Collated by Carolyn Buckley and Caroline Thonger
Ticino Roundup
Big Ben Club Founded in 1958 as “a social and cultural club open to all British subjects as well as to people of other nationalities who have an interest in Britain and are able to converse in English”. This same definition works for the goals of the Club today. The Club now counts over 120 members from around the world. Activities include a Spring Lunch; a Raclette/Fondue evening; an Autumn boat trip with Buffet dinner on board; and Christmas Dinner; plus evening talks and dinner, lunches, TGIF, and coffee mornings. There are also walks in Ticino, Art Exhibitions, Opera evenings, Tenpin Bowling. www.bigbenclublugano.ch
The International Women’s Club of Lugano (IWCL) Founded in 1988, the Club’s purpose is to bring women together in order to share resources, hobbies, interests, skills and contacts via a wide variety of informal and formal activities. The Club now has more than 250 members from over 30 countries. Most of the members live in Ticino. The only requirement for membership is to be able to speak and understand English. The monthly meeting (on the first Tuesday of each month) is held at the Hotel Pestalozzi in Lugano, where members enjoy coffee and a talk by a guest speaker. The Hospitality Committee warmly welcomes potential new members. The Club’s monthly newsletter details the activities sponsored by the Club. Special events are planned periodically, and include cultural tours and lectures, lunches, dinners and dances. Small groups also meet frequently to share
particular interests comprising tennis, bridge, hiking, painting, arts, golf, language skills, and international cooking. www.iwcl.org
The newly formed FAI Swiss Foundation This is the first international offshoot of the 30-year-old Fondo Ambiente Italiano, the Italian equivalent of the British National Trust. FAI Swiss organizes guided visits to exhibitions both in the Lugano area and in Italy, as well as cultural tourism in Italy. The well-known FAI Spring Days will take place on the weekend of 23/24 March this year, when buildings and institutions in Ticino and Italy normally closed to the public will be open both to FAI members as well as the general public. Check the website for the full programme and for membership details. eng.fondoambiente.it/fai-swiss.asp
Franklin College Lugano Lecture Series held in the auditorium on this American University’s beautiful Lugano campus is free of charge and open to the public. The last two lectures of the first semester will be held on 4 & 18 April, 18:30-19:30, and are followed by a reception during which guests can meet the speaker and discuss the evening’s topic. www.fc.edu/lecture-series
MeetUp Lugano MeetUp is a group that socially connects internationally minded people. If you are a visitor to Lugano, a foreigner living in Ticino, an expat working here, a newcomer or a local person with a global open mind then Lugano MeetUp is the place to be. If you want something to do, follow the upcoming events on the Lugano MeetUp website. If you find something that interests you, just sign up for it and
Lugano at night
(© swiss-image.ch)
join in the next MeetUp event. If you want to do something that has not yet been arranged, then create your own MeetUp event. In the Lugano MeetUp community, there are members of many different nationalities, backgrounds, ages and interests. Regular monthly MeetUp events are held to connect new members, along with many other MeetUp events directly organized by our members. www.meetup.com/lugano-meetup
Alliance Française de Lugano This club is dedicated to cultural exchange and friendship between French-speaking people. Various activities in French take place during the year, and once a month the Alliance offers the ciné-club at a special rate for its members. Alliance Française welcome members and non-members to any of its gatherings – just turn up and be ready to speak French! President: Mme Laurence Beauvillain af _lugano@yahoo.fr Movie-club: Sabrina Nicod afinfolugano@gmail.com 2nd Expat-Expo Lugano This will take place on 10 March at the Palazzo dei Congressi. 60 exhibitors from all over Switzerland, along with many local companies and clubs from Lugano, will be on hand to greet you, introduce you to their specialties, and make you feel more at home in Ticino. www.expat-expo.info
TICINO
Listed below is a sample of the clubs in and around the Lugano area, catering in different ways to the expat community.
53