After my little Parisian summer guide, I figured I should also put together a similar guide, but one that talks about events all over France.
Be careful though, this is by no means exhaustive, because contrary to what many people tell me in the comments when they thank “the team” at Mademoiselle Bon Plan, in reality, besides a few very occasional contributors, this team is actually just one person… who obviously can’t write near-complete articles for you (even if she would very much like to be able to, and is, by the way, thinking very seriously about stopping sleep to write articles instead, but she tells herself that her body might not agree…).
The 10th anniversary of the Carcassonne Off Festival
This Off festival, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, offers quality performances with national and international artists (such as Thomas Fersen or Kavinski) who will take the stage in the medieval city, and all are accessible for free.
On the program: circus, dance, concerts, and theater.
from June 19 to August 2, 2014
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Le Voyage à Nantes
Nantes’ summer cultural program is extremely rich. Indeed, during the summer, contemporary art invades the city’s public space. From June 27 to August 31, 2014, a path through the city, a “nomadic museum,” offers tourists and Nantes locals the chance to travel through the vision of artists across several sites in Nantes.
The city’s Museum of Fine Arts (currently closed for renovations), which is participating in the operation, is displaying its collections in 8 locations throughout the city:
- an exhibition on Fernand Léger at the Oratory Chapel (06/22 to 09/22) – free admission on Sunday, September 7 and for Heritage Days (September 20 and 21) – open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- works by Aida Makoto at the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany – free admission – open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Sculpture at the Museum exhibition: Canova, Rodin, Pompon at the Atelier – free admission – open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- works by Anne and Patrick Poirier at Le Lieu Unique, at the Sainte-Croix Passage, at the National School of Architecture, at the Regional House of Architecture of the Pays de la Loire and at the Temple of Taste – free admission – open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- “molts” by Huang Yong Ping at the Hab Galerie – free admission – open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The tip: if you are going to Nantes, don’t hesitate to grab the little free cultural magazine Haut Parleur (monthly), you will find plenty of nice outing ideas.
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Nuits Romanes in Poitou-Charentes
Over 170 evenings offer the public the chance to marvel at the lighting of Romanesque buildings and attend over 250 free shows performed by ensembles and companies from both local and national and international renown from June 28 to September 13, 2014.
On the program: concerts (contemporary music, classical, gospel, jazz, world music…) and shows (circus, dance, fire arts, street arts…) will be available throughout the Poitou-Charentes Region, in the four departments of the region (Vienne, Deux-Sèvres, Charente, and Charente-Maritime).
10 exceptional evenings to celebrate the 10 years of the event will enchant the nights, like the new circus show by the company Deus Ex Machina on July 19, the alliance of classical music and hip hop dance with the Orchestre des Champs Elysées and the Centre Chorégraphique National La Rochelle Poitou-Charentes on August 2, or the contemporary musical creation by the Ars Nova ensemble with the vertical dance company Retouramont on August 20…
Finally, on September 13, the Envolée Chromatique collective will close this 10th edition of Nuits Romanes with a monumental urban opera.
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Electrobeach Festival 2014
This electronic music festival will be held on Friday, July 11 and Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Port-Barcarès in the south of France.
The seaside resort is preparing to welcome new artists and big names in electronic music for a great program, with the exclusive presence in France of Calvin Harris, Axwell, Armin van Buuren, Fatboy Slim, Example, and the British rapper Tinie Tempah.
Also added to the program, the Dutch DJ who is on the rise R3hab will make a stop at Electrobeach in the middle of his world tour.
Among the new artists announced are DJ Snake (the French star DJ of the moment), the Russian duo Hard Rock Sofa, the Canadian duo Sultan and Ned Shepard, the Frenchman Sébastien Benett, and Manu Dibango.
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White picnics at the Eyrignac gardens
Every Monday evening from July 14 to August 18 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., white picnics are held in one of the most beautiful gardens in France in the Dordogne near Sarlat.
On the program: a bartender who will serve mojitos and other colorful cocktails, a DJ throughout the evening with a program combining Lounge atmosphere and Electro Dance, mood lighting punctuated in the White Garden, and a flight of Thai lanterns to celebrate the first and last evening of the summer, July 14 and August 18.
Adults: €15 – Children (5-12 years): €6.50 – Teenagers (13-18 years): €8.50
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International Mechanical Music Festival
Mechanical music and gastronomy in the spotlight at the High Savoyard resort of Les Gets, which will host the 16th edition of the International Mechanical Music Festival from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20.
No fewer than 430 artists from all over Europe and South America will revive and develop an original and exceptional musical, technical, and artistic heritage: that of mechanical music.
In the heart of the village, singers, street artists, and living automatons, the sounds of barrel organs and fairground organs, these astonishing musical machines take you on a journey to another era.
Gastronomy will be the central theme of the festival, which each of the artists will illustrate with creativity, humor, and emotion. More than a hundred shows, conferences, and concerts on the menu….
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I wish you all a very beautiful summer (which will eventually arrive, there is no doubt about it…) and above all, enjoy all these events (as well as all the others I couldn’t talk about) to escape a little, a lot, madly… we all really need it, I think.
