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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2010 23:24:18 GMT
It's the Fête Nationale in France, erroneously called Bastille Day by many English speakers. Since it is in the middle of the week this year, many of the festivities take place on the 13th instead of the 14th. And so tonight I went to the fire station at Place de Bitche (a charming town on the Moselle, in case you are wondering), just as things were getting started at 10 p.m. The female singer started off with a very heartfelt rendition of the Lily Allen hit "Fuck You." The group was pretty good, actually, for this sort of thing.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2010 23:36:52 GMT
The male singer and the female singer alternated all sorts of pop hits, from Lady Gaga to Madonna to Amy Winehouse to Vanessa Paradis and from Christophe Willem to Robbie Williams to Radiohead to Rachid Taha. The crowd continued to grow. There was a combined fake security check and very real contribution barrel at the entrance. People could give whatever they wanted.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2010 23:46:22 GMT
No firehouse is complete without a champagne bar, is it? A draped passage led the way... Champagne was most definitely being drunk in the back courtyard, where there was also a slideshow of the activities of the firemen throughout the year, as well as a display of historic photos of the neighborhood. Meanwhile, apprentice firecooks were manning the grills for the hungry. Condiments were in plentiful supply.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 14, 2010 0:32:37 GMT
Cooooool presentation of a hot subject!
Wow, that looks like so much fun. Was there a flotilla &/or a fireworks display, or were the barricades just to keep the crowds from teetering on the water's edge?
Any idea what that antique Canal Martin photo is depicting?
My French fireman story, which I've probably told before, but hey -- how many French fireman stories can I be expected to have?
Years ago we met a small group of young French guys at our local watering hole. They were friendly and happy and willing to struggle with English in order to converse. Finally someone asked them what brought them to New Orleans. Slightly embarrassed looks, some confabbing in French, then one of them said, as modestly as he was able, "We are heroes!" All of them had performed heroically in their jobs as firemen, and the trip to NO was their reward.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2010 0:42:06 GMT
The photo is a photo of the fire station where the ball was being held. And yes, the barricades along the water were up just to prevent people from falling in. While the ball will go on until dawn, it was already time for me to move on. But I will leave you with two little clips of the early ambience.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 14, 2010 4:16:23 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2010 5:42:09 GMT
An epilogueTurning on the morning news, I had a major WTF moment during the report of the firemen's balls of the night. Everything had gone wonderfully well, except for the fire station that caught on fire during the night... Yes, you guessed it. Seven people were injured during the incident. Apparently, somebody shot a rocket through the window. Must not have been a rocket scientist. I jumped on a bike to go and take a look. The sound and light truck was just leaving, the stage had been packed up, the firemen were cleaning the mess. Not a very big fire, but they looked quite glum from having their big party spoiled, not to mention a lot of their stuff being damaged or ruined. Funny, because I had been thinking last night "what happens when they get a fire call during the firemen's ball?" I never thought that the fire station itself would burn...
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Post by tod2 on Jul 14, 2010 14:47:19 GMT
Lovely photos and so unlike ' a ball' as in ladies wearing long evening gowns, men in a Tuxedo.............a stuffy kind of affair! But instead, a ball in every sense of the word as you can clearly see the people there are definitely 'having a ball'! Thanks Kerouac.
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Post by lola on Jul 14, 2010 23:52:05 GMT
Great reporting, K, and great photos. But, um, where did you say you were between the hours of 0200 and 0530?
I love your French fireman story, Bixa.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2010 0:07:59 GMT
Oh my gosh ~~ what an epilogue! Were the people injured those fighting the fire, or people who were in that room when the firecracker hit it? What a shame. Yes, I can imagine that you goggled at the tv news!
It really looks like so much fun and the bands sounds great. I see you all do that stupid waving-arms-in-air at live music in France too. Maybe those were foreigners.
You really took some wonderful pictures, and I loved that glimpse at @:55 on the second one showing what a melting pot France is.
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Post by hwinpp on Jul 15, 2010 2:59:04 GMT
We have 'Feuerwehrfeste' in Germany. They are celebrated in the countryside and they're very rustic affairs.
