Provence Prestige is Nov 24 to 28

The 23rd annual Provence Prestige show opens Thursday November 24 at the Palais des Congrès in Arles and runs through Monday November 28. This festive holiday-theme "salon" fills a number of vast indoor expo halls with 30,000 square feet of holiday goodies, gifts, home decor, food and wine, clothes, accessories, books and much more. And it's all made in Provence by exhibitors who agree to the terms of a special ''locally made'' charter. Some 30,000 visitors and roughly 150 exhibitors are expected.

As in years past there will be Christmas workshops for kids on Saturday and Sunday, from 2 pm to 6 pm (details here). You can see a full schedule of events, background on the exhibitors and much more in the press kit.

Tickets are 6 € (adults), 3 € (ages 12 to 18 and groups of 20 or more), and free for kids under 12. 

Your ticket for Provence Prestige also entitles you to free and discounted admissions at four well-known museums--the Musée Départemental de l’Arles Antique (MDAA), the beautiful art-filled Musée Réattu, the Van Gogh Fondation and the Musee de la Camargue--as well as to all the monuments in the village.

Provence Prestige hours are from 10 am to 7 pm, with special late hours (until 11 pm) on Friday November 25, when it’s open until 11 pm. All the info is on the main website here.  

If you're heading for Arles, you might also want to visit the weekend Christmas Market (Marché de Noël des Commerçants), featuring local businesses. It's at the Chapelle Ste Anne on the Place de la Republique, in Centre Ville, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Nov 25 to 27), from 10 am to 7 pm.

Best of France This Weekend in NYC

This weekend, Times Square in Manhattan will be transformed into a huge French marketplace called Best of France.

The September 26 and 27 event is organized by the non-profit group of the same name, whose purpose is to promote the image of France and "French expertise and savoir-faire" abroad. The event is presented in conjunction with Atout France.

Entrance to Best of France is free, but tickets must be purchased for special events such as the VIP Opening Night Reception and the Grand Wine Tastings presented by top NYC sommeliers. 

Event exhibitors and programs are organized by themes: Cuisine, Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion, Culture, Technology and Innovation.  

The list of exhibitors and sponsors includes Air France, Back-Roads, Club Med, Clarins, Croisi Europe, Delta, Diptyque, Galeries Lafayette, Laguiole, Lancome, Le Boat, L'Oreal, Moulin Rouge, Parfums de France, RailEurope, Sofitel, Tartine et Chocolat, Valrhona, YSL and many more. The cities of Cannes, Lyon, Toulouse and Paris will be on hand, as will regional tourist offices (Bordeaux/Aquitaine, the Rhône Alpes the Midi-Pyrénées, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, etc.) and the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. The full exhibitor list is here.

At the Inauguration on Saturday at 11 am (Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets), 130 French and American kids will be unraveling huge US and French flags. Following the two national anthems, they'll also unravel the largest “marinière” (the iconic striped, knitted sweater) in the world. How large you ask? It's  22' long by 44' wide.

The show highlights are listed here. On the Culinary Stage all weekend, chefs--including Christian Tetedoie, Eric Kayser, Michel Bras and others--will be doing demos.

On the main stage (Times Square at 46th St.), Francophone singers and French artists (such as 16 Moulin Rouge dancers, a first in NYC) will perform. Other offerings include art exhibits, a French book store, book signings, fashion shows on a 45-foot runway, a kids fashion show casting call, live demos by French craftsmen making artisanal products, a French market and "bistro areas."

Volunteers are still needed and can compete to win a trip to Paris; info on volunteering is here. 

The public is invited to enter to win a week in luxury rental in Chamonix (with a six-day ski pass) and a week-long French river cruise. Anyone can enter...you don't have to attend the event to win...just fill out the form here.

For all the details, visit the Best of France website here...and follow them on Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram and Pinterest.

June 5: Big Weekend in Aix for Design Lovers

Sponsored by the popular magazine Côté Sud, the 17th annual salon known as Vivre Côté Sud is coming up the weekend of June 5...a showcase of beautiful things for your home, garden and "lifestyle." 

As in years past, the Parc Jourdan in Aix (yes, the one with the lovely lime trees) will be all dressed and tented up for the occasion. More than 230 companies will be exhibiting, spread out over 10,000 square meters. The products on display will come from France, Italy, Spain and elsewhere...organized by themes such as Antiques, Decor, Savours, Creators, Talents and Home Improvement. You'll find furniture, fabric, clothing, decorative items, design services, food and wine, cooking demos, round-table discussions and much more. Last year's event attracted 21,403 visitors. 

The list of chefs doing cooking demos includes Anna Bini (Ecole de Cuisine à Florence), Arnaud de Grammont (Le Café des Epices, Marseille), Reine and Nadia Sammut (La Fenière, Lourmarin), Georgiana Viou (Chez Georgiana, Marseille), Daniel Hébet (Le Jardin du Quai, L’Isle sur la Sorgue), Edouard Loubet (Domaine de Capelongue, Bonnieux), Yvan Cadiou (TV chef and cooking teacher, St. Remy de Provence), Edouard Giribone (Le Bistrot d’Edouard, Marseille) and Pierre Gianetti (Le Grain de Sel, Marseille). To see the demo schedule, click here.

There will also be plenty of food products for purchase...and food trucks in a dedicated dining area. 

The salon also offers opportunities to work one-on-one with design pros. For interior projects, one-hour "Deco Coaching" appointments are available for 89€ (coachingdeco@cotemaison.fr or +33 1 75 55 16 88).  For garden projects, one-hour appointments are 59€ (+33 442 025 686, contact@thomasgentilini.com).

