Something for the Weekend (19th – 21st November)

Wet, wet, wet – a pop group we’d all like to forget and a description of the weather we can expect in Paris this weekend. However, if it is music you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place. The city is staying up late this weekend and tuning up for a weekend of song and dance!

Les Nuits Capitales
Les Nuits Capitales is a new festival, running from the 17th to the 21st November, which is designed to persuade both residents and visitors that the city still offers entertainment after dark. Based around live music and clubbing, it is sometimes difficult to spot what is actually special about the festival at all, as most events are the same as those planned each weekend anyway.

The official site offers full details on the events taking place - http://nuitscapitales.com/en/

There are two curiosities that I have spotted however. Firstly the Glazart venue near La Villette will be letting the London-based Vibe Bar programme the event, and entry is free for UK nationals – if they can show an original identity card!

Secondly, a series of night-time walking tours is also taking place over the weekend, several of which will be organised for English speakers. See this link for more details. - http://paris-insolite.curiocites.com/2010/10/nuits-capitales/

Music & You
Music & You, being held in the Grande Halle de La Villette this weekend, is an exhibition geared towards musicians and lovers of music. Focussing mainly on manufacturers of instruments and equipment, it will also feature a whole series of concerts as well as masterclass sessions from musicians such as Jean-Michel Jarre (Friday 2pm).

The full programme can be found here.

Thos Henley showcase
Thos Henley is a young Paris-based British singer-songwriter who is beginning to make a real name for himself in France. After recently releasing the “Golden Europe” EP, he has picked up a whole series of glowing reviews and is surely a name we will hear a lot more of soon. Catch him for free in an intimate setting (well, the basement of a record shop) whilst you still can!

Thos Henley in showcase at Gibert Joseph
Friday 19th November, 5pm
26-34, Boulevard Saint-Michel 75006

Portes ouvertes Anvers à Abesses
This weekend sees the artists of yet another district open the doors of their studios and ateliers to the general public. Another excuse to wander around areas that are normally inaccessible, but this district is also Montmartre, so that has to promise something a bit special doesn’t it?

The full programme and a downloadable map can be found here: http://www.anversauxabbesses.fr/

Charity run in Buttes Chaumont
If you’re the kind of person who goes for an early morning run on Sundays, why not take the opportunity this weekend to do it for a good cause? From 9am on the 21st, a series of runs will take place in the city’s most interesting park, the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, with money raised going to Amnesty International. Taking part costs 6 Euros for adults, but as well as doing some good for mind, body and spirit, there is also the chance to win cups, medals and t-shirts!

Click here for more details.

Also worth investigating

• Photo Off: A 'young and upcoming photographers art fair' at the Bellevilloise (http://www.photooff.com/PHOTO_OFF.html)
• Braderie de Noël for kids: Bubblemag is organising a charity fair featuring children's clothes, toys, books, DVDs, etc. At the Musée en Herbe, Saturday from 5pm - 8pm. Also, two 'treasure hunts' are available for free download to be completed 'en famille', offering an investigation of the centre of Paris from Chatelet or Palais Royal to the Musée.