This weekend Charnizay had another 'big day'. It was the official opening of our new Salle de Spectacles. Last January the mairie had held the traditional New Year's reception in the Salle but at that time it wasn't quite finished. You can read about that and the history - it was originally a '
grange aux dîmes' [tithe barn] -
here.
On Saturday things were a little more formal. Marisol Touraine, our most important local big-wig, was the guest of honour; she's currently Minister of Social Affairs and Health. Two children stretched out a ribbon in front of the entrance doors and Marisol dutifully cut the red, white & blue ribbon with a pair of scissors [kitchen variety - large orange handles :-)] which were offered on a cushion.
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| Beautifully serried glasses and finger food with attentive listeners behind |
The minute it was done the inhabitants of Charnizay surged forward to get inside as a cold wind was blowing and nobody felt like hanging around. Even the greetings with the traditional 2 kisses amongst friends and family were peremptory as everyone hurried in.
Inside a trio of good young musicians played 50's style jazz on
the stage and the tables bore glasses of pink or white fizz and
beautifully presented canapes.
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| Musicians played 50's style jazz [phone camera; apologies for the quality] |
The kitchen has now been kitted out, the stage has curtains and the final finishing touches to the exterior, including a bit of landscaping, are complete so all is now done. The maire, Claude Villaret gave a full accounting of the costs and subsidies in his speech. That done the local big-wigs of the Communauté de Communes de la Touraine du Sud and Conseil Général had their say before Marisol Touraine closed the speechifying. All fervently expressed the hope that the salle [which is large] will form a focal point for larger events to be held by the communes in the area. We really hope so, as the whole has been tastefully done and is, in all honesty, far too large a venue for a village of just 500 odd inhabitants.
Once the speeches were over and people were busy chatting and enjoying the food & drink, the children who had held the ribbon came round and gave each person a tiny snippet as a charming little memento.
13 comments:
The ribbon memento is a really cute idea. I've never heard of that before.
Those snippets of ribbon are new to me too...but what a lovely idea!
My old area became dotted with huge salles far too big for purely local events...no one seemed to know where the idea had come from or what to do with the product...
Not to speak of new gendarmerie stations just before a reorganisation which removed the gendarmes
Ours is large for the size of our commune but does get used... Elizabeth goes once a week to keep fit!!
Snippets of ribbon is a nice idea...
it was also a wonderful way of giving two children a greater involvement than just holding the ends...
I love the way that youngsters are "made" to get involved in community activities...
be it like this, or laying a wreath on the 11th of the 11th...
rather than just being pushed to the back and told to be quiet.
It is not surprising that local people have such a sense of community, when they've been involved at an "adult" level from a very early age...
the UK could learn a thing or two!!
Maybe they hope for more concerts like Tri Yann - though any big touring band will have a sound stage and they'll end up at the Stade again. Tri Yann's touring company was far too big to fit into a village hall, though I think they do gigs that consist of just the original members.
That table is laid out beautifully! I don't supposed that stopped the attendees diving into it at the first opportunity.
@Susan - we thought it was a lovely idea -- my snippet is all irregular. Clearly cut by a child :-)
@Fly - what worries us a bit is that we just can't see one of the other communes deciding to hold one of "their" larger events in another commune's venue, no matter how splendid.
@Colin & Elizabeth - here they are still using the old salle de fetes for 'regular' events such as keep fit.
@Tim - very true. It's what we like as well: everyone gets involved.
@Pauline - exactly. Tri Yann type gig would be too large for the venue; but events such as small cabaret could find it too large....
It certainly looks impressive from the outside. The sale at LP-P gets used a fair bit but isn't as big as yours. They seem to erect a marquee if they need more space.
@Gaynor - Charnizay has that as well. So in total we have 3 venues/options! A lot for a small place.
I bet it's super now it's finished and like you I hope it does get used. I remember your saying that your old salle des fetes isn't a very inviting place, so hopefully people will move across, so to speak.
I'm another who loves the snippets of ribbon. :-)
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