Hours for Vivre Côté Sud are Friday June 5 from 10 am to 11 pm (evening session), Saturday June 6 and Sunday June 7 from 10 am to 8 pm, and Monday June 8 from 10 am to 6 pm. For more info on exhibitors, special events, the various themes and more, click here. If you read French, you can see the press kit here. Tickets are 9€ (6€ for students and groups of ten or more) and can be bought at the gate.

This year, there's another reason to visit Aix the first weekend in June. On June 5, 6 and 7, design guru Samantha Mureau and her company Trendline Europe will host Discovering Designers, in the private 18th-century manor house known as the Hotel de Gallifet. The event is designed to coincide with Vivre Côté Sud and the theme is "English Garden Party." The idea is to introduce a hand-picked group of 30 British and French designers to locals and to the larger design community. The show will feature interior design, wallpaper, soft furnishings, fabric, ceramics, housewares and perfume....and all of the designers will be present. The Discovering Designers event is free and open to the public. Hours are: Friday 9 am to 7 pm, Saturday 9 am to 10 pm and Sunday, 9 am to 7 pm. The Hotel de Gallifet is located at 52 rue Cardinale in the Mazarin quarter of Aix and their phone is 09 53 84 37 61. For questions about the event, contact: sam@trendlineeurope.com. 

Print and online journalists are invited to a special Discovering Designers bloggers' breakfast at 9 am on Friday 5th June. Email Samantha for details. 

For general info about Aix, the Tourist Office website is here. 

Photos: (1, 2) This year's Vivre Côté Sud poster...and the one for Discovering Designers, a new event in Aix for 2015. (3-8) Vignettes from past years at Vivre Côté Sud. (9) The Hotel de Gallifet, where Discovering Designers will be held. (10) The gorgeous floral fabric is from Royal College of Art-graduate Claire de Quénetain Brunse, who is launching her product range at the Discovering Designers event. (11) At Discovering Designers, London-based Anna Jacobs is showcasing her beautiful, eye-catching lampshades, lamp bases and cushions. 

An Artist Blossoms in St. Remy

Born on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, Willy Dabriou was raised in Paris and came down to Provence to study art in Avignon. He settled in St. Remy in 1996. I've known Willy for years: he and his partner, Cornelius Alsen, have a thriving home-rental and management business here and are involved in lots of local activities. I see them at parties, gallery openings, concerts--and even once bumped into them on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. I knew Willy was a world traveler with a particular passion for North Africa. But I only found out recently that, trapped inside, was a talented artist just dying to bust out. (He also sings beautifully--but that's a story for another day.)

About a year ago, Willy finally gave in to the artistic urge and started making jewelry: beautiful one-of-a-kind necklaces and bracelets crafted from shells, exotic beads, buttons, mother of pearl and more. Then came handbags, belts and the Moroccan-style slippers known as baboushes. Word began to spread and people began to buy. So Willy converted a guest-house on his own property into a workshop and showroom, which is open to the public for the next few weeks. Here you'll find necklaces starting at 35€, belts priced at 35€, funky and fun wool hats and a few gorgeous calfskin handbags (including one draped in skunk pelts, which Willy pronounces skoonk). The selection changes just about every day as new pieces are finished. Custom orders are welcome so if you have a favorite outfit missing that certain something, bring it in or send Willy a photo and he'll create the perfect accessory.

Each time he has a large number of new creations, Willy stages a fashion show, complete with gorgeous models, great music, Champagne, a red carpet and a motorcycle (no fashion show should be without one!). Drop Willy an email and he'll add you to the invite list.

Willy's studio and showroom will be open to the public until January 13th so feel free to drop in. You'll know you're in the right place when you see the blue-hatted mannequin at the gate. If nothing else, you'll make a new friend: a charming and talented designer who had the courage to follow his bliss and transform his passion into an exciting new profession.

Willy Dabriou

#4, rue Emile Daillan

St.-Remy-de-Provence

06-26-57-18-10

willydabrioukreations.com

willy@dabriou.fr

Photos: Willy set up the mannequin to make it easy to find his studio on his residential street; Willy's serene workshop overlooks the garden; a sampling from the newest "Afro-Glam" collection; the letters on the wall out front stand for Willy Dabriou Kreations; dusk falls on the garden, done up for the holidays.

J'Adore This Dior Commercial

Have you guys seen this Dior commercial, with Charlize Theron, Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe? It was directed by Oscar-winning French director Jean-Jacques Annaud and made using CGI or Computer Generated Imagery. Now I adore Dior even more...

Love Where You Live?

Cute, right? This "I Love My Town" tee is 100% organic fine jersey cotton, with a silk-screened logo in red or pink. It's unisex and comes in sizes S to 2XL $22 from Basic French.

As If We Need More Reasons to Love It Here

Last week Karl Lagerfeld did his latest show (Chanel's 2010-2011 cruise collection) on the main drag at the port in St. Tropez. Models included Mick Jagger's 18-year-old daughter Georgia, who showed up, the press reported, despite being grounded by her papa "after pictures emerged...that appeared to show her sniffing a substance during her birthday party at a pub near the family home." Anyway, according to Vogue.com, the new collection "evoked exactly that desirable easy luxury as Natasha, Abbey, Anya and Freya strolled down the harbour in front of Cafe Senequier, lipstick-pink sandals in their hands, their printed chiffon long dresses and undone hair gently blown by the evening breeze."

Photo courtesy of  Jaunted and Chanel-News.com