No one ever talks about it, but everyone knows Brisbane has a longing desire to be a little bit more French - to have that je ne sais quoi, to be a little bit more tres chic, to speak in dulcet Parisian tones while eating baguette as a man plays the accordion across the cobblestone road. No one ever talks about it, but the evidence is there – all you have to do is walk into your standard Albion McMansion to find a spread of francais-inspired tiki-tack from Ici et La. Want a coffee? Sure, the café is in the garde-manger – sorry, pantry, woops – and you can find the lait in le réfrigérateur. Oh, you’re leaving now ? Bon voyage – woops, I mean, um, excusez moi – seeya later mate !
While a lot of us won’t have the chance to claim a French passport in our lifetime, we can still celebrate Bastille Day with our froggish friends. Enter the Brisbane French Festival. Taking place on South Bank’s Cultural Forecourt, the festival will see thirteen hours of authentic French food and fun, including: Le Defilé, Cirque du Nouvelle Caledonie, Le Trois Petit Cochons puppet show, and more.
If you’re feeling a little out of place with your fellow antipodeans (oui, moi!) the French Festival is the one day of the year that you can be brought closer to the Parisian dream. Je t’aime, France!