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August 2015 Get on Your Bike and Ride with BikeLafayette!
Serving the Lafayette Community Funny Name, Great Game By Fran Miller
By Fran Miller
Anyone who drives regularly through downtown Lafayette knows that the roads are becoming more and more congested. Observing the number of cars on Mt. Diablo Blvd., a recent visitor from Indiana asked and commented, “What is going on here? It’s so crowded!” He was experiencing what residents
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Our Sister City By Fran Miller
What could Lafayette possibly have in common with a small town in the L’Auvergne region of France? Langeac, in the Haute-Loire of L‘Auvergne is the birthplace of our town’s namesake: Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette, whose statue sits adjacent to downtown Lafayette’s Plaza Park. In 1976, twenty years after President Dwight Eisenhower inaugurated the ‘Peopleto-People Program’ to enhance international understanding and friendship among peoples of different countries and diverse cultures, the Lafayette City Council, under the leadership of Mayor Barbara Langlois, established a Sister City relationship with Langeac, France. Residents of Lafayette visited the area, and a few Auvergnats (including a relative of the Marquis) crossed the Atlantic to Lafayette. But the relationship faded until last year, when Madame Catherine Jolivet, of Lafayette’s French for Fun program, reignited the program Madame Catherine Jolivet invites the public with the support of the Lafayette Chamber. to a birthday celebration for Lafayette's Jolivet recently returned from a trip to namesake, the Marquis de Lafayette, Langeac where she met with the mayor. “I September 6 at noon, Plaza Park. am really trying hard to make our Sister City Project a reality, as it is in many other cities around us, such as Orinda and its ongoing relationship with Tabor in the Czech Republic,” says Jolivet, who invites the public to learn more at her annual birthday celebration for the Marquis de Lafayette. Join her Sunday, September 6th at noon at Lafayette Plaza Park near the statue of the Marquis for birthday cake and live jazz with a French twist by Duo Gadjo (Isabelle Fontaine and Jeff Magidson). Bring a picnic and enjoy the festivities that are sponsored by the Chamber, the Lafayette Historical Society, and the Langeac Society. “Everyone is invited: Francophiles, Francophones, and history enthusiasts,” says Jolivet. “This is a community event for all.”
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The Italian game of bocce is familiar to many, but its sister sport – petanque – remains quietly in the shadows, or in the shaded grove off of Saint Mary’s Road in Lafayette. Just across from the Lafayette Estates neighborhood and down the road from the Lafayette Community Center, passers-by can watch participants of all ages throwing little silver balls (boules) across a flat crushed granite playing field towards a target (cochonnet). An easy sport to learn, petanque enjoys popularity the world over. Part of its appeal is that anyone of any age and ability can play almost anywhere. Age, strength and speed are not important. A player can be ahead for most of the game and yet lose a second later. Nothing is decided until the last boule is thrown. Also appealing is that equipment necessities are minimal: a set of boules per player, a cochonnet, and a patch of flat dirt. Boules are traditionally made of steel and are three inches in diameter, and the cochonnet is made of wood and is an inch and a quarter in diameter. And the patch of flat dirt can be found at the Lamorinda Petanque terrain at 480 Saint Mary’s Rd. The Lamorinda Petanque Club, a member of the Federations of Petanque USA, was founded by Orindan Pascal Gravier and includes 55 current members. “We have members from all walks of life, of ages ranging from 12 to 82, and of abilities ranging from beginners Volume IX - Number 8 to accomplished,” says club president 3000F Danville Blvd #117 William Hansen. “We welcome anyone who Alamo, CA 94507 Telephone (925) 405-6397 wants to experience petanque to come and Fax (925) 406-0547 watch or play. We believe in learning editor@yourmonthlypaper.com through ‘on-the-job-training,’ so we fold newcomers right into our games.” Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher The opinions expressed herein belong to the Newcomers need not bring their own writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Laboules; the club will provide loaners. fayette Today. Lafayette Today is not responsible
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