Toast of The Town: November & December 2019
They say Autumn is best in New York, but we at Learn French Brooklyn are warming our hearts with thoughts of Paris.
No winter escape planned as 2019 kisses us goodbye? Never fear! New York is rich in chestnut street vendors and Francophile cultural treats - both piping hot and very tasty indeed!
Taste!
Cozymeal presents “The French Connection”
Cook up a series of succulent French foodie classes, such as:
French Onion Soup (it isn’t all about 24 greasy spoons - there is an art to this International Hangover cure!);
Beef Bourguignon (Wait to go vegan until after the New Year, we will be right there with you!);
Honey-Hazelnut (Can we taste a theme here?)
The Workshops are ongoing through the next several months. We call that a “no excuse” opportunity to invest in your palate and pâté appreciation. (Send all dinner party invites to: bonjour@learnfrenchbrooklyn.com)
Read!
Albertine’s The Mews French Book Club
Celebrated French Writer Catherine Cusset of the Story of Jane and the Life of David Hockney a Novel leads Albertine’s The Mews French Book Club at NYU's La Maison Française. The December 13th event will focus on Michel Houellebecq’s Soumission. Open to all French Natives and French confident speakers, this is truly a literary “Woodstock” (very American nod!) for those in the French-Lit-know.
Hear!
Cafe Bonfide Jazz and Bozza Nova
Nites come fast this time of the year. Celebrate the sundown with a lyrical wine down at Manhattan’s Cafe Bonfide all Season. Enjoy swooning and swinging (and drinking!) to the sounds of Vocalist Chloe’s sensual renditions of Jazz and Bossa Nova with an indelible Gatsby era flair.
Singing on both sides of the Atlantic, Chloe is a singer unique in her study of both American and Parisian Jazz and Classical styles. Modern and referential, you’ll find sweeter not only the cocktails but the tunes as the lights dim, the candle flames dance, and that good looking someone signals... Leaves are turning, why not hearts?
See!
The Brooklyn Museum offers a drool worthy, eye popping, cat walking exhibit on the fashion phoenix Pierre Cardin. Equal parts blasts from the past and a window into the future - wearable and awe invoking. Browse, dream, and imagine a world where machines and aliens all speaking français party and created in efficient, elegant tandem. Grab your ticket, platforms, and oxygen helmet today!
Watch!
French African Diaspora International Film Festival
The Continent is only the very beginning of the French Cultural Conversation. A Nation rich, sure. But the true wealth of the French experience (as if you did not know, you wise LFBK friends and fan!) is found all across the Globe.
Speaking to that bounty, the French African Diaspora International Film Festival comes to our humble shores early December. The event is a culmination of the best and bravest French African Cinema.
Highlights include:
The island of Martinique again brings for a jewel - this time in the Festival’s Gala screening of Maharani bi-pic of West Africa’s legendary mother of Zouk, Jocelyne Berorad. An explosion of color, sound, and sensation - bright burns the passion and perfection or a living French/Creole icon. Join the December 3rd festival kick off party and program starring Maharaki discussion of Berorad and the film’s creation.
Not to be outdone - Cairo based filmmaker Iman Kamel shares her own journey in a of patriarchal emancipation through movement. A Dancer, Writer, Cinematic story teller, and Feminst, Iman speaks and spins to the beat of nouveau global womanhood.
Highschool girls heading to University star in Somali director Lula Ali Ismail’s tender tale of growing from child to woman, friendship, and the stirring impact of education and choice that propels, matures, and challenges three introspective, adventurous characters.
Ismail too, joins the gala roster for a talk and Q & A.