Something for the Weekend? (12th – 14th February)

Take a little bit of the Chinese New Year, stir in some Valentine's Day and add a little splash of Mardi Gras and what do you get? I'm not sure, but it should make for a fun weekend in Paris!

If you have any events or activities you think should be promoted or which you would like to promote yourself, please add them in the comments. Let me know also if you have any events in the coming weekends you would like to promote.

Chinese New Year Celebrations
Paris is home to three different Chinese communities. The oldest (and smallest) is situated in a couple of street near Arts et Metiers in the 3rd arrondissement, the largest is near the Place d’Italie in the 13th, and the most recent is in Belleville. To celebrate the arrival of the year of the tiger, each district will have its own festivities (see list here) with the biggest event of all, the dragon parade, actually taking place next Sunday. There are however two other parades taking place that will join together with the Paris Carnival event happening this weekend…

The Paris Carnival
Each year I forget about this event, but each year I’m thoroughly impressed by the large procession of musicians, dancers and people on stilts winding their way past my apartment. The whole cast and crew will set off from the Place Gambetta at around 2pm, and end up at the Hotel de Ville at roughly 7pm, passing by Belleville and the Place de la Republique. This year the event coincides with the Chinese New Year meaning that the procession will swell in size, firstly at Belleville when it picks up one Chinese group, then again at the Hotel de Ville with a second additional group.

Paris Cookbook Festival
“There is no sincerer love than the love of food” wrote George Bernard Shaw, so it seems apt that this new cooking festival should take place on Valentine’s weekend. Spread thickly over four days, this festival will mix the traditional stands displaying books and equipment with signings and cookery demonstrations from an international selection of chefs. The only thing that leaves a slightly bizarre taste in the mouth is the fact that it will all take place in what was previously the municipal undertakers!
http://pariscookbookfestival.typepad.com/
Le CentQuatre
104 Rue d'Aubervilliers / 5 rue Curial 75019 Paris (M° Stalingrad)
8 €
12th – 15th February, 9.30am to 6.30pm (except Monday which ends at 5pm)

Roa at the Galerie Itinerrance
Belgian artist Roa has made a name for himself painting large-scale animals across city walls, but here he brings his creations indoors. A visit to this gallery is also a chance to visit a part of the city in mutation as it is in the heart of the new Rive Gauche development.
Photos and information can be found here.
Until February 28th
Galerie Itinerrance
7bis, rue René Goscinny 75013 (M° Bibliothèque Nationale)

Valentine’s Day
Ah yes, Valentine’s Day. It falls on a weekend and you’re in Paris, so it’s difficult to ignore it, but what can you do that doesn’t involve a damp boat trip and a rip-off ‘Menu Spécial St Valentin’? Here are a few suggestions!

• Post a message on the 173 electronic public information boards across the city.
  
• “Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion” wrote Dylan Thomas. With this in mind, what could be more romantic than a visit to a cemetery? Père Lachaise is the obvious choice here, with a monument to doomed 12th century lovers Héloise and Abelard as well as other lost romantics such as Chopin. The tomb of Victor Noir can be visited for other reasons!


• Make a rendez-vous on the most romantic bench in Paris. I’ll tell you where my favourite bench is in my next post, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find one of your own!