Telethon and Entertainment – French Style

Montmartre à la Une -Number 1 in  Paris Telethon

by Jane Rosenstein and Didier Lambert

“You must come to our dinner and show on November 29th to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our magazine Montmartre à la une ”,Michel Langlois told us at Prix de Wepler, the literary prize at Wepler Restaurant.

We received an invitation for a free cocktail and then a special dinner costing 30 Euros of which 5 would be given to l’AFM Telethon. The dinner consisted of a cocktail offered by Société Ricard , a beverage company, paté in pastry, then pot-au-feu- boiled beef with vegetables, salad, cheese and dessert plus wine.  It was a special dinner in a beautiful restaurant La Crémaillère 1900 located in Montmartre. Henri Boulard, the owner, told us that his restaurant specializes in seafood and homemade desserts.  The dinner was offered at a special price for the association

This year Montmartre a la une celebrated its 10th anniversary  and the opening of the 26th telethon at this dinner for 170 people;

Montmartre à la Une is an association to promote commoraderie amongst its members most of whom live in Montmartre near the famous Eglise de Sacré -Coeur and  la place de Tertre where artists paint portraits.  There are about 1200 paying members who pay dues of 10 Euros per year. The organization publishes a magazine about events in the neighbor and is distributed free in local restaurants and shops. They distribute about 50,00copies. If there is delivery to a house it costs 25 Euros for 4 editions.

We asked the guests why they came to the dinner.  They said to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the organization, to support the telethon and to have fun;  They said there is a dinner every three months at a different restaurant. One man told us he came to eat, drink and then the dancing. The guests came ready for a good time, a good dinner, good entertainment and  for conviviality

Montmartre à la une  has many interesting events throughout the year. December  23 there were 300 tuba players on the streets of Montmartre; On January 25, 26 and 27 there will be the  7th Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques d’Erquyy à Montmartre. This is the celebration of the  special oysters from Erquy with many men shackling oysters  A special fish market  will be held. Other activities include  :any men   a  special Catholic mass, a parade and a gala dinner soirée  for 58 Euros. Other events include attic sales, the French version of garage sales in USA, antique sales, Festival of Soups to benefit a charity APEI for parents of disabled children.

To begin the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the association, Michel Langois, founder, president and director of publication  mounted the stage and welcomed all and told us about the telethon; This year it was to raise money for research for  children’s diseases   research for homeopath and rare diseases.

The goal of Telethon on December 7th and 8th was to beat the record of  40,525 Euros. To accomplish there were many activities including a wine auction at a restaurant with a free buffet, another auction at a café,  a musical soiréé  and other entertainment  Montmartre à la une was the 1st place in donations for the 5th consecutive year. This year 40,797 Euros was raised from 104 organizations in Paris.

The entertainment was fabulous; First Simone Langlois, a singer, sang some French songs accompanied by  her husband Georges Cros, on the piano; Then the people all enjoyd  the special entertainment by a singer with a great voice Jean Jacques  de Launay. The people all French except for one American – Jane  from VT,  sang along with great joy.  Most knew the popular French songs. What a great ambiance all being together and enjoying each other’s company. Then JJ invited some guests to sing solo. One woman felt like dancing so she danced in the aisle!  As the evening progressed ,  Jean Jacques  sang some songs to which we danced. He sang some popular American songs like “New York New York.”  He then told us that he wants to sing in USA which we think would be a great idea.  With his fabulous voice and good vibes with the audience we are sure he would be successful.

Simon Leglois  and Georges Cros

Montmartre à la une  gives the residents of the area and others in Paris  opportunities to come together to have fun, enjoy camaraderie and help good causes.  Its magazine provides useful and practical information about events in the area; The merchants pay for advertising. It keeps members informed about the activities.

We enjoyed learning about a great organization while enjoying French culture and solidarity.