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After a very successful first edition in 2005 (250,000 visitors!), the giant funfair Jours de Fête is back at the Grand Palais…

photos : JasonW

OK, it’s obviously a giant funfair, but there’s a little more to it than that: firstly, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Django Reinhardt there will be a number of free concerts. During the day (2pm – 8pm) you can see and hear the Ninine Garcia quartet, or Los Amigos or eve Kema, then every evening there’s a concert from 8.30 – 10.30pm (except 24th & 31st December).

Here’s the lineup:

Thursday 17th – Casta Cali Groupe Gitan & Groupe Opus 4
Friday 18th – Lemmy Constantine Jazz quartet
Saturday 19th – David Reinhardt Trio
Sunday 20th – Thomas Dutronc
Monday 21st – Groupe Opus 4
Tuesday 22nd – Angelo quartet Gipsy United
Wednesday 23rd – Noé Reinhardt quartet
Friday 25th – Tchavolo Schmitt trio
Saturday 26th – Moreno et ses musiciens
Sunday 27th et Monday 28th – Titi Demeter et ses musiciens jazz manouche et tzigane
Tuesday 29th – Serge Krief quartet
Wednesday 30th – Romane et les Manetti Brothers

Linked with the Grand Palais, the Musée des Arts Forains (Paris’ fair museum that is only open to groups who reserve) will be showing some treasures from its collection, such as the Indian elephant from the colonial exhibition of 1931, Gustave Bayol’s gondola, and a scene from a fairground mechanical theatre (the sort of spectacle that wowed the crowds before cinema was invented).
Jours de Fête is at the Grand Palais (here) from 18th December 2009 – 1st January 2010.
Open every day from 11am – midnight (last tickets 11pm).

Admission: 5€ / 3€ for kids under 10 years old. Attractions cost between 2 and 4€.

Official Grand Palais site: www.grandpalais.fr