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Jours de fêtes (December 18 2009 – January 1 2010)
For the end-of-year festivities a huge breath of fresh air will sweep through the Grand Palais with a fun event for all the family: "Jours de fêtes"!
In 2005, the inaugural edition of "Jours de fêtes", an initiative introduced by the Etablissement public du Grand Palais and implemented by Marcel Campion, President of the Association du monde festif, drew 250,000 visitors. The show will be returning to the Grand Palais from December 18 2009 to January 1 2010, and this year's version will bring together the arts of the fairground and gypsy jazz.
Staged in the Nave of the Grand Palais, "Jours de fêtes" is an outstanding year's end event that has a very broad public appeal. The lighting, specially designed by François Austerlitz, will create a magical, fairytale atmosphere in the midst of the fairground attractions, including the big wheel, the 1900 carrousel merry-go-round and the "children's world" area with six free games. Visitors of all ages will enjoy the unique collection loaned by the Fairground Arts Museum, showcasing the artistic heritage of the world of the funfair. To celebrate the centenary of the birth of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt, stars of French and international gypsy jazz will be joining in the party.
Staged in the Nave of the Grand Palais, "Jours de fêtes" is an outstanding year's end event that has a very broad public appeal. The lighting, specially designed by François Austerlitz, will create a magical, fairytale atmosphere in the midst of the fairground attractions, including the big wheel, the 1900 carrousel merry-go-round and the "children's world" area with six free games. Visitors of all ages will enjoy the unique collection loaned by the Fairground Arts Museum, showcasing the artistic heritage of the world of the funfair. To celebrate the centenary of the birth of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt, stars of French and international gypsy jazz will be joining in the party.
Fairground attractions
Fairground attractions will provide the centrepiece for "Jours de fêtes": with wooden horses, helter-skelter and big wheel standing respectively 46 ft (14 m) and 108 ft (33 m) tall, exciting rides … and plenty of traditional fairground goodies like pancakes, waffles, toffee apples, and candy floss.
Jours de fête, 2005. The merry-go-rounds spinning under the dome. © French Ministry of Culture and Communication, photo Didier Plowy
The Treasures of the Museum of Fairground Arts
For Jour de Fêtes, The Museum of Fairground Arts has loaned items from its permanent display and also dipped into the collections that are not normally on view, to showcase a decorative art form that has always been designed to have the broadest possible popular appeal. Fairground art goes back to the industrial revolution when craftsmen, working to the specifications of ingenious funfair owners, used the newly available technologies to design the first merry-go-rounds.
These attractions very soon became truly nomadic monuments, that reached their apogee with the huge, richly decorated enclosed "carrousel-salons". Sculptures, wooden trim and gilding all became part of a big travelling party.
These attractions very soon became truly nomadic monuments, that reached their apogee with the huge, richly decorated enclosed "carrousel-salons". Sculptures, wooden trim and gilding all became part of a big travelling party.
"The Gypsy Encampment”: leading exponents of gypsy jazz
Every day, gypsy jazz, notably the specifically French "manouche" brand will set alight the Grand Palais and contribute to the festive, cultural and historic event that is "Jours de fêtes" with its fairyland atmosphere created by the merry-go-round and other fairground attractions.
