Monthly Archives: December 2022

Original things to do over the festive season in Paris

The end-of-year festive season is one of the loveliest times of year in Paris. The shops put out their finest wares, the city streets are decked in lights and holiday markets pop up around the city. While the lights on the Champs Elysées and the window displays of les grands magasins are world famous, there are a lot of other ways in which we can suggest enjoying the festive season in Paris.

REcyclerie Credit: Adrien Roux

REcyclerie (and top photo) Credit: Adrien Roux

Alternative Holiday Markets

Paris has dozens of holiday markets, however, you can get some eco-friendly and sustainably minded gifts at these alternative markets. Two former stations on La Petite Ceinture railway in the 18th arrondissements (cool hangouts in their own right!) are hosting marchés de Noël éco-responsables.  La REcyclerie is hosting three on-going markets daily through December 18th and Le Hasard Ludique’s market is taking place on Sunday December 11th and 18th. Another great option is The Foundation GoodPlanet which is organising a Christmas “supermarket” with environmentally-friendly and “solidaire” gifts, plus they are also giving you the opportunity to make your own gifts during workshops held on the weekends of December 10th and 11th and 17th and 18th.

Marché de Noel de Provins

Marché de Noël de Provins

A highlight of the holiday season in the Ile-de-France region is the famed Medieval holiday fair of Provins. This year it’ll be taking place the weekend of December 10th and 11th. Over the course of the week the picturesque town east of the capital takes a journey back to Medieval times with costumed performances, music, artisans stands and food. If you have a Navigo pass, you can easily and freely get to Provins from Gare de l’Est station. ore information on the festivities (in French) here.

Credit: Musée des Arts Forains

Le Festival du Merveilleux – Musée des Arts Forains 

The holiday season offers the perfect opportunity to visit one of the most unique museums of Paris. The Musée des Arts Forains is a private museum of vintage funfair rides and related objects. If you saw Woody Allen’s film Midnight in Paris, then you’ve already seen the venue, used for a party scene in the movie. The museum doesn’t hold regular opening hours, but instead is usually open over the holiday season when it holds a magical event: Le Festival du Merveilleux. From December 26th to January 2nd 2023, the museum (located near Bercy Village, another great place over the holidays!) will be open every day from 10am-6pm. It is beautifully decorated in festive flare, there are special performances food stands and the chance to try out some of the vintage rides.

La Villette Photo: Studio Toer Firefly field © Vivid

Unique Illuminations

The light show put on during the holiday season doesn’t only take place on the streets of Paris, this year there are two alternative “light shows”. Parc de La Villette is hosting a light festival which involves an immersive path through this modern park, lit by the illuminated creations by artists. It is taking place evenings from December 15th to January 1st, 2023 and on December 10th, you can get involved yourself during the lanterne festival  (free event). The Jardin des Plantes is once again holding a special illuminated exhibition. On through January 15th, 2023, this historic park comes to life in the evening via giant illuminated animals. This year’s theme is mini-insects in extra large size. Learn more at this link.

Restos du Coeur

Get involved!

If you’re in Paris over the holiday season and would like to get involved in a spirit of giving back to the community, there are various ways to do this. Les Restos du Coeur, an association which provides meals and other support to those in need, is looking for different types of volunteers, including gift-wrappers (for which people give a donation, sign-up here). Another association which provides meals, la Mie de Pain, is often looking for volunteers for their Christmas Eve dinner service, which could be a nice option if you’re alone for the day. You can send them an email to check at: benevoles@miedepain.asso.fr or here. The Salvation Army tends to need extra assistance over the holidays, see more on their website.

Wishing you all a joyeux and safe time over the holiday season!

Graduate Profile: Digital Content Producer Nina Starner

In this edition of our Graduate Spotlight series we meet Nina Starner. A graduate of our Creative Writing Master’s programme in Paris, Nina’s current position as a Digital Content Producer for Static Media began during her time at our Paris School. Discover how her time in Paris, even during the difficult era of COVID, was transformative for her in our interview with her below.

Where are you from and what originally brought you to Paris?

I’m from Philadelphia, and before enrolling at PSAC I had visited Paris three times. One of my closest friends and I came up with a scheme to move abroad in 2018 or so, and ultimately, we both found graduate programmes in fields we wanted to study in Paris (my friend studied at Institut Français de la Mode and now works in fashion). Thankfully, I was accepted into PSAC’s programme and began my time there in January of 2020 (what timing!).

What attracted you most about studying at PSAC?

Paris – no question! I had always wanted to live in Paris, and the history of PSAC’s space (I loved Reid Hall) as well as its Montparnasse location drew me in. I looked at other creative writing programmes in other cities but applied to PSAC first before even finishing the other applications, as it was my clear first choice.

What were some of the highlights of your experience?

I may have been seriously impacted by COVID during my time at PSAC, but I still made friends I am still close with to this day. My very first Fiction class, taught by Amy Sackville and Yelena Moscovitch, was a real highlight, as the chemistry during workshops was fantastic. Graduating at Canterbury Cathedral in 2022 was also an unbelievable, unforgettable experience!

What are you currently doing and how did that come about?

I moved back to Philadelphia and work for a company called Static Media in one of their companies called Looper, where I’m a digital content producer. I appear in and help write a show called Okay, So Basically, where a colleague and I use cartoons and snark to explain pop culture properties to each other. I was working part-time as a freelancer for Static during my time at PSAC and was offered a full time position after I completed my thesis.

Do you think that your studies at PSAC helped with your career or creative endeavours?

The big reason I wanted to study creative writing was to learn more discipline about writing and take time for myself to be required to write creatively; since I write for a living, it can be hard to get creative projects going after the workday ends. The creative writing program at PSAC definitely taught me a lot about my own writing process, and it also helped me seriously grow as a writer, since I was able to pinpoint specific issues and hurdles in my writing and work to overcome them. I left PSAC as a better writer without a doubt.

Would you recommend PSAC to potential students and if so what would you tell them?

Don’t hesitate: apply right now. The opportunity to study writing in what is, in my opinion, the best city on the planet is absolutely incredible. Despite COVID and crazy visa issues and the normal adjustment of moving to a foreign country, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. Even if moving to Paris feels impossible, it isn’t — I moved back and forth several times with my dog in tow, and if I can do that while surviving on an initially rough French skillset, you can too. Also, living in Paris is not at all like Emily in Paris. That show is not realistic in the slightest… to say the absolute least.

Merci beaucoup, Nina!

If you would like to get in touch with Nina or learn more about her work, see her website www.ninastarner.com or follow her on Twitter.
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