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Post by cristina on Jul 15, 2010 4:01:10 GMT
A wonderful postcard, k2! I think I always had a different image in my mind, even if your reporting is probably more realistic of the celebration. The side note about the fire at the fire station was interesting...I too, would wonder how fires are handled on this night. Hopefully, there wasn't too much damage at this fire station. As for me, I am making French toast for dinner tonight. My tongue-in-cheek nod to my childrens' half French heritage. (Because this holiday always seems to occur in the middle of the week!) p.s. How does celebrating on Tuesday differ from celebrating on Wednesday for a middle of the week celebration?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2011 18:28:52 GMT
I am already wondering if the weather will be nice this year and where I will go.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 15, 2011 17:07:36 GMT
I can't wait Kerouac! PLEASE go and I don't care where just as long as you go! And send us the evidence , of course!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 4, 2011 19:50:15 GMT
Sounds as though you're sending the poor lad to Hell in a handbasket! ;D
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Post by nycgirl on Aug 19, 2011 20:43:01 GMT
Bixa, love your French firemen story. Those guys sound adorable.
Great photos, Kerouac. It's a shame about the fire. Come to think of it, when I was on a tour in Paris, my Greeter told me about a fire at a fireman's ball. He must have been talking about this one. What are the odds of this happening more than once?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2011 21:16:12 GMT
Yes, it's clearly the same fire station because it's in the area that the greeter was showing you around.
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Post by auntieannie on Aug 20, 2011 17:20:08 GMT
hum, I would have gladly comforted the firemen!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 17:00:15 GMT
I absolutely must go to a firemen's ball again this year.
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Post by htmb on Apr 15, 2015 21:14:41 GMT
Though I've been in France on several Fête de la Musique dates, I've always missed the Fête Nationale. This year I'll be there for both, so I want to read more reports like this one to start getting prepared. I've heard/seen the jets as they've done practice runs down the Champs Élysées, and I know there is a military parade. Other than that I'm clueless, so it's nice you brought up this thread, Kerouac.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2015 5:51:54 GMT
Moving along to 2015, the firemen's ball is as popular as ever.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2015 5:59:19 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jul 14, 2015 6:13:40 GMT
Wonderful job of capturing the 2015 Fireman's Ball, Kerouac. It's nice to see people of all ages, including children, out having a good time. The band was super talented, too, and did a nice job of energizing the crowd.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 14, 2015 14:03:34 GMT
Looks like fun!
I also see that Bitche is a town in Lorraine!
There will be a 14 juillet picnic (with music etc) in Montréal, at Parc Lafontaine in Plateau Mont-Royal. Lots of "new" French immigrants in that neighbourhood (and many in mine).
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 17:03:33 GMT
My parents lived in France for 9 years after retirement and left due to wild exchange rate variations which were quite scary. If they had delayed their decision just one more year when the dollar skyrocketed, they might have stayed for another decade. My father never learned to speak French -- the principal reason being that he spent 20 years in the engine room of US Navy ships and the noise permanently damaged his hearing -- but obviously he picked up quite a few expressions and terms over the years. He would have "conversations" with local villagers all the time. The villagers loved to talk to him because he was 1) an American and they loved Americans and 2) he was totally sociable and would listen to anybody.
Anyway, one time when I was visiting, he returned from talking to somebody or other and had all sorts of information but was perplexed by the person's holiday because he had been to a beach in Moselle. This brought a laugh out of my mother and me, since beach is the way you pronounce Bitche in French. One mystery remains, however. I still have no idea why anybody would spend their holiday in Bitche.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 25, 2015 19:28:49 GMT
And also: ~ I looked at the latest additions to this thread, I certainly enjoyed the thread, I even directed other people to it, but ....... somehow I failed to actually respond. Well, I thought good thoughts about it. You totally captured the excitement of the happy crowd. Love the video. Looking at the beginning of the thread again, I am wondering if the female singer in the 2010 event is the Karine of 2015. The guy definitely looks like the same one from 2010.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 19, 2019 12:16:04 GMT
So the years go by and here I was again.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 19, 2019 14:19:28 GMT
Looks like fun, but agree with K2 about a band and firefighters firing up the barbie.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 19, 2019 15:37:11 GMT
It is certainly a popular event! I am of two minds about band vs deejays. On one hand, live music is automatically more exciting. On the other, the tendency is to face the stage. With deejay music, it looks as though there is more milling and conversation along with the dancing. That is a good thing. As far as the firemen doing the cooking, maybe the decision to move the food to a food truck was partly for crowd control and partly to do away with open fires. The incident Kerouac reported in #6 above wasn't caused by cooking, but maybe the fire department wants to set an extra cautious example. It does seem wrong to serve over-priced food at such an inclusive gathering, though. Regardless, the video makes it clear that everyone was having a good time.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 19, 2019 15:45:18 GMT
I fear that doing away with the firemen doing the cooking might have been one of those annoying legal reasons. The food truck obviously has insurance against anybody getting food poisoning, but the firemen of olden times probably did not. Sometimes I hate all of the safety of modern times.
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