Just as Americans have the game of baseball, the French have the game of pétanque.
And who doesn't love a picnic--especially with delicious homemade foods
and French pastries? So imagine how fun it was yesterday to play pétanque and enjoy a picnic with 40+ French and French-speaking people from Charlotte's Alliance Française!
Sunday's
weather was beautiful: an azure blue sky, bright sunshine, and the
occasional slight breeze. Nevin Park provided the perfect setting:
picnic tables situated under the park's
trees and pergola and plenty of open space for the children to run and
play. The only regret was the 94-degree temperature--scorching hot!
But the folks from Alliance were troopers and enthusiastic, displaying a
natural joy to be playing this beautiful game with both new and old
friends.
I think I can speak for all of Carolina Petanque
in attendance yesterday that we were extremely delighted by the genuine
kindness shown to us by all the Alliance members. I hope the rest of
our members will have the opportunity to meet these nice folks soon.
The
overwhelming majority of those attending yesterday were already
familiar with the game, and some either used to or still occasionally
play. Therefore, little explanation of the game was needed! Several
Alliance members have requested to be added to the Carolina Petanque
email list (and they are receiving this email). We also heard several
times yesterday from Alliance members how pleasantly surprised they
were to learn that not only is pétanque being played in the United States, but that the Carolinas
have an active, organized club. It is our hope that this warm and
genuine response yesterday will offer more frequent, regular pétanque
in Charlotte in the near future, which is good for our club's members
living in or near the Queen City. Nevin Park's courts remain less than
ideal, but we will continue trying to work with the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Parks Department to see if the terrain can be
corrected. There are also courts further down in Charlotte which I'm
hoping we can check out soon as another possible playing location.
And in addition to thanking all of those from the Alliance Française, I would like to offer a very BIG thank you to those from Carolina Petanque who helped make yesterday's event a success: Nelson Ricardo, Khalid Mesbah, Frank & Denyse Haney, Tom & Carol Cearley, Teng & Mai Ly, Ann & Ed Shoaf, Bob Moyer, Michael Musumeci, and Amanda Szyjka.
Attached are some of yesterday's photos taken by both CP and AF. Enjoy!
-Rebekah
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