Cool Paris

I read this at Vingtparis and wish I would be in Paris next Saterday, I’ll  tell my friends.

Text: Jennifer Choi
Images: Olivier Robert

In Paris, whether you want to be fed, watered, culturally educated, entertained, or even simply sound asleep, there is almost always a trade off.

Great shows are pricey, decent yet affordable hotels are 20 minutes walk from the metro and just outside the Périphérique, restaurants where you can eat well without a second mortgage are booked up ’til next year and closed during weekends, and anything convenient is a tourist trap. It’s a common rant, and if it’s getting a little tiresome, it’s because it’s very often true.

But not always. This Saturday, there is an open invite to a night of fire breathing at the basin of Le Palais de Tokyo. It’s the 7th anniversary of the first Saturday gathering organised by the Burn Crew Concept, back in 2004. Performers will ribbon dance, juggle flames and create fireworks amongst other pyrotechnic hijinks from 21h. Magical? You bet. And amazingly – the cost? Gratuit.

What’s more, for this somewhat underground hobby that is mixing up and playing with heady chemicals, the organisers are very straight-laced when it comes to being good neighbours. Volunteers are recruited to clean up after every event and courtesy notices, dotted around forums and featuring alongside the event announcements, are never an after-thought. It might not be rock and roll, but it’s what makes the Nights of Fire possible, Saturday after Saturday, year after year. Vive le feu!