Petanque America

Petanque in Santa Monica

2011-12-21T13:43:00.003-05:00

Right at the beach, in one of the busiest spots of California's coast. Kudos to Mark Greenberg and his friends of the Los Angeles Petanque Club.
We can never stress it enough: to Promote Petanque, Play in Public Places!

Interview with Marco Foyot

2011-12-06T19:50:00.005-05:00

"Admired by many, hated by others, but passionately observed and followed by all..."

Thus starts an in depth interview with champion Foyot at Boulistenaute.com, right after he returned to France after winning the Petanque America Open.

Original article in French

English translation by Google

Noteworthy passages:

- the Canadian players he met in Amelia Island have invited him for a tour in Canada.

- "in Florida I barely won from a Russian team that played extremely well."

(meaning our friends Artem & Paul!)

Fresno Petanque on ABC

2011-11-20T05:53:00.001-05:00

Open 2011 Results

2011-11-20T01:52:00.002-05:00

Here they are. As always, we like to spread it out, so almost one in 4 teams goes home with something. Amounts this year ranged from $1,000 to $50 , for a total purse of $7,500.

M6 in New York

2011-09-28T21:09:00.014-04:00

M6, one of France's major private TV channels made an extensive (4 min. is long in TV world!) report about petanque in New York.
Sorry - no English subtitles, but very nice camera work, and a lot of familiar faces!
And preceded by a funny French commercial :)

(if you get a black screen, follow this M6 link)

St Tropez -1958

2011-08-22T01:42:00.010-04:00

Sophia Loren & Carlo Ponti, having fun playing petanque:

Just like Elke Sommer and Robert Mitchum. Timeless!

PA Open 2011 - Teams update

2011-08-21T15:08:00.021-04:00

Sep 19:
Registration is closed for now. You can email us to go on the waiting list, in case a team cancels.

Sep 12: 127 teams, and one more state (WV).

Registration will be closed any day, and we'll open a waiting list.

Sep 9: 118 teams, one more state (OR) ànd at least two players flying in from France.

Sep 3: 106 teams, one more state (CO) ànd a team from Belgium.

Aug 29: 97 teams, two more states (NM & IL).

Aug 23: 85 teams, one more state (PA) and two teams from the Netherlands.

Aug 22: 10 more registrations today, and one more state, New Hampshire.

Aug 21: with almost 3 months to go, 72 teams have formally signed up, from 13 states. And from Canada, Germany and Israel. At this pace, we will easily reach the target of 128 teams by end September.

Petanque, a people connector

2011-08-11T19:33:00.006-04:00

Here's a short interview of Matt Curtis, Communications Director for the City of Austin, TX. He plays with our friends of HOT Petanque. I've watched it several times and find it striking how he conveys the essence of the game in roughly 90 seconds. No wonder he's in communications!

La Boule NY on France3 TV

2011-07-03T19:34:00.002-04:00

Ernesto, Steve & Yngve from La Boule NY were interviewed today on French television, during their second game at La Marseillaise.

Petanque America Open - 2010

2011-06-21T22:16:00.009-04:00

Wonderful souvenirs ... Let's get ready for 2011!
A 5 min. cut of the 30 min. documentary DVD by our friends at UBK Studios.
Watch in full screen mode to feel like you were there :)

Petanque America Open 2011

Petanque in Saratoga, CA

2011-05-15T06:06:00.002-04:00

"What is petanque?" wonder people in the street.
They will soon find out, thanks to Devin Utter's passion for the game.

Open 2011 - Registration

2011-05-15T05:59:00.007-04:00

Teams can now register, at
www.petanque-america-open.com

Paris at night - Place Dauphine

2011-05-06T01:47:00.002-04:00

Just a bunch of friends who, after work, had drinks and/or dinner and decided to do a quick game before calling it a night. Below you see the same Place Dauphine on a sunny afternoon.

Louis de Funès - Petanque picnic

2011-05-06T00:56:00.004-04:00

From the classic 1964 movie, Le Gendarme de St Tropez.
Gendarme Cruchot (de Funès) wants to impress his new boss, sergeant major Gerber (Michel Galabru) during a petanque party with his deputies. As usual, it backfires.
Besides being funny as hell, it depicts so well how petanque can - and should - be played anywhere. A Sunday afternoon picnic in the woods? Bring out the boules.

NYPC - New website

2011-04-26T22:57:00.010-04:00

New York Petanque Club has a new website. With beautiful graphics!

And together with La Boule New Yorkaise, they started a new initiative:
Player Rankings for the season.

An excellent idea, taking into account the results of your matches, wherever they're played.

Petanque TV

2011-04-26T21:48:00.014-04:00

Markus Viktorsson in Kristianstad, Sweden, has launched an internet TV channel, called Petanque Exclusive.

