#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:21:41 +0000 Toorismag team http://www.toorismag.com/en/?p=490

For its eighth anniversary, once again the « Culture Bar-Bars » festival will raise top line the artistic excitement offered by cafes and bars throughout the year. For 3 days, from November 26 to 28, 2009, more than 300 live shows with over one thousand artists will be offered in 105 participating bars and in 20 cities!

A state of mind.

The festival’s concept is simple: each bar owner has a set of favourite artists  who are in line with his place. The « Cafés Cultures » (Culture Bars) will offer many entertaining live shows: concerts, DJ nights, exhibitions, theater, games, impros, poetry. Therefore, each year there are as many different shows as there are participating bars.

Prevention is a priority at the heart of the festival.

The « Culture Bar-Bars » festival is also an opportunity to take preventive actions towards people. In partnership with associations specialised in prevention, the actions taken will deal with high-risk behaviours as well as taking people to the festival and driving them back home. Several actions will be taken: alcohol test kits, condoms, information materials as well as ear plugs will be given out to people and there will be a stand dedicated to  prevention (especially in Nantes).

More information:

« Culture Bar-Bars » festival: www.bar-bars.com

]]> http://www.toorismag.com/en/20-french-cities-will-host-the-%c2%ab-culture-bar-bars-%c2%bb-festival-on-november-26-27-and-28-2009/feed/ 0 http://www.toorismag.com/en/november-a-month-dedicated-to-documentary-films-2/ http://www.toorismag.com/en/november-a-month-dedicated-to-documentary-films-2/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:52:07 +0000 Toorismag team http://www.toorismag.com/en/?p=448

To celebrate the Month of Documentary Film 10th edition, november is a must-attend event in France, French West Indies and abroad for documentary films.

The aim of this event is to show to an audience, that is getting larger, and make them appreciate the diversity and strength of creative documentary films by uniting many events organised by enthusiastic programmers in different locations.

Venues: libraries and media centres, cinemas, cultural and educational institutions, French cultural centres abroad…

Programme: viewings of heritage, rare or unreleased films, film previews, tributes, topics, debates and meetings with directors…

In France, 16 regions will also host this event (participating regions: Alsace, Aquitaine, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne and Franche-Comté, Brittany, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Guadeloupe, Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Midi-Pyrenées, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, Rhône-Alpes)

More information:

www.moisdudoc.com

www.culture.fr

]]> http://www.toorismag.com/en/november-a-month-dedicated-to-documentary-films-2/feed/ 0 http://www.toorismag.com/en/limousin-spells-of-the-full-moon-festival/ http://www.toorismag.com/en/limousin-spells-of-the-full-moon-festival/#comments Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:30:01 +0000 Toorismag team http://www.toorismag.com/en/?p=255
During summer, from 7 July to 25 August 2009, come celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the tale festival “Spells of the Full Moon”, in the towns of Guéret and Sainte Feyre, in the Creuse area. At the heart of Mounts Guéret, you will have the opportunity to enjoy both a walk and a tale among the wolves of Chabrière. Come and share with your family amazing stories of the storytellers from Limousin and their guests coming from all over the world.

On Tuesday 4 August, Susana Azquinezer, who will offer a walk on the theme “Walking with Wolves”. An open travel with wolves through the imagination of the world. One is greedy, the other terrifying! When leaving for North America, he is the loyal master of wisdom … Through these stories punctuated by a few songs, a walk in the forest, villages,  the court of the tsar, going off to explore the world … Susana sings in Spanish, her kind-hearted language. She tells her stories and gives them rhythm in French, the languages she chose. She combines her South-Amercian enthusiasm with tenderness and jewish humor. Susana shares with us the richness of her knowledge and shows us these distant worlds we dream of.

In July and August, booking advised.
From 7 years old.
Prices: Adults: 8 € / children: 5 €. Family price: 2 children and 2 adults: 21 €.

More information:

Guéret Tourist Office: www.ot-gueret.fr

Limousin Tourist Office: www.tourismelimousin.com

Do you like animals and nature? Then, you will certainly enjoy discovering the abyss of Fage (Gouffre de la Fage in French), in the town of Noailles, in Corrèze area. Enter a wonderful world where nature reigns supreme and imagination is boundless. Here, “stalactite” is a magic word! The world of bats will have no secrets for you. The history and legends of this small animal will be revealed to you. Follow the path of interpretation, read the questions, put your helmet with the light and take the caving trail to find the answers!
Besides, children will be able to unravel the mysteries of excavations and search for bones thanks to the mini-site.

Open daily in July and August from 9.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 7.30pm
From 6 years old. Visits available in English.

More information:

The Abyss of Fage website: www.gouffre-de-la-fage.com

Limousin Tourist Office: www.tourismelimousin.com

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