Here we are !
Willkommen, Hallo, Hello, Salut !
Wie geht’s ? Blablabla…
« Frenglish », « Germançais », sometimes even « Esperanto revisité »… Since Le Bazar Roulant started, languages have fused and we’re well on our way to creating a whole new one. We make ourselves understood in a mixture of German, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese ; the mariner’s way. It’s brainstorming 101. It’s charming, too ; since early May we’ve been roughly a group of 25 : French, German, an Australian, an American, Polish, Portuguese, Belge, Italian… we’ve well and truly crossed the frontiers of a Franco-German partnership.
At the moment, we’re based in Mas de L’Espinas – a tiny French village far from most places. It’s a meeting point and community centre for members of the district ; Relais (collective restaurant run by the association Epi de Mains. Between Montvert et Chamborigaud, we stopped the caravan for our sixth event in a context that’s even more rural then our other stops. With dramatic views of the Cevennes mountains, the green is rich, the air crisp. Especially in the evening. We arrived yesterday and were welcomed by The Epi de Main association, with whom we are partnering for this event.
Today, we constructed a Givebox which will be a permanent installation in front of the bistro. There is a free market, upcycling workshops, and a handful of performances, namely « Les Entarter » by Turbul’, « Soup’Populi », Alain, acrobatic performance, the inauguration of the Givebox by our local representatives and, following the short film screenings, concerts with Elenat Glamurat, Lucien la Movaiz Graine. And then – in case it wasn’t enough – open turntables.
Last week, we were in Sainte Croix Vallée Française. Hosted by the association « l’Oeil du Vent » within their documentary film festival « Terra Nostra », we set up the programs at event space Mic Mac on Saturday and Sunday night. Once again, a beautiful space, friendly community. A little smaller than Lasalle given the weather and Monday was the back-to-school date, we received around 200 visitors across the two days, who enjoyed workshops, concerts, performances, film screenings, home made pizza and crêpes… We were graced by the presence of Thomas Plassard, who taught children how to make a moving windmill dog using old plastic bottles. We were also lucky enough to be welcomed into his magnificent home, atop the highest point in the Cevennes region, overlooking the largest plains in France. The people, the places, the events… we couldn’t have asked for better conditions for the project. While the melange of languages makes it sometimes difficult to communicate with ease, there’s something in this group – its energy, openness, aspiations – that is defining the tour in a way we’d never imagined.
The tour continues Friday and Saturday in La Grande Combe. Hope you can make it.
Yours,
Le Bazar Roulant team