One of Brisbane’s favourite celebration of all things French is returning to South Bank this year for three days of can-can dancers, cooking demonstrations, champagne tasting and even a visit from Napoleon’s soldiers from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 July. Le Festival 2019, presented by major sponsor Le Cordon Bleu, will feature more than 100 French and French-inspired performers, a market featuring more than 50 French food and fashion providores, a prestige bar and wine tastings, and a program of masterclasses.
Festival Director Betty Moinet said, given it was Le Festival’s last year at South Bank in 2019, they would be pulling out all the stops.“We have a fantastic program planned on our Channel 7 stage including performances by DJ Orelee, singers Tyssia and Julia Paul direct from New Caledonia and the quirky all-male burlesque of the Ben Noir French Cabaret – an act that has performed for the Australian Embassy in Paris.”
New to the festival this year will be a Rose and Cocktail Bar, joining a range of other bars which will offer attendees the best French wines and champagnes.
Le Festival will be running workshops all weekend on truffles and caviar thanks to major sponsors Le Cordon Bleu Australia. There will also be masterclasses available on beer and cheese tasting, champagne and wine tasting, paint and sip art classes, bespoke perfume-making and a masterclass on French Bread and Viennoiserie hosted by King Street Bakery.
“Every year our masterclasses prove very popular with Brisbane’s discerning Francophiles,” said Ms Moinet. And of course, what would a French Festival be without a Truffle workshop, where guests can delight in one of the most expensive ingredients in the world. “We’re a non-profit French festival that shares the best of France with 25,000 to 30,000 people each year, and we are passionate and proud about that.Le Festival also celebrates the France-Australia connection, and I think the honouring of our long-time supporter, Lady Jane Edwards, is a perfect expression of that – It will make this festival especially memorable.”
For its 10th event in 2020, the festival will move to Musgrave Park. The festival will also feature a kids’ corner, regular musket firings by La Belle Alliance Napoleonic re-enactment group, and roving performers, including stilt walkers, musicians and illuminations.
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