Alliance Française de Ballarat | Community organisation

Alliance Française de Ballarat

Phone: +49 7549 138

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25.01.2022 Les lumières de Lyon.

24.01.2022 Our first event post-lockdown is our Christmas soirée on November 27 with a special meal at The Canberra Hotel provided free to Alliance française 2020 members. Guests welcome at $50 a head. Check your newsletter for details. RSVP essential by November 20, as numbers are limited. And to everyone, we wish you a Joyeux Noel et Bonne année 2021 !

23.01.2022 The santons are a tradition in the south of France. Have you seen them?

19.01.2022 Quelle célébration ! A chance to (finally) connect with each other and enjoy a sumptuous meal after a very long year! Alliance française de Ballarat members out and about at our end-of-year dinner in the garden of the stunningly Art Deco Canberra Hotel.

19.01.2022 Bonne Fête Nationale (or Bastille Day in Australia) With our celebration in 2020 of ‘le quartorze juillet’ cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, SBS On Demand has come to our rescue with a program of 10 French films to watch in our own time. Choose from: Let the Sunshine In (2017) drama starring Juliette Binoche; Tell No One (2006) thriller starring Franois Cluzet; Farewell (2009) drama; See You Up There (2017) set in 1919 post WW1; Delicatessen (1991) dark comedy; Café de... Flore (2011) by Quebecois director Jean-Marc Vallée; The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) autobiography of Jean-Dominique Bauby; Amour (2012) gentle drama on ageing; La Vie en Rose (2007) life of Edith Piaf starring Marion Cotillard; and Amélie (2001) good natured whimsy starring Audrey Tatou. Although you may have seen some before, they are well worth a second viewing. Check them out at www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/ See more

17.01.2022 May 1 - Labour Day in France is represented by 'un brin de muguet' (a sprig of lily-of-the-valley) which is picked and given to people, also marking the first day of spring.

17.01.2022 Study verbs while you remain indoors.

15.01.2022 A special presentation of Life Membership to former president, Richard McRoberts, a member for 32 years and lifelong Francophile. Congratulations Richard. And to Julie, who won our Lucky Door prize.

14.01.2022 February 2: La Chandeleur (or Candlemas) La Chandeleur is a French holy day where most French households will eat crêpes at dinner time. This tradition finds its origins in an old Roman ritual of harvest and fertility and falls around mid-winter, generally 40 days after Christmas. The crêpe is round and golden, reminding us of the sun to come, whose warmth will make the harvest possible. Une crêpe = (white) wheat dough = a French pancake which can be garnished with savoury or sweet toppings. Une galette = buckwheat dough = usually much larger, thin and crispy. Generally savoury.

13.01.2022 Christmas in Provence.

13.01.2022 Who you think I am? (Celle que vous croyez). If you're an Alliance member, put Thursday, March 12 in your diary for this French film. Starring Juliette Binoche, the 2019 movie is part romantic drama and part thriller, telling the story of a woman who becomes trapped in her own web of deceit. A 50-year-old divorced teacher, unceremoniously dumped by her younger lover, who hatches a plan of retribution to get even with him by creating a fake persona of a beautiful 24-year-old woman on the internet, but instead of luring her target, it is her ex-lover’s friend becomes interested. As he becomes smitten with her, she finds herself caught in her own dishonesty when she falls for him. The film is being shown by Ballarat Film Society and Alliance franaise de Ballarat is hosting wine and cheese for the event.

12.01.2022 La Toussaint All Saints’ Day is celebrated in France each November 1 and is a day on which the French reunite with their families to honour the memory of those who have died. The French visit the cemeteries of their ancestors and loved ones, clean and place flowers and candles on the graves. These flowers are generally chrysanthemums, but marigolds are also used. La Toussaint originated as a religious holiday to honour saints and has been celebrated on November 1 since the 8th century. In the 11th century, another celebration became established on November 2, called the Day of the Dead. Over time the difference between these two days has blurred, and La Toussaint has become a day of the dead and not the saints.

12.01.2022 Following consultation, we have regretfully decided to cancel our annual Concours de Petanque this year, scheduled for March 29, to help curtail the spread of COVID-19. We hope everyone will understand.

11.01.2022 Get-together with Drinks and Nibbles Friday, February 28th Bonne année et nouvelle décennie ! Let’s ease our way into the New Year with a casual meet-up and celebrate with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine, some amuse-bûche and good conversation (en franais, bien sûr !)... This meeting will start at 6.30pm and finish at 8pm. For more information, check your February newsletter. See more

10.01.2022 Sa famille fabrique des cloches depuis 1796. À 15 ans, il a décidé de reprendre le flambeau. "13h15 le samedi" disponible sur france.tv

10.01.2022 Joyeuses Pâques Pâques derives from the word ‘pascha’, meaning ‘passover’. La Pâque = Passover; Pâques = Easter (never used with an article). Pâques is masculine singular (A Pâques prochain), but when we talk about events around Easter, we use it more as a ‘time’ rather than a religious celebration, so the word becomes feminine plural(!) as in ‘Joyeuses Pâques !’ Have a Happy at-home Easter everyone.

