Les Garrigues in Belgium

For its traditional summer trip, the choir “Les Garrigues” traveled this year to meet the Belgian choir “Voces Maris” from Ostend. On the way to Flanders, a stop near Compiègne allowed the fifty or so choir members and chaperones to visit the Château de Pierrefonds, which was dismantled in the 17th century and rebuilt in the 19th by the architect Viollet-le-Duc.

On the first day, the choir members explored Bruges, the “Venice of the North,” on foot or by boat along the famous canals listed as a World Heritage Site, and of course enjoyed the unmissable cone of fries on the Grand Place, washed down with a freshly poured beer.

The next day, after a visit to Ostend, the evening was devoted to a joint concert with our Belgian friends. The large and very warm audience enthusiastically welcomed the repertoire of Mediterranean songs performed by the Languedoc choir members. Then it was the turn of the singers from Voces Maris to delight the audience. After a joint performance, the 80 singers gathered for a meal enlivened by the songs of both choirs.

On the third day, we headed to the Notre Dame des Dunes Abbey and the vast, fine-sand beaches of La Panne, where only the mixed weather kept the choir members from taking a dip.

A big thank you to Rita, our local guide, and to Odile and her parents, who organized this wonderful trip in their home region.

The choir will resume its activities on Friday, September 7, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. at the community center in Saint Bauzille de Montmel and will gladly welcome new members, whether beginners or those with prior choral singing experience. Please feel free to come and share with us the joy of singing together.

Contacts.

Guy Bonnet: 04 67 86 13 04

Didier COQUE: 04 67 55 11 49