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Jersey will this week say 'bienvenue' to a dozens of musicians, performers and producers from across the water as a festival celebrating all things French gets underway today.
Le French Festival starts today and lasts until 15 July, with six days packed full of entertainment from live music, juggling, puppetry and cinema to opera and history – and filled to the brim with food and drink.
Granville-based group Strand Hugg will celebrate the Viking origins of our Norman friends, while the jazz band Tchiki Fonk also makes a warm return visit to the island.
The festival, which first took place in July 2017, aims to restores a tradition of cultural celebration with the island's French neighbours that started in the 1980s.
This year's focus will be the region of Normandy. Normandie Attractivité invites the island, on Thursday 11 July, to partake in an evening dedicated to the area's products and heritage.
Islanders will be able to enjoy a number of treats from 18:00 onwards at the Weighbridge, ranging from Norman cider to caramels d’Isigny and terrines au Camembert.
Christine Bonhomme, Directrice of the Maison de la Normandie et de la Manche, said: “We are delighted to bring a Norman flavour to Le French Festival programme of events with many artists, specialists, scholars and traders coming from Normandy. In addition to highlight the particular connection between Jersey and Normandy.”
The majority of events are free, including the live screening of Rennes Opera’s production of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, which will be broadcast live from the Rennes Opera House in Brittany, and closes the festival on 15 July at the Arts Centre.
Chairman of the organising committee, Deputy Montfort Tadier, commented: “France and all things French have a special place in the heart and psyche of Jersey life.
“This festival is a great way for us to reconnect with the rich offering that France, its culture, art and heritage have to offer.”
CLICK HERE for the full programme of events.
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