A few festivals to follow

Wednesday 09 July 2008

Check our schedule for French and international 'not-to-be-missed' festivals. FRANCE 24 will be covering them all through the summer.

Garden festival  of Chaumont-sur-Loire, France

April 30 - October 19
www.chaumont-jardins.com

Walk through the Chaumont-sur-Loire estate adorned with 26 newly-created gardens. The theme this year - ‘Gardens to share’- draws on the experience of communal gardens in New York, Paris and Berlin. A poetic and green experience!
Watch the report

Forde’s folk music fest
July 3-6
http://www.norvege.be/culture/music/f%C3%B8rdefestivalen.htm

For the past 19 years, the little town of Forde has been home to Scandinavia’s biggest music festival. This summer, the event celebrates dialogue between cultures, with 330 artists hailing from 41 different countries. Curled up in between fjords, mountains and spectacular waterfalls, more than 25,000 spectators gather to dance with the Gypsy Queens & Kings or listen to Senegal’s Lions of Africa.
Watch the report

"Inferno" by Romeo Castellucci, at the Avignon festival.

Festival of Avignon, France
July 4-26
www.festival-avignon.com

This festival created in 1947 by Jean Vilar has become one of the most important events dedicated to theatre. For three weeks, the whole city of Avignon is taken over by  play performances. The Festival’s main programme revisits the great classical texts and presents the latest contemporary creations while the ‘fringe’ festival showcases hundreds of original creations. French actress Valérie Dréville and Italian writer and director Romeo Castellucci are the "associated artists" for this year's edition.
Watch the report

Musilac festival
July 11 - july 33
www.musilac.com/

For the seventh-year running, the Musilac festival is taking place on Lac du Bourget, in the Savoie region of France. This festival hosts young talent, confirmed artists and true stars from the pop-rock scene, like Babyshambles, Yael Naim and Hocus Pocus. The French song will be represented by Vanessa Paradis, Thomas Dutronc, and Rita Mitsouko’s singer. During three days, this musical event will draw attention to this town normally known for its thermal baths.
Watch the report

Arles Photography festival, France

July 8 - September 14

www.rencontres-arles.com

The southern city of Arles is hosting the 39th year of its summer photography festival. This year’s guest organizer is Christian Lacroix, a local. “The resultant programme is a most unexpected one,”says François Hébel, the festival’s director. (There are) few fashion images, but a broad range of interests including vernacular photography, aesthetic explorations, political commitment and – of course – Lacroix’s own creative world.”
Watch the report

Achinto Bhadra, "Refuge Tree", at the Arles Photography festival

Jordan Festival, Jordan
July 8- August 9

www.visitjordan.com/jordanfestival/

For the first year ever, Jordan throws itself in the organization of a world-class festival with artists from all over the world including Diana Krall, Mika, Placido Domingo, Amr Diab, Mohammed Abdu, Julia Migenes, Elissa, Georges Wassouf or Tamer Hosni. The festival isn’t all about concerts; it includes exhibitions of contemporary photography by artists such as David Lynch, Steve McCurry, Nadim Asfar, Youssef Nabil and Taysir Batniji. A monumental 500-metre-high work by celebrated Swiss photographer Beat Streuli will be erected at the entrance to the Petra archeological site designated in July 2007 as one of the new world wonders.
Watch the report

 
Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland
July 4-19
www.montreuxjazz.com

It’s been a while since Montreux stopped being a festival just for jazz purists. But the lineup is still as attractive as ever! Leonard Cohen, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, Herbie Hancock, Al Jarreau, Alicia Keys, Deep Purple, Quincy Jones or Lenny Kravitz will follow one and other onstage by Lake Geneva.
 
 

 
A musical strolling through Reims, France
June 19 - August 3
www.flaneriesreims.com

The Reims festival brings you the creme de la creme of the opera scene but also jazzman Eric Löhrer and singer Cassandra Wilson. The festival daringly mixes styles and influences, classical piano and spoken word, as well as Brigitte Engerer’s romanticism and improvisation by Guillaume de Chassy.

American pianist Brad Mehldau, invited at "Jazz in Marciac", August 9th

 
The Jazz in Marciac Festival, France
August 1- 17
www.jazzinmarciac.com

Far out in the Gers region, every August, the village of Marciac every August one of the key spot for jazz lovers in Europe. McCoy Tyner, Bobby McFerrin, John Zorn, Caetano Veloso make up a swinging lineup. And in between the shows, there’s Floc (a sweet, locally-produced wine) and foie gras to last through the night.
Watch the report
 

 
Saint-Céré Festival, France
July 29 – August 16
www.opera-eclate.com

The Tales of Hoffmann, the Barber of Seville, the Carrot King… The opera festival of Saint-Céré promises to be sparkling and funny. It is a world in itself inside the world of opera, a place for young aspiring opera singers to make their debut.

FRANCE 24 will be there soon. Watch for our coverage.

Read our article: Saint-Céré, showcasing young singers

The Vezelay Festival, France
August 21 - 24
www.rencontresmusicalesdevezelay.com

This renowned centre for vocal music will this year be exploring the music played in royal courts throughout Europe. A different take on the shared heritage of the European people.