Breizh Fest
a festive celebration of French Brittany!
Breizh Fest is back!
Join us on Friday, May 19th, from 5 to 11pm at the Minneapolis Cider Company for Breizh Fest - a family-friendly evening celebrating the food and culture of Brittany, France.
We'll have delicious food, live music, awesome kids activities, and traditional Breton dance with lessons... exactly as you would experience it in French Brittany during ''Fest Noz''!
Fun fact: In Breton language, ‘‘Breizh’’ means Brittany!
$10 per person - Kids entry free (12 and under)
Ticket price doesn’t include food and drinks.
Registration required.
Meaning "night party" in Breton, the Fest Noz is a festive gathering based on the collective practice of traditional Breton dances, accompanied by singing or instrumental music. About a thousand Fest Noz take place every year with participants varying from a hundred to several thousand people, thousands of musicians and singers and tens of thousands of regular dancers. Beyond the practice of the dance, the Fest Noz is characterized by an intense camaraderie among the singers, musicians and dancers, significant social and intergenerational diversity, and openness to others… Now recognized throughout the world, this event was registered a few years ago as part of UNESCO's intangible heritage.
Join us to celebrate this joyous occasion of French cultural diversity!
Que la fête commence !
Here is what you can expect:
Who: Everyone - this is a great event to bring your kids!
When: Friday, May 19th | 5 PM - 11 PM
Where: Minneapolis Cider Company
Cost: Tickets are $10 for adults, free for kids.
Food: Sweet and Savory Crêpes, Oyster Bar, Mussels, Ice Cream Sundaes!
Drinks: Craft Cider, Cocktails, NA Apple Juice
Shopping: Visit La Boutique by Alliance Française & Breizh Shop
Live Music: Traditional Breton music and dance
Free Kids Activities: Chalks, ping-pong, corn hole games, build your own sailboat, coloring activities, build you sand bottle necklace, build your wishing bottle, story time, learn how to make knots. Kids activities shedule HERE!
LIVE MUSIC
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the BreTones
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear the BreTones live! Tom Klein, Laura MacKenzie and Bob Walser share a passion for the music and dance of Brittany.
Laura MacKenzie performs traditional wind-powered music on an array of wooden flutes, whistles, concertina, voice and a variety of bagpipes. Enjoying a career grounded in traditional music, expressed in diverse contexts, she particularly loves music for dance and has long held a deep love for the music of Central France and Brittany - www.lauramackenzie.com
Tom Klein (cittern) has enjoyed learning and performing European traditional music for decades. Primarily a wind player (uilleann pipes), Tom welcomes the opportunity to provide rhythmic backing to the music (DADGAD guitar/cittern) in the modern, modal style made famous by Celtic bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Dance leader, scholar and performer of music of the sea, Bob Walser (accordéon diatonique) has appeared at festivals in Brest, Douarnenez, England, Poland and across the USA - bobwalser.com.
The BreTones are thrilled to share music they love at Breizh Fest!
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bagad new york
Bagad New York will be back! Second participation for Bagad New York with Alex Bartholomew, Mike MacNintch and John Loiacono.
Alex Bartholomew grew up playing highland bagpipes in upstate New York with instruction at various music camps in the US and Canada. He is a founding member of Bagad New York and has served as the musical director of the ensemble since 2010. In the winter of 2010 Alex traveled to Bretagne to play bagpipes with bagad Kerlenn Pondi from Pontivy and returned in the summer of 2010 to learn and play bombarde with Kerlenn Pondi, becoming the first non-Breton to play bombarde with a Grade 1 bagad in competition. Alex has played bombarde in couple with Mike MacNintch since 2010.
Mike MacNintch is a well-known piper from the northeastern US, playing and building various types of bagpipes for many decades. Mike has led several pipe bands at multiple grade levels. Mike's love of Breton music and dance goes back to the 1980s and he has played pipes with Bagad Kemperle at multiple competitions in Bretagne. Mike is a founding member of Bagad New York and has served as the main organizer of pipers and musicians for the eastern US tours of the Chieftains for many years. Mike plays highland bagpipes, biniou kozh, and veuze with Alex in couple.
John Loiacono is an accomplished piper and drummer from northern New Jersey, having played with the St. Columcille Pipe Band for many years and also having worked as a bagpiper maker as well. John is a talented musician, playing multiple instruments in Celtic music sessions here and in China where he lived for several years after graduating college. John has been a piper with Bagad New York for over 5 years and made himself a special set of drones for his bagpipes to play with the bagad on our minor tunes.
7 pm: B-flat set
Hanter Dro
Ronds de St. Vincent
Scottish
Gavotte Montagne
Pach pi (Alex/Mike)
8 pm: DO-minor set
Kaz Ha Bar
An Dro
Gavotte Montagne
Ronds de St. Vince (Alex/Mike)
Plinn (Alex/Mike)
9 pm: B-flat set
Hanter Dro (Alex/Mike)
Ronds de St. Vincent
Scottish
Gavotte Montagne
Kaz Ha Bar/An Dro (Alex/Mike)
Maraichine (Alex/Mike)
Boeuf with everyone!
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james sherman
James Sherman is a professional bagpiper and smallpiper with many years of experience providing music for many events.
Jim will be playing music at our Breizh Fest for the third time! He was already here when we’ve started it back in 2021, and we are delighted to have him with us again this year!
This event is organized by the
Alliance Française Mpls/St Paul
and Breizh Kitchen at the
Minneapolis Cider Company,
with our wonderful partners
Jametta Raspberry from House of Gristle and Vincent Francoual
from Chloé by Vincent.
