Fredericksburg Sister City News
June 2010
|
|
|
Visit us online:
|
|
|
|
|
Bonjour!
|
From the President...FSCA President Cathy Herndon with the "Omelet Man" at the downtown Marriott Courtyard
|  | Bonjour les amis,
The time has come!
On
June 29th Violette Cauwell, a Fréjus college student, will arrive to
begin her 3-week volunteer work program at the Central Rappahannock
Regional Library. We thank
Ann Haley from the library for providing this opportunity and the Websters for hosting.
Then
on July 9th the first group of our French friends will travel from
Fréjus to Fredericksburg! Fourteen students and 4 adults will arrive at
the downtown Visitor's Center to start their 2-week stay with volunteer
host families.
On July 11th, 2 more groups of 44 French adults
will be greeted by their volunteer hosts as well. Also joining us will
be Fréjus Mayor Elie Brun and his family. Many old friends will be
returning as well: Guy Musquefa, Christophe Douette, Charlie Sieracki,
Paula Suggs, Marvin and Cathy Bolinger, and Debbie and Russ Bouslog. We
have prepared for them all a packed, fun-filled two weeks of activities,
tours, trips, and 3 major events that will be staged here in
downtown Fredericksburg.
These events are free and open to the public. We hope to see many of you at whatever gathering you can attend and we thank you for your participation.
Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments:
fsca1980@gmail.com.
Très amicalement,
Cathy Herndon
|
You're Invited!
|
If you are a paying member of our organization, your membership
dues allow you to attend many of the activities taking place during the
two weeks we'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary of being a sister
city to Fréjus. You will be receiving a special invitation in the mail
with dates and times for these events and we thank you for your
continued support!
Hope to see you there!
|
|
Membership |
Remember!
Don't miss out on all the upcoming events for our 30th Anniversary! Be
sure to send your membership renewal in today! Also, if you have friends
who might be interested in joining our organization, pass along our
website address to them or bring them with you to an open event!
We welcome people who share our interest in France!
Download a membership form from our website.
|
|
|
|
|
Events |
Wednesday, July 14, 7-10pm: Le p'tit bal du 14 juillet
 Our first major event is Le p'tit bal du 14 juillet, a Bastille Day Dance on the 14th of July from 7-10 p.m.
This special holiday marks the day in 1789 when Parisians stormed
the
Bastille, a fortress and prison in Paris where prisoners of influence
were held. King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette took refuge at Versailles
as the peasants destroyed and
burned the records of feudal dues. The
Bastille stood as a symbol of hypocrisy and corruption of the
aristocratic government. This important event marked the entrance of the
popular class into the French Revolution. Bastille Day is recognized as
the end of the monarchy and the beginning of the modern republic. Today
there is a grand military parade up the Champs Elysées, colorful arts
festivals, and village parties marking the holiday.
As part of
this famous tradition, the band Jour de Fête from Fréjus will appear in
Market Square, Fredericksburg, to share with us their Parade of Lights
and traditional music.
There will be wine, food, and ice cream for sale. Come join us in the celebration!
Friday, July 16, Noon: Re-affirmation Ceremony
On
July 16 in Market Square at 12 noon, there will be a re-affirmation
signing of our 30th anniversary twinning with Fréjus. Mayor Lawrence
Davies the original Mayor 30 years
ago, Mayor Tomzak and Mayor Brun
will "do the honors" in a small ceremony. You are welcome to witness
this historic event. Phyllis Whitley and Sara Fartro are in charge if
you have any questions.
Friday, July 16, 7-10pm: American Music Festival
 Another of the major events planned for our French guests and the community is the American Music Festival at the Riverfront Park on July 16th.
The gates open at 5:30 p.m.
Bring your chairs, blankets, and picnic.
Music
will begin with the Barbershop and Doo Wop Singers from the Voices of
the POP singing throughout the audience around 6:30 p.m. The stage show
begins at 7:00 with Pete Mealy and Laurie Rose Griffith (folk) and then
the Fredericksburg Shiloh Old Site Baptist Church Gospel Choir. Other
performers include the Dixie Power Trio (Zydeco), The Believers
(Bluegrass), Gaye Adegbalola (Blues), and Beachtown with Phil (Motown
and Beach). Herman K will be the DJ.
The James Monroe Band Boosters will be selling pizza and the James Monroe French Club will be selling water.
This is a FREE community event.
Come early, stay late, and dance the night away!!
