Gay Pride, 2010
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, June 20, 2011 • Paris, France
Dear Parler Paris Reader,
This is the week of the year that to which I look forward more than any other in Paris.
FETE DE LA MUSIQUE
It's music to my ears! Tomorrow night, the whole world takes to the streets to enjoy thousands of free concerts by anyone wishing to make music. It's "Fête de la Musique" -- the 30th edition organized by the Ministry of Culture and Communication at the request of Jack Lang on the eve of the Summer Solstice. Expect it to stay light until 9:58 p.m.!
The event has spread like wildfire -- to all of Europe in 1985 and now in the last 15 years, the festival will be celebrated in more than 100 countries and on five continents.
This year the gardens of the Palais Royal are on being transformed to play "Musique des 3 Océans"...starting at 4:30 p.m. with Gospel and continuing all through the evening with eight other performances, ending with a Caribbean group at 11 p.m. It seems this is THE place to be! Read all about it at fetedelamusique.culture.fr/fr/palais-royal/
It sounds awfully appealing, but I'm still hung up on my own 'hood' -- Le Marais -- where there is always LOTS going on at every corner and then some...from the Place des Vosges, to the Mairie du 3ème to the Archives Nationales and on and on. It all starts at about noon, but by 8 p.m. it will be in full swing. There will be street food galore, as expect the restaurants, particularly those with outdoor terraces, to be packed, so be prepared to dine early or late or take it with you.
For a listing of all the venues, visit the official site atfetedelamusique.culture.fr/fr/ but to find the online program, click on:
fetedelamusique.culture.fr/fr/edition-2011/programme/programme/
A Nous Paris is the official guide, so pick up a free copy at any Métro station or download the official online version atanous.fr/data/viewer/paris/527/pageflip.html
You can also download the app by visiting the Apple Store atitunes.apple.com/app/id434818379. It's the most convenient way to see what's on and make your plan.
For those of you in New York and vicinity...your own "Fête de la Musique" takes place as "Make Music New York" -- this year being your 5th edition! Even with free concerts all over the five boroughs (1,000 or more), I encourage you to stop by Lincoln Center, Hearst Plaza (right behind Avery Fisher Hall, in front of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, across from Juilliard near West 65th Street) where friends of Parler Paris will be performing as part of the Collegiate Chorale at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. The program will be a potpourri including excerpts from the Brahms Requiem and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass as well as several spirituals and show tunes like Oklahoma, a medley of Tonight and Somewhere from West Side Story, Oh, I Can’t Sit Down from Porgy and Bess and It’s a Grand Night for Singing from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s State Fair.
GAY PRIDE PARADE
This is when I get ready to laugh my rainbow pants off!
The parade themed "Pour l’égalité, en 2011 je marche, en 2012 je vote" ("For Equality in 2011 I walk, I vote in 2012"), starts Saturday, June 25th, at Montparnasse at 2 p.m. and takes boulevards de Montparnasse, Port Royal, St-Michel, St. Germain, Pont de Sully, and boulevard Henri IV to land at the Place de la Bastille in the early evening.
At 4:30 p.m., the procession will observe three minutes of silence to show support for the fight against AIDS. Upon arrival of the procession on the Place de la Bastille, the Inter-LGBT in collaboration with the support of the Ile-de-France and its partner PARISCIRCUIT, is sponsoring a free concert from 4 to 9 p.m. At 8 p.m., a giant KISS-IN will take place at the Place de la Bastille!
Ok...this is a first (for me, anyway!)...everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity are invited to come for a few minutes kissing (anyone and everyone) to show that "love is universal and knows no discrimination." This is NOT to be missed!
Visit http://marche.inter-lgbt.org/ for more information.
As every year, I will be waiting for the parade to pour in the Place de la Bastille while drinking on my favorite drink -- "Perroquets" (sirop de menthe, pastis [liqueur à l'anis] and water) at the Café Français (starting about 3:30 - 4 p.m., 3 Place de la Bastille). When the parade hits the spot, we (whoever wants to join in!) then take to the street to walk into the parade so that by the time we get the Pont de Sully, we have seen all the floats and all the paraders and laughed our sweet buns off, not to mention taken a zillion photos.
Any of you who would like to join me...you are welcome!
A la prochaine...
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
with Sylvia Whitman of Shakespeare and Company
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P.S. Congratulations to the winners of the Paris Literary Prize as announced last Thursday, June 16th, at the Sociéte des Gens de Lettres, sponsored by Shakespeare and Company Bookshop and the de Groot Foundation: Adam Biles and Agustin Maes finalists and Rosa Rankin-Gee, winner. For more information, visit parisliteraryprize.com
