French Culture to Be Celebrated

The French language and culture will be celebrated March 19-27 in Buckhead and Midtown during the 12th annual Francophonie Festival, which will include ticketed as well as free events.

A number of French organizations in Atlanta are sponsoring the event. According to an announcement, French is spoken by 200 million people in 56 countries, and the festival will highlight different cultures that share the same language.

Among the festival's highlights, storytellers from Québec, Louisiana, Haïti and Burkina Faso will perform traditional tales for all ages in French and English from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m Sunday, March 20, at the Atlanta International School in Buckhead. 

Another key event will be the Francophonie Friendship Brunch at the St. Regis Hotel, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 27, at the St. Regis Hotel at 88 W. Paces Ferry Road. 

The gourmet brunch buffet will have foods from around the world and entertainment by Théâtre du Rêve, the only French-language theater company in the United States. For children, the film "Bob & Bobette & Les Diables du Texas" will be shown. The film from Belgium is a 3D animated feature based on a popular Flemish comic strip set in Texas. The cost is $40 for adults and $20 for children ages 12-16, with those under 12 admitted for free. For reservations, click here.

Other events include the showing of French films at the High Museum and Colony Square, and a private viewing of exhibitions at the High by French artists Toulouse-Lautrec and Henri Cartier-Bresson. For more information on the festival and tickets, see www.francophonieatlanta.org/

According to a news release, the festival is a multicultural collaboration between
the consulates of Belgium, Canada, France and Switzerland, the Québec
Delegation in Atlanta, the American Association of Teachers of French in
Georgia, the Alliance Française of Atlanta, the French American Chamber of
Commerce, Atlanta-Accueil, Ecole du Samedi and  Théâtre du Rêve.