10.01.2022 Do not forget Thursday night's French film at Ballarat BMI in conjunction with the Ballarat Film Society. Drinks and nibbles from 7pm, then 'Who you think I am' starring Juliette Binoche, all for $10.

09.01.2022 Blessed Calissons I always love to visit Aix en Provence. A stately old university town with an arty edge, home of Paul Cézanne and the Musée Granet, the gracious tree-lined Cours Mirabeau, and small winding streets in the 'centre ville' where you come across unexpected squares filled with restaurants, students and musicians. But most unusual of all is Aix's own confectionary, known as 'calissons', small almond-flavoured, iced 'friands'.. There are many versions of the sweet...s’ long history, but one event seems to have been agreed on how they saved the townspeople from 'La Peste' or the Great Plague in 1629-30. While many left town, some brave citizens remained behind and one of them, Monsieur Martelly, vowed that each day they would perform an Act of Grace for their Patron Saint, if she would protect them from the plague. It was also suggested (by the sweet-makers no less!) that by eating one 'calisson' a day, the townspeople would be saved. Whether it was their patron saint or the 'calisson' that actually saved them, we are never told, but the townspeople were spared from the worst effects of 'La Peste'. Today, the people of Aix-en-Provence still give thanks to their saint for protecting them from the plague - with the 'Bénédiction des Calissons' - celebrated each year on the first Sunday in September. Afterwards, they flock to the Cours Mirabeau dresssed in traditional Provençal costumes, dance in the street, eat the 'calisson' - and drink a 'Coupo Santo' (Cup of Good Health). The Provencal chant goes: 'Venes toutei per les Calissoun'; in French: 'Venez tous au calisson' and in English: 'All come to the calisson'. See more

08.01.2022 Poisson d'avril. Yes, today is April 1st and in France it is known as 'poisson d'avril' - except that no-one will be pinning fish on the back of people (we are not allowed to get that close!). Children at home can draw them and colour them in; we can even cut out a fish and stick it on our front door. But I wonder how many people here will recognise the significance? Maybe just enjoy a delicious fish dinner tonight!

08.01.2022 Have you heard of Eugene Atget? A French photographer, he captured evocative images of Paris in the early 20th century in stunning black and white photographs. A century later, Ballarat artist, Julie Mahnken, traced his footsteps through the street of Paris recording in charcoal and ink, some of those remaining sites in the form of an artist's travel journal. You can learn more about Atget - and Julie's own journey - at our October soirée next Friday, October 25. [Photo of Atget by Berenice Abbott 1927.]

07.01.2022 Some of the 27 Alliances françaises represented at the Réunion des AF Australie in Canberra last weekend. It also marked the 75ème Anniversaire de l'AF de Canberra.

06.01.2022 This charming comedy/drama explores the generation gap and the country/city divide in a way that will have you booking your next holiday in Provence. Showing to members at their August soirée.

05.01.2022 Learn French. Eat plums. Enjoy!

04.01.2022 Bonne Fête Nationale ! ou Joyeux quartorze juillet ! Today we celebrate the 14th of July (or Bastille Day, according to Anglophones). The day marks the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, when the 'Fédération de la France' was established in 1790, marking the unification of France and Peace after the revolution. It is a public holiday across France where towns celebrate with a 'Bal de Pompiers' (Firemen's Ball) and 'feu d'artifices' (fireworks). In Paris there is a huge military parade along the Champs Elysées attended by the president and a flypast with the traditional 'bleu, blanc, rouge' colours of the flag.

04.01.2022 Ce week-end ce sont les fêtes de la Saint-Pierre, le patron des pêcheurs Cette fête traditionnelle est l'une des plus célébrée ! Messe, procession, bénéd...iction en mer, danses folkloriques, grande sardinade, baleti... une grande fête à ne pas rater Chaque commune a son programme. Samedi : Six-Fours-les-Plages, Ste-Maxime, La Londe-les-Maures Samedi et dimanche : Saint-Mandrier et Saint-Tropez Dimanche : Toulon, Le Lavandou, Cavalaire-sur-Mer, Hyères, Sanary-sur-Mer Tourisme Ouest Var : Six Fours, La Seyne, Ollioules, St Mandrier - Sainte-Maxime Tourisme - La Londe les Maures tourisme - Golfe de Saint-Tropez Tourisme - Cavalaire Tourisme - Office de Tourisme de Toulon - Le Lavandou - Tourisme - Hyères Tourisme - Sanary Tourisme See more

03.01.2022 What better way to celebrate the end-of-year than with the 2019 Beaujolais Nouveau? You are invited to join us for an evening of fun, food, wine and French music to celebrate the arrival in Australia of Beaujolais-Village Nouveau from Georges Duboeuf. Mark Saturday, November 30 in your diary and check our website for booking details to make sure you don't miss out!