Le Rochambeau - août 2024

Greetings to all members and friends,

We trust you are having an enjoyable summer, and effectively managing the heat. Even in the Alps it is extremely warm, almost 15° over the typical temperature at this time of year.

A few updates on recent activities and upcoming events.

During the week of September 12th, our fall session of french language classes will begin. Please go to our Learn page to get more information about the upcoming session.

We had a wonderful Bastille Day event a few weeks ago. Many thanks to Elizabeth Williams for organizing this event. And as some of you know, we had a special guest in attendance, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. Even though the Marquis’ French was a little rusty, it was still great to meet him.

On July 13th, our member Hannah Foster, with the help of member Julien Reungoat, led a Bastille Day educational event at the Chesterfield County Library. The event was very well attended and we received a complimentary note from the librarian who organizes their childrens' summer activities. I have shared the note here to emphasize the activity as this is core to the mission of our Alliance.

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Hannah

Thank you again for the most amazing day. You had the children wrapped around your fingers, and it was wonderful seeing our French speaking community find its way to our branch. The program was wonderfully informative and I’m so grateful for your time.

Thanks to Brian and the Alliance as well, for agreeing to participate. It was a true success. We had 35 total, with 19 children and 16 adults in the room.

Joy

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On August 16th, the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Marquis de Lafayette's return to the United States in 1824 and 1825 begins with a kick-off weekend in New York City. The anniversary tour is scheduled from the inauguration ceremonies in New York City in August through the balance of the year. Look forward to the celebration visit to Richmond on November 1st. If you are interested, you can find more information about the 2024 celebration tour here.

On September 25th, we have scheduled a visit to the National Gallery in Washington to see two new exhibits that are opening in early September. In the morning we will visit the primary exhibit “Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment” followed by lunch in the Gallery. After that, we will visit the smaller exhibit in the Gallery Library titled “Life in the Impressionist's Paris”. This should be a great day for all those who would enjoy an informative day with the Impressionists!  Registration is on our Events page.

And on September 28th, we will be visiting the Byrd Theatre to see the French/Portugese film “Encontro”.  Encontro is showing as part of the Richmond International Film Festival.  Details about the film can be found here and we will update you with ticketing information once it is released.  You can find more information about the Festival here.

Please view our Events page for other upcoming activities not listed here.

And finally, thank-you for your continued support of Alliance Française. If you have any suggestions or recommendations for your Chapter, please let us know.

Regards,

Brian S. Burns