Saturday, July 17, 10am-4pm: Festival Français and l'Omelette Géante
l'Omelette Géante
Our
third major event is the Giant Omelet! 5000 eggs are cooked in a giant
pan with special Chevaliers from France and Honorary Chevaliers from
Fredericksburg.
Originally, this tradition came from a story of
Napoleon marching with his army through the South of France. He came to
Bressiers and asked for food. A local Innkeeper made him an omelet. He
enjoyed it so much he had the townspeople gather all the eggs and make
an omelet for his army. Traditionally, the idea turned to feeding the
poor at Easter. But mainly it is to celebrate life with its meeting of
cultures, friendship, and experiences.
Please help us celebrate
life! There will be a Blessing of the Ingredients at Shiloh Old Site
church at 10 a.m. on Saturday, the 17th of July. Immediately following
is a parade of music, the ingredients, the French and American flag, and
members of Sister City. We will march to the Omelet site and then begin
cooking the 5000 eggs which will be served
to the public.
Festival Français
And
to add more to the festivities we are having a French Market 10am-4
p.m. as well. Please wander the booths of French items for sale. Home
made French bread, soaps, herbs, jewelry, and much more. Stop by our own
Sister City booth for Sister City T-shirts, aprons, market baskets, and
special items direct from France.
Please join us for all or any of the festivities!
|
Call for Help
|
In speaking of the summer activities, your Sister City organization is working very hard
on these events scheduled for the 30th Anniversary. If any member would like to help
with the summer plans in any way, please contact the following people in charge of each
event:
Giant Omelet: Steve Beauch, steve.joanbeauch@gmail.com
American Music Festival: Mandy Carr, mcarrvop@aol.com
Le p'tit bal du 14 juillet, Bastille Day Fête: Bill Beck, bill@becksantiques.com
Also if anyone would like to donate French-related items to our French
Market booth or help work on the 17th of July, please contact Lori Kissinger at
loriannkissinger@msn.com
|
|
News from Fréjus |
As most of you have heard of the recent flooding and mudslides in France, the following photos
will show the extent of the damage. Luckily, Fréjus was spared total destruction. They had
power outages and difficulty in traveling from place to place. We thank Philippe Jouan and
Bernadette Kriga for sending this information. It really puts us closer to the situation. We wish
everyone Bonne Chance in their cleanup efforts. Also, here is an excerpt from Hilary Gras' e-
mail:
"Our daughter Corinne has been traumatized by it all, and suddenly realized on Friday that
she could easily have been swept away by the waves of water and mud that Tuesday evening.
Thankfully her colleagues pressed her to leave Draguignan when she did. It is indeed a sobering
thought.
A friend of ours who lives in one of the worst hit areas had to spend a night in her school as she
couldn't get back home. Her house was fine but a couple of streets away from her all the shops
had been smashed and emptied by the water, and one man was swept away trying to get to his
car. She said there is a feeling of great sadness in the village but amazing solidarity as everyone
is out helping everyone else to clear up the mess, share food, clothes and other essentials.
It's still so hard to believe. We have been inundated with emails and calls form friends and
family in the US and UK and thank everyone."
Before Flooding
Photos from the Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial, Draguignan, France
Memorial Day 2010
Flooding
Draguignan, France
|
News from Fredericksburg
|
- Congratulations! Patsy and Guy Prud'homme and 2 of their children, James and Josephine,
have recently become AMERICAN citizens.
- We are saddened by the death of Alicia Synan-Terpstra's father, Mr. Lewis Synan. Our
condolences go out to her.
- If you have not seen it yet, the City of Fredericksburg has changed the look 'down by the river".
On Sophia Street there is the Phase 1 portion of the new Riverfront Park and this is where we are
having two of our events. We are pleased we can use this site and we say Merci Beaucoup to
the City for that opportunity.
|
|
Le Cercle Fred
|
Bob Bugno is continuing his French Conversation group. This is free and you can contact him at robbugno@gmail.com for more details of where and when. What a great way to "keep up your French!" |
Shop and earn dollars for FSCA
|
When you make a purchase at Staples, for either business or personal use, be sure to tell the cashier you are a rewards member and to credit your purchase to the Fredericksburg Sister City Association or give them the following phone number, 786-7010. We will periodically receive a check based on your sales, a great and easy way to raise money for the organization.
|
|
|
|
|
Fredericksburg Sister City Association | 706 Caroline Street | Fredericksburg | VA | 22401 |