On stage, in the paddock area of the Nave of the Grand Palais, visitors will be able to hear:
- from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm
JAZZ MANOUCHE NININE GARCIA QUARTET and the gypsy groups LOS AMIGOS
and KEMA (the grandchildren of Manitas de Plata) and their musicians
- from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm
(except Thursday December 24 and 31)
THOMAS DUTRONC, DAVID REINHARDT TRIO,…
and a host of other stars:
Thursday December 17 CALI GROUPE GITAN & GROUPE OPUS 4
Friday December 18 LEMMY CONSTANTINE JAZZ QUARTET
Saturday December 19 DAVID REINHARDT TRIO
Sunday December 20 THOMAS DUTRONC
Monday December 21 GROUPE OPUS 4
Tuesday December 22 ANGELO QUARTET GIPSY UNITED
Wednesday December 23 NOE REINHARDT QUARTET
Friday December 25 TCHAVOLO SCHMITT TRIO
Saturday December 26 MORENO AND HIS MUSICIENS
Sunday December 27 &
Monday December 28 TITI DEMETER AND HIS MANOUCHE AND TZIGANE JAZZ MUSICIANS
Tuesday December 29 SERGE KRIEF QUARTET DJANGO STYLE
Wednesday December 30 ROMANE AND THE MANETTI BROTHERS
On stage, in the paddock area of the Nave of the Grand Palais, visitors will be able to hear:
- from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm
JAZZ MANOUCHE NININE GARCIA QUARTET and the gypsy groups LOS AMIGOS
and KEMA (the grandchildren of Manitas de Plata) and their musicians
- from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm
(except Thursday December 24 and 31)
THOMAS DUTRONC, DAVID REINHARDT TRIO,…
and a host of other stars:
Thursday December 17 CALI GROUPE GITAN & GROUPE OPUS 4
Friday December 18 LEMMY CONSTANTINE JAZZ QUARTET
Saturday December 19 DAVID REINHARDT TRIO
Sunday December 20 THOMAS DUTRONC
Monday December 21 GROUPE OPUS 4
Tuesday December 22 ANGELO QUARTET GIPSY UNITED
Wednesday December 23 NOE REINHARDT QUARTET
Friday December 25 TCHAVOLO SCHMITT TRIO
Saturday December 26 MORENO AND HIS MUSICIENS
Sunday December 27 &
Monday December 28 TITI DEMETER AND HIS MANOUCHE AND TZIGANE JAZZ MUSICIANS
Tuesday December 29 SERGE KRIEF QUARTET DJANGO STYLE
Wednesday December 30 ROMANE AND THE MANETTI BROTHERS
Special lighting
Jours de fête, 2005. Enchantment for young eyes in the Nave. © Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, cliché Didier Plowy
François d'Austerlitz has been designing light shows and lighting effects for the last 25 years. He illuminated the Nave of the Grand Palais specially for "Jours de fêtes". How do you go about lighting the Grand Palais without installing a "battery" of multi-coloured spotlights in the Nave? How do you design original lighting that nonetheless respects the theme of the funfair and entertainment? How do you light up the huge metal frame of the Grand Palais without placing spotlights close to the girders? François Austerlitz has come up with a solution that "highlights" the structure of the Nave with a string of filament lamps.
To light the stage he has also decided to "leave the beaten track and make sparse use of spotlights on the mezzanines". Instead he will deploy decorative lighting right in the middle of the "gypsy encampment" décor. A large freeform scaffolding made of metal tubes and collars will be erected at the back of the stage leaving sight lines through to the columns of the great staircase in the paddock. A set of chrome spotlights will be hung randomly from the scaffolding. The stage set will include traditional gypsy caravans, wooden crates for seating, and jerrycans that will act as a base for vertical tubing supporting spotlights. The lighting arrangement will also include a vertical string of lights on the scaffolding and footlights composed of a single string placed on the floor. All the powerful light sources usually used on the merry-go-round will be inhibited.
Brilliant!
To light the stage he has also decided to "leave the beaten track and make sparse use of spotlights on the mezzanines". Instead he will deploy decorative lighting right in the middle of the "gypsy encampment" décor. A large freeform scaffolding made of metal tubes and collars will be erected at the back of the stage leaving sight lines through to the columns of the great staircase in the paddock. A set of chrome spotlights will be hung randomly from the scaffolding. The stage set will include traditional gypsy caravans, wooden crates for seating, and jerrycans that will act as a base for vertical tubing supporting spotlights. The lighting arrangement will also include a vertical string of lights on the scaffolding and footlights composed of a single string placed on the floor. All the powerful light sources usually used on the merry-go-round will be inhibited.
Brilliant!
Practical information
From December 18 2009 to January 1 2010, from 11:00 am to midnight, last admission at 11:00 pm (except December 24 and 31: open till 8:00 pm, last admission at 7:00 pm).
Admission: Adults: 5 € / children under 10: 3 €
(includes the The Treasures of the Fairground Arts Museum exhibition, concerts, and "the children's world" area)
Fairground attractions: from 2 to 4 €
TICKETS WILL BE ON SALE AT THE GRAND PALAIS AND WILL BE VALID FOR ONE DAY ONLY.
THERE WILL BE NO ADVANCED SALES.
Admission: Adults: 5 € / children under 10: 3 €
(includes the The Treasures of the Fairground Arts Museum exhibition, concerts, and "the children's world" area)
Fairground attractions: from 2 to 4 €
TICKETS WILL BE ON SALE AT THE GRAND PALAIS AND WILL BE VALID FOR ONE DAY ONLY.
THERE WILL BE NO ADVANCED SALES.
Medias
See the video
Jours de Fêtes at the Grand Palais © Grand Palais
Photos gallery
Second edition of Jours de fêtes (2009)
