Verdun. 44th Verdun National Fair: the three highlights of this second day
The winner of the departmental competition for the best baguette will be announced this Friday. Photo by Léa Didier
The Federation of Artisan Bakers and Pastry Chefs of the Meuse is a subscriber to my Verdun Fair and has once again set up a mobile bakery in the Vannier Hall. This is partly to showcase the expertise of its apprentices, but also to present the results of the competitions it organizes each year. Such as the one for the most beautiful artistic piece of bread on the theme of "world monuments," the winners of which will be revealed in the Vannier Hall (at 3 p.m.), or the winners for the best traditional French baguette and the best Lorraine pâté, which can be discovered at the Groupama stand at 3:30 p.m.
The stand of the Building and Public Works Federation, in 2024. Photo Léa Didier
The BTP (building and public works) Federation is diversifying to showcase its diverse range of trades. It is organizing the "Batiquizz" game at its stand (open-air exhibitor area) this Friday starting at 2 p.m. This initiative will allow participants to interact directly with professionals and training organizations.
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Frank Delay (left) and Chris Keller (right).
After the 80s line-up served this Thursday, familiar faces from the 90s and 2000s will be taking to the stage at 7:30 p.m. A "boy band" cast with Franck (2B3) and Chris (G-Squad), who will precede the L5s.
Schedules, prices, personalities... Find all the practical information here as well as the full program.
80s Board: It was Super Mario
Mario Ramsamy loves Verdun. In any case, he loves performing on the Pré-l'Evêque stage. Present in 2023 alongside Émile Wandelmer – with whom he formed Émile et Images – he returned to the Fair for the 80s opening set this Thursday evening.
Fulfilling the wish he had made to the Backstage Event agency, which Michael Leduc, the event director, works with. And Mario didn't pretend.
After stating that Émile (Wandelmer) was "a little tired," that he missed "Coluche," "Daniel Balavoine," and "Grégory Lemarchal," the artist, dressed in a sequined T-shirt and slim jeans, came down from the stage to brave the crowd, microphone in hand. A "super Mario" that allowed his companions to play on velvet and in front of a captivated audience.
"He still has that voice and that spark," observed Maryse and Jacques, who were of course there, in 2023, and the first time - "maybe it was in 2012?" asks Jacques - that Mario Ramsamy had taken to the entertainment podium at the Verdun Fair.
Change of style but not of decor, this Friday, with a 2000s cast which will bring together Franck (2B3) and Chris (G-Squad) in the first part of the L5, the winners of the first season of Popstars , in 2001.
MB
A launch with wet feet but head held high
Concerned about the well-being of its exhibitors, the Verdun Expo Meuse association, which organizes the Verdun National Fair, decided to overturn the table where the small protocol cards once stood. Usually, after the flurry of speeches delivered by officials on the indoor tennis courts of the Cassin Hall, the procession of "authorities" would stroll through the aisles of Pré-l'Evêque. The problem was, there were not many people left in the path of Jean-Pierre Laparra, the president of Verdun Expo Meuse, when he reached the agricultural village at the other end of the Fair.
"So we decided to hold the inauguration in the livestock area, visit the exhibitors, and then gather for the speeches," he explained shortly after cutting the ribbon. A radical change, and a credit to the association's volunteers. Unfortunately, the opposite effect has eroded this goodwill.
After three hours spent slaloming between the raindrops and the stands, the speeches were made in front of too many empty chairs, when they were not smothered by downpours, which clearly took a pass for this 44th National Fair.
“The best are in the room”"But the best are still in the room, and that's great," said Jean-Pierre Laparra. "We should be proud of our department and our territory," added Jérôme Dumont, president of the departmental council. "More than a trade show, the Fair is a symbol," added the mayor of Verdun, Samuel Hazard.
"We must not submit, but fight," finally urged the prefect of the Meuse, Xavier Delarue. "The Meuse is a land of talent, innovation, and conviviality. It makes you want to stay here, come back, and invest your future here." Visitors who got wet feet this Thursday should take note, change their shoes, and come back to Pré-l'Evêque, because the Fair is open until Monday.
Matthieu Boedec
Verdun - Behind the scenes at the Fair
DeLorean. The iconic car from the film Back to the Future is all the rage at the Department's stand. The prefect of Meuse, among others, couldn't resist getting behind the wheel.
Presidents. Three days after the end of the 79th Châlons Fair, its president, Bruno Forget, attended the inauguration of its little sister in Verdun with a delegation from Champagne.
High school. The Alain-Fournier and Eugène-Freyssinet vocational high schools recently merged, but the new name of the establishment caused a slight confusion among the "officials," who alternately called it "Alain-Fournier," "Nicole-Mangin" (its future official name) or simply "vocational high school."
Champagne. Due to the grape harvest, only one champagne stand had set up flutes last year. Two producers made the trip this year.
L'Est Républicain