They travel to major tournaments in Europe, so you can see them live, but have also accumulated footage from old championships that are worth watching. An archive, so to speak.

Membership is 36€ / year (abt U$52).

You can see some trailers for free, at Petanque Exclusive.

We wish him luck with this new initiative!

UPDATE 2011-05-07: Please read the review in the comments below.

Shoppers from Canada

2011-04-19T19:53:00.018-04:00

This is the time of year when thousands of snowbirds drive back home from their winter in Florida. We sent out flyers to RV resorts to alert them that Amelia Island is only minutes from I-95 and thus a convenient stop to shop for new boules, ànd discover a place they usually speed by.

These past weeks we've welcomed visitors from various northern states and Canada, in all sorts of vehicles. This one, driven by Gilles and his wife Sophie broke the record: a Freightliner truck with a 38 ft trailer!

Lovely people, and very happy with their new petanque gear. Cheaper than in Canada, by the way :)

Boules collection

2011-04-18T00:47:00.005-04:00

Rainer and Meike in Lauenau (just west of Hannover, Germany) have, over the years, gathered what is probably the most complete collection of boules ever made or available today.

The list starts with the group "Antique Boules" followed by the 20 different brands. Impressive!

Bambini in St Tropez

2011-01-31T23:53:00.006-05:00

Here's a beautiful little commercial for Krytik, an Italian clothing brand for kids. Filmed in St Tropez, at the same Place des Lices where Karl Lagerfeld was entertaining his fashion friends last summer. Great colors, crystal clear - especially in HD -, and cute music.
Only one little (round) thing is missing :)

Maybe the guys & gals from Conestoga HS chould go over there and give them some tips!

Petanque America Open - movie trailer

2011-01-20T22:38:00.003-05:00

Our friends at UBK Studios in Chicago have prepared a trailer! The full version is expected early March.

Nice shots, and great sound. To enjoy it fully, watch it on YouTube, in HD, and full screen. Just click on the YouTube logo.

Petanque: good for your wallet

2011-01-09T21:31:00.008-05:00

A central Florida newspaper ran an article today about how baby boomers are getting more frugal every day. Taking nothing for granted anymore, they watch every cent they spend. The article has some interesting statistics, worth a read.

Highlands Today - Jan 9, 2011 - Affording retirement

With a photo of petanque! No surprise here: petanque is by far the cheapest form of outdoor entertainment. A set of 3 boules is all you need, good for years and years of fun. The cost per game works out to a couple of cents. Nominal when compared to golf, or bowling, or tennis.

By the way, Tanglewood in Sebring has eight beautiful courts, that are used constantly. And every year there are new petanque converts. Here's my report from 2006.

The Open results

2010-11-26T06:30:00.004-05:00

Another edition of the Open has come and gone...

Here's the list of the top teams in the 8 final brackets.

Thanks to all the players, the sponsors, the City of Fernandina Beach, and the numerous volunteers who all contributed to making this one even better than the previous one!
Competition and camaraderie went hand in hand.
More reports coming soon.

Open 2010 Team updates

2010-09-26T00:00:00.001-04:00

Registration is now closed.
It is possible a few spots open up due to cancellations. If you want to go on the waiting list, please email.
Sep 26 - IL, AL & GA, for a total of 23 states.
Sep 6 - WV, NJ & MA- only a few spots left.
Sep 2 - 68 signed up, 23 announced. We're almost there!
Aug 29 - 55 teams formally registered. 25 teams announced by mail or phone. 6 single players looking for a teammate.

Aug 23 - Ohio and Louisiana

Aug 18 - 40 teams and counting.
Aug 10 - New York & New Mexico
Aug 5 - Texas
Aug 3 - One more state (Maine), plus the first confirmed teams from Quebec, Canada!
Aug 1 - We're now at 25 teams, from 11 states. If you haven't yet, register here. Airlines are coming up with "Fall fares".
July 24 - Things seem to go much faster than last year. As of today, 16 weeks before the tournament, we already have about 20 teams from 10 states signed up.

Wyoming Open 2010

2010-09-05T16:45:00.005-04:00

Our friends in Jackson WY are preparing for another Open tournament.

The invitation is crystal clear: come and have fun!

We were hoping for one or two Wyoming teams to come to Amelia Island in November, but there's an unexpected clash in travel plans.
But we'll definitely see them on a next occasion!

Simple, short but fun tournaments

2010-08-26T00:36:00.005-04:00

For the past 2 months, Amelia Island Boules meets every Wednesday night at Cafe Karibo, starting at 6pm.
Beautiful setting (nice & drinks galore), but ... there are only 2 courts, you never know how many people will show up, and at what time. The courts are lit, but most folks like to head home by 8:30pm.
So one needs to improvise. We use a deck of cards to mix players into teams, fast. Doubles or triples - or some of both if need be - , depending on the attendance.

The usual way to "compact" games is to play to e.g. 7 points instead of 13 or to limit the game to, say 30 minutes. Both systems have pros and cons.
Thanks to input from pragmatic members (hat tip to Colleen & John), we now shorten games to 4 rounds (or ends, or throws or "mènes" in French). It's simple, fair, and there's no room for misinterpretation. A game lasts 20 to 25 minutes.
For instance tonight, we had 16 players, and made 8 teams of two. A total of 12 games were played, plus a tiebreaker between the two teams that won their 3 games.
By 8:30 the winners were known, and got the weekly $30 gift certificate from Cafe Karibo.

Petanque in the world

2010-08-19T20:56:00.013-04:00

The Associated Press article below was an incentive to update the post I wrote in 2007 about player statistics worldwide.

In 1979, the international petanque federation - FIPJP - represented 18 countries, with a total of 403,963 members, of which 375,603 in France.

In 2009, the number of countries had jumped to 88, with a total of 531,233 members, of which 313,985 in France.

This means that France's portion of worldwide licensed players shrunk from 93 to 59 % , and that the rest of the world jumped 775 %.

In all fairness, this has a lot to do with the fact that the French petanque federation started requiring medical certificates a few years ago. Anyone who has walked around on a 'boulodrome' in Provence knows that "une visite médicale" would not rank highly as a favorite pastime.

But it also means that, if it wasn't for the tremendous interest petanque has generated outside France, the overall numbers would be way down.

That's why all of us in ROW ("rest of the world") need to insist that FiPJP (with a small "i") becomes FIPJP with a big "I". Their new website was a good step. Trainer Victor Nataf coming to Fresno was another one.

Yet it is still very much a "We decide, you've got to live with it" affair.
Witness the fiasco of the Taiwan World Championships (moved to Turkey at the last minute, causing extra expenses for many teams) and the weird decision to have two teams (USA & Canada) vie for the two "American continent" slots. Why do folks have to spend money in airfare and hotels if you know in advance they'll be qualified?
Obviously some of these people have no knowledge of the outside world and different cultures. No experience in organizing, logistics and communications. Yet they seem to believe their involvement is irreplaceable.

I will get some flack for this criticism but it is time to call a spade a spade. With "Google Translate" that becomes "appeler un chat un chat". Good. That's what I meant. I hope the rest of the text translates well too!

Petanque's got swank

2010-08-19T13:05:00.006-04:00

This has been a great summer for petanque in the press.
To spread the word faster, I post them on Facebook as I see them.
Last week the Globe and Mail published an article with a nice slideshow about Paris Plages.

But the big "carreau" came today when Associated Press ran a story that got picked up by thousands of news outlets worldwide. Emma Vandore (based in Paris) looks at the game from an international angle, from Manhattan via Paris to Bangkok. Here's how it appeared today in the Washington Post.

French bowling? Yes, petanque's got swank.

Some papers may have used it only on their online version, not necessarily in the print copy, but still, it's a great addition to our Petanque in the US Press saga.
Sincere thanks to Emma Vandore for the interest.

Petanque in America - a movie!

2010-08-10T22:37:00.007-04:00

When I saw the short documentary Ludo in June, I liked how the game was presented. The camaraderie, the cheerfulness, combined with top quality photography, editing and sound.

The Open in Amelia Island will be the perfect occasion to capture this same spirit, on American soil, in English. Players from at least 20 states and beyond, who drive or fly in to meet, mingle, play, and have a good time. We will also use some footage to make a short but nice "How to play pétanque" tutorial.

All elements are in place, but UBK Studios needs help with funding.
We invite everyone in the English speaking world who loves pétanque to pitch in.
Do it for the game. Thanks in advance.

Petanque / UBK Studios site

PS: After posting the above, it struck me: though we don't mind mailing the same old DVD's about pétanque, in French, from Florida to the four corners of the world, isn't it time to move on to a next level?

Brooklyn Bastille Day 2010

2010-08-03T23:40:00.004-04:00

For the second year in a row, Valérie and her family flew in all the way from Aix-en-Provence to participate and document the street festival. She did an amazing job at capturing the spirit, the faces, ànd what goes on around the play area.
Watch it in HD and full screen.

Honky Tonk Petanque 2010

2010-08-03T19:56:00.006-04:00

The City of Republic (abt 2 1/2 hrs NW of Spokane) is gearing up for their 4th annual petanque tournament!

<--- click to see the nice poster!

