A new business has just been launched in the Lake Geneva region offering "back-to-the-roots" adventures and "alternative" experiences for both holidaymakers and local residents, which extend way beyond the traditional routes taken by red tour buses!
Called Chantal & Max, the new “experience agency” offers tailored activities around Lake Geneva, which are hosted by hand-picked, qualified locals, and have been created for special occasions, weekend outings or team-building events that allow you to escape the ordinary.
Describing their new business to knowitall.ch, the founders, Chantal Wäger and Max Desroche, told knowitall.ch, "We take the time that our clients don’t have to find activities that are off the beaten path and that share our three values: social interaction, local interest and experience. In short, our motto is: Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to share, not stuff to show!"
What kind of activities?
From the most basic to the most original, from gourmet to active, from being on the ground to flying up in the air, all of the experiences offered by Chantal & Max have been tested to ensure that clients have a guaranteed souvenir to take home: pictures, stories and unforgettable memories. The cherry on top? You’ll be accompanied by passionate and engaging locals who are looking forward to welcoming you.
Serena, 2004. © Bob Martin (British, born 1959)
Enter your best photos to win a prize and get your image displayed at The Olympic Museum!
A new series of photographic exhibitions and events has just been launched at The Olympic Museum, exploring sports photography from numerous different angles.
Called “The Art of Sports Photography”, the new program of events runs until 19 November 2017 and includes a special competition in which the public is invited to submit their best photos, showing family, friends and neighbours playing sport in unusual places, in fun, fantastic or acrobatic ways… indeed whatever way you fancy!
Whilst everyone is familiar with the images of sport practiced at official competition venues, not everyone appreciates the many other ways in which sport can be played, in the parks, bedrooms, back yards, beaches, picnic areas, and even bus shelters! So, The Olympic Museum invites you to get creative and think about how you or your friends might like to get more into sport within your neighborhood.
To find out more about the competition, which closes to entries on Tuesday 11 July, visit the official website of the contest here. Prizes range from three different cameras in the Jury competition to headphones, or a watch or book in the Public competition. There will be a prize for the photo with the most likes on Instagram, and another for the most retweeted photo on Twitter!
In addition to the photo competition, The Olympic Museum is also running the following events:
5 double tickets to be won for entry to the Concours d’Élégance Suisse at the Château de Coppet on Sunday, 25 June 2017!
Following the success of his first classic car show in Coppet last year, Mathias Doutreleau, co-founder of the Concours d’Élégance Suisse, is staging a second lap, this year paying homage to the incredible Juke Box era with cars dating from 1945 to 1960. Organised in compliance with the official rules governing the leading classic car shows, this second Concours d’Élégance will once again take up residence in the gardens of the Château de Coppet from 23 to 25 June 2017.
Attracting more than 2,300 visitors last June, the second edition of the Concours d’Élégance Suisse is expected to feature a splendid range of vehicles this year over a three-day period, from 23 to 25 June 2017. To make the event more spectacular, you can give full rein to your creativity by opting for period dress, hairstyle and accessories!
“Always from a perspective of paying tribute to the historical and cultural heritage of the motor industry, and to bring back to life the tradition of the Geneva Concours d’Élégance, we give the public the opportunity to marvel at beautiful examples of automobile engineering that are rarely put on show,” explains Mathias Doutreleau, Director of the event.
After reopening in June 2016, the Alimentarium is launching its first ever annual theme: Food – Vice or Virtue? From the magical qualities attributed to certain nutrients, to the economic constraints of organic farming, and to food safety and nutritional concerns, the Alimentarium invites you to explore the concepts of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’, when applied to food and how it is produced. Traversing popular notions and current scientific discourse, this theme adds a new twist to the permanent exhibition. It will evolve throughout the year, with the addition of new content accessible in the Museum itself or 24/7 on its digital platform.
First annual theme since the Museum reopened
With Food – Vice or Virtue? the Alimentarium is launching its first annual theme since reopening in June 2016. This topic adds a sprinkle of seasoning to the three sectors of the permanent exhibition – Food, Society and the Body – as well as to the Museum’s digital content. The Alimentarium invites us to reflect on the notions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’, in the context of food, whether in relation to industrialisation of production methods, aversion to food, the size of food portions or monitoring data from our body. This is a lively, progressive exploration of perceptions and current scientific discourse.
Did you know that Geneva is home to a cinema organ which, though little-known, is worthy of heritage status for its excellent condition and rich tones. Built by Wurlitzer in 1937 for an English cinema in London, it is one of only five surviving organs from this brand in Europe, outside Great Britain (where cinema organs have been preserved to a much greater extent.)
To ensure it will be well-maintained both now and in the future, admirers of the organ have created an association (Friends of the Collège Claparède Cinema Organ Association), presided over by organists, Nicolas Hafner and Vincent Thévenaz. Since 2014 this association has been organizing an annual organ festival, entitled, "L’orgue fait son cinéma", and which is scheduled to take place this year between 31 March and 8 April, 2017.
80th birthday celebration
For organ enthusiasts this year’s event is a particularly special occasion as the Wurlitzer cinema organ will celebrate its 80th birthday in 2017! Built in the United States in 1937 for the Granada Theater Clapham Junction in London, the organ currently resides at Geneva’s Collège Claparède. Several organists who once played this instrument in London, and who are still alive today, will be special guest performers on two of the most historic and unforgettable evenings of the festival. With ageless humour they will play popular classic tunes from Britain’s recent past. There will also be an opportunity to meet Robert Rowley, who has played a key part in the maintenance of the Wurlitzer organ, and who will both play and host a commentary about the organ during the festival. After opening with organ music that is at once warm, youthful and powerful, the festival will close with a fireworks display on its final evening!
