Friday, September 14, 2012

Something for the Weekend (September 14th - 16th)


This weekend marks the real return to normality in Paris - and therefore the return of Paris Weekends! There's a lot happening in and around the city, so make sure you plan carefully!


The Journées du Patrimoine
France's annual heritage days weekend always offers a host of interesting possibilities. On the Invisible Paris blog I have listed the 10 I'm most looking forward to.

http://www.journeesdupatrimoine.culture.fr/  


The Techno Parade
I have been in Paris long enough to remember the first edition of this procession of electronic music (in 1998), and it has changed a lot since that time. Originally an event to promote an alternative music scene, it has become more and more mainstream, with the parade dominated by major labels and the largest radio stations. Under the title 'Renew' this year though, organisers hope that they will be able to go back to the roots of the event, and find a more underground angle. This may not be the case on the parade itself, but you'll be sure to find this spirit in some of the official and non-official 'off' events organised in bars and clubs across the capital.

http://www.technoparade.fr/


The Battle of the Music Festivals
This weekend you'll find not one but two music festivals in the Paris area. One clean and chic in the Parc de Bagatelle gardens to the west of Paris, and one a little less polished to the east. I know which one sounds the most fun to me.

We Love Green
Positioning itself as an enviromentally friendly - or neutral - festival, We Love Green will feature sets by artists such as Charlotte Gainsbourg and James Blake alongside dry toilets and organic food vans.

Fête de l'Humanité
Ostensibly an event to raise money for the French communist party and its mouthpiece, the L'Humanité newspaper, the Fête de l'Humanité is today better known for the quality of artists it draws and the comparitively cheap ticket prices. New Order, Peter Doherty and Patti Smith will be performing, alongside chemical toilets and greasy burger vans! 


Rue Stick
Is there also room for a street art festival in this busy weekend? Yes there is! Rue Stick began as a guerilla movement, attacking en-masse blank walls across Paris (as featured on Invisible Paris), but today they work closely with towns who invite them to decorate their streets for a day or weekend. This time round you'll find them in Puteaux, at the feet of the La Defense towers.

http://rue-stick.com/evenement/rue-stick-a-puteaux


No comments: