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Bastille Day Revs Up!
A little-known fact about Portland is that it hosts the West Coast's largest Bastille Day festival, attracting close to 8,000 visitors. This year's festival, to be held on Saturday, July 12, will be in Director Park  in downtown Portland for the third year in a row. Key sponsors are Esco Foundation, Hardy Cognac (A. Hardy USA), the Alliance Franaise and the French American International School. Email events@afportland.org to inquire about exhibitor or vendor openings and click here to view photos from last year to get an idea of the event ambiance. The festival is free and open to the public. 
Last Chance for Class Discounts: Thursday!

Visit the Alliance Open House (Portes Ouvertes) on Thursday, June 12, from 6:15 pm to 7:30 pm. The public is invited to come get to know the cultural and class offerings, visit with teachers, and  register for upcoming summer classes and workshops. The open house is the deadline for getting 10% off registrations for the main summer term. The event is free and open to the public; no reservations are necessary. Consult our parking page for free parking options. Note that the summer schedule is online and that we've added a new Conversation class for intermediate students, on Tuesday nights, for a total of 40 classes this summer. 

Why Soccer vs Football? (& World Cup News)

With the 2014 World Cup games coming shortly, it's a good time to note that the French are no less confused than Americans about how the sport of football became known as soccer in the U.S. The terms both have their origins in the late 1800's, as explained in this article (in French), from the national edition of French Morning: "Pourquoi appelle-t-on le football 'soccer' aux Etats-Unis?" Reading the article is educational and a good test of French (sorry, we didn't find errors this time). Finally, all three St Honor locations are equipped with large-screen TVs and plan to follow the games. If you know of other PDX locations for game viewing by Francophiles, email info@afportland.org. (Shown here is Didier Deschamps, a retired player who has managed the French team since 2012.)   

Rose City Ptanque Tournament 
Portland Ptanque Club will host the inaugural Rose City Open tournament from July 11-13 in Westmoreland Park. Sponsored by La Provence, it will be a 48 team Open International Select Triplette tournament. Click here for a PDF file that has complete information on the tournament, registration and related events. PPC's clubhouse, set within Portland's beautiful Westmoreland Park, is reputed to be among the finest p�tanque clubhouse and terrain combinations in the U.S., with ample space to play and 24 regulation-size courts of varying difficulty. The maximum purse (total of cash prizes to be awarded) at the tournament will be $9,000.  
Event Photos & Key Updates 
   Last Friday's Normandy dinner at the MAC drew 220 people. The French Honorary Consul, Franoise Aylmer, was one of the keynote speakers, along with Executive Chef Philippe Boulot and Lou Jaffe of the Oregon WWII Memorial Foundation. Click here for a few event photos (merci to Emily Eastman).
 Tuileries Exhibit at PAM: The French-language tour that the Alliance is organizing for June 22 is completely sold out so we're adding ANOTHER tour date, in partnership with the museum. Click here to register for the new July 20 tour date (also on a Sunday), when you can attend the private French language tour from 2-3pm and then optionally attend the public English-language tour.

Dates to Remember
June 12: Alliance Summer Open House (Portes Ouvertes)
June 22: French Tour of the PAM Tuileries Exhibit
June 23: Summer Term Begins
July 11: Rose City Open Petanque Tournament
July 12: Bastille Day in Director Park
Quick Web Links
 

Now enrolling for Summer Term, Intersession (June) Term, Summer Camps and Immersion Programs.

  

Conversation

Groups

Some are hosted by Alliance staff, board members or other volunteers. Drop-ins welcome; membership is encouraged but not required.

NW or Central PDX 

St Honor� on NW Thurman on

Wed., 6pm, June 18 

C'est Si Bon on NE 7th on Tuesdays @ 6pm 

SE Portland

At St Honor on SE Division, Monday, July 7, at 6pm.

At Chez Machin, Mon., June 9, at 7p.m.

 
At Vie de Boh�me weekly on Sundays, 4-5:30 p.m.

Vancouver

At Gustav's in Vancouver, Tues., July 1 at 5:30 p.m.

 

 

In-Kind Sponsors

 Perrier

 

 

 

PClogo

 

Volunteers in Action, Middle-School Camp and More     
 
ALL ABOUT VOLUNTEERISM: Portland's Alliance Franaise, the 8th largest in the nation, is proud to welcome talented volunteers and also visitors from abroad. Here is a snapshot of a few. Read on for the stories of how these folks fit volunteerism into their lives, and fill out a quick online survey if you'd
like to volunteer. We need help with social media, events and more! Volunteers like Emily and Julie, shown here at left, help our events - small and large - run smoothly. Most recently, Emily and Julie helped greet and orient guests at last Friday's huge dinner event at the MAC. Ba from Bordeaux (pictured here at right): Many students and members have had a chance to get to know Ba, who regularly does volunteer projects around the world, when she's not organizing training for her hometown's civil servants. During her visit to Portland, she's made a number of acquaintances at the Alliance who (surprise!) will be visiting her shortly in Bordeaux. Sherri (pictured here at left) is the volunteer behind the organization and maintenance of the Alliance's 2000-book library, free to members. This is a huge job that involves categorizing and sorting new donations, shelving current books, and more. Sherri also helps with events, including setup for the quarterly open house. Join these and other volunteers if you have time and talent to share.
     Catlin Gabel French Camps for Middle SchoolersCatlin Gabel School is offering two summer camps for students entering grades 6th through 8th. The camps, open to middle-schoolers from the general public, are calledFrom Portland to Paris and French Cuisine. These classes are taught by Middle School French teacher Katie Gunderson and participants will have fun exploring French culture, music, art, food, and more. Details and registration can be found online. The week-long camps are priced at $350.
    Mercy Corps Seeks HR Officer Fluent in French:
Mercy Corps is seeking candidates for the position of Human Resources Officer; a minimum of two years' experience in HR is required, as well as fluency (written and oral) in French. Click here for the link.
     Keeping Up with Paris News: A couple months ago, the city welcomed its first female mayor, Anne Hidalgo, who was born in Spain. In today's news, the popular "love locks" damaged the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris. Click here for an article on the quaint tradition, now widespread in Europe. And finally, the cultural "scene" in France is threatened by changes in the way that the government subsidizes workers in the entertainment industry, called "intermittents du spectacle." (Since the 1930s, seasonal part-time artists in France have received a form of "artist welfare," but new belt-tightening threatens that system.) A number of strikes this summer by workers in the entertainment industry (theater, film, TV, etc.) will threaten major festivals.     

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