Ahhhh, Halloween and the French. Kind of a mismatch. I’ll give them credit, hey have tried to make a go of it (well, candy companies and Disney have tried to earn a euro off of it), but it never really has taken off as hoped. This all started in the late 90s, but suffice it to say the French aren’t really into carving gords into goofy or scary faces, or going door to door begging for des bonbons. The children do dress up, sometime around the 31st (not always on the exact day, you never know), and some may come around their apartment building or neighborhood to show off their costume before heading to a small “‘Alloveen” party at a friend’s house, but nothing like you see in the U.S.
However…if you happen to be in Paris this Halloween, which falls on a Friday, you’re in luck. Pourquoi? Well, Friday Night Fever is a weekly roller skating/inline skating event where tens of thousands of skaters (we’re talking up to 25,000) take to the streets of Paris for a 3 hour skate. This Friday night you will easily see costumes added to the mix of fleeting skaters. Be aware, the French tend to stick to the traditional ghost/vampire/witch costume so there probably won’t be a lot of variety, but it will be REAL fun to see 25,000 of these whiz through the streets of Paris.
Friday Night Fever begins at 10:00 p.m. at Montparnasse and takes 3 hours. If you can’t participate, just line the Boulevard St. Germain sometime after 10 and watch the parade, it’s huge fun.
For more info, check out Pari-roller.com.
Check out this art fair, which brings 180 international galleries together in three key spots in Paris: The Grand Palais, The Cour Carré du Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens.
At the Grand Palais you can see modern art and design.
At the Louvre, you can see artists of the future and upcoming trends. The Louvre will also be hosting theatre, dance and music performances.
The Tuileries Gardens exhibit will be mostly sculptures.
October 23 - October 26, 2008
Grand Palais: 12-noon to 8pm.
Cour Carrée of the Louvre: 1pm-9pm.
Tuileries gardens - 7.30am to 7.30pm
Full price : 25 euros
It’s back! It’s time again to experience the beauty of Paris bathed in lights, the night of October 4.
How is this any different from other nights, you ask? Well, usually the lights go out in the wee hours. But this night, the night of Nuit Blanche, they burn til dawn. And there’s fun stuff to do, to boot!
For the seventh consecutive year, Paris will be illuminated all night long with light designs by famous artists and designers. The five major Parisian train stations will be the focal points of this year’s edition of Nuit Blanche… Churches, towers, monuments, and in particular, Paris’s major train stations bathed in light will for this occasion become the places to visit.
There will be concerts, dance, live performances, light shows, art exhibits, and “surprises”….
This is a really fun, unique event in Paris. It’s safe, don’t worry, and it’s everywhere. Just follow the light! Or if you don’t know where to go, head to a train station and take it from there!