Honky Tonk Pétanque - Sept 18

Petanque @ Paris Plages

2010-07-30T20:21:00.005-04:00

Last week the Seine river banks were once again tranformed into a narrow, long beach, called Paris Plages. L'Express went to interview the lady in charge of the pétanque courts, from 9 am till midnight. Play and loaner boules are all free, and the non-profit organization makes up for the expenses with the "buvette", i.e. the outdoor bar.
Brilliant idea.

And when Paris police officers have no urgent matters to attend, they keep busy otherwise ...

Petanque (and a pig) in Prague!

2010-07-30T11:04:00.004-04:00

Letenský zámeček is a unique restaurant in the heart of Letná park with wonderful views over the historic centre of Prague. And with a pétanque play area.
On Sept 2nd they're holding their 8th Pétanque Party.
Here's the ad. I wish I could go.... lots of good Pilsner :-)
(Publicis is a French multinational advertising agency, one of the top 3 worldwide)

Portland Bouligans on Channel 8 KGW

2010-07-30T08:31:00.005-04:00

The Portland Bouligans - the downtown Portland, Oregon club that plays on Jamison Square- made it on the 6 o'clock news.

Good show!

Let's play 'boules'

2010-07-29T20:01:00.007-04:00

This one is cute!
We have a lot of schools here in the US using pétanque during French classes.
Here you have the opposite: a high school in Grasse (the world's capital of perfume, 12 miles NW of Cannes) decided to make a simple movie in English to teach pétanque to foreign students!
Bravo for a job well done!
(there's one tiny error at rule # 3: should be 6 meters i.s.o. 3)

Petanque vs Boule Provençale

2010-07-29T11:13:00.008-04:00

A bit of controversy on French TV channel LCM yesterday.
A guest came on to present the merits of the old game "Jeu Provençal" and the "Provencal 13" tournament going on right now in Marseille. That's wonderful, except that he kept stating that pétanque was the older game, and that "la longue" - as it is also known - was actually derived from pétanque. I couldn't believe my ears!
The host herself doesn't buy it either but allows him carry on. By the end of the program she relates that many people called in to the station to protest his version of history.
No analogy is perfect, but imagine a reporter on a London program claiming that rugby was in fact derived from American football :-)
Sorry, it's all in French, but some of the player action in the first minute is worth watching.

Petanque in Zanesfield, Ohio

2010-07-27T23:04:00.002-04:00

Mike and his friends in Zanesfield, a town of 220 active souls, along the Mad River, thought pétanque would be a nice addition to the town's social activities.

He must have a lot of friends - some with nice equipment, to boot - because in a matter of hours the new club had its regulation size court, with ample room for more. Play times will be Wed & Sat at 2:00 and Thu at 6:30.

Welcome to Zanesfield, another new marker on the Petanque in the USA map!

Boules are cool!

2010-07-27T21:39:00.000-04:00

The Guardian ran an article today about how petanque is catching on in the UK.
We definitely - I've said it before - owe thanks to Karl Lagerfeld whose event in St Tropez in May has attracted the attention of many journalists.

How boules got cool - Guardian - July 28

PA Open - Airfares to JAX (Jacksonville)

2010-07-24T19:42:00.003-04:00

AirFareWatchDog A good place to start
http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/cheap-flights/to-jacksonville-florida/1043/

AIRTRAN Travel by Nov 17, book by July 27
http://www.airtran.com/sale/JAX.aspx?saleID

American Airlines - Travel by Nov 17
http://www.aa.com/netsaaver/viewNetSAAverSpecialsDetails.do?fN=DOMFare.Sale.xml&locale=en_US&saleId=18

Petanque league in Colorado

2010-07-24T19:16:00.000-04:00

The only true petanque league I knew so far was Detroit, where Jeff and his friends play almost daily, and he meticulously keeps track of individual scores as to come up with rankings over an entire season.

Well, David and friends in Lakewood (SW Denver) Colorado have been doing just that for 4 years, on two courts in his and a neighbor's backyard. Plus the public bocce courts around the corner. And more private courts are in the works.

Have a look at the website , with pictures of the courts, the players and lots of info and specific rules. Very well done!

La Boule NY on NPR

2010-07-22T20:27:00.003-04:00

Margot Adler made a very nice 4 min. report about La Boule NY and the Bryant Park players for NPR's extremely popular and nationwide program "All Things Considered".
You can read ànd hear it on this link:

French Game Draws Melange To New York City Park

PS: one of the comments below the article laments that it is an "all male" game. That may be the case in France, and less so every year, but certainly not in other countries. Especially the US where the proportion ladies / men is very much 50/50.

Brooklyn Bastille Day

2010-07-21T09:07:00.001-04:00

It's hot!! Quelle chaleur!! Que calor!!
Was the most common phrase this past Sunday in Brooklyn.
On the other hand, there was enough liquid (in all tastes & colors) available to extinguish a California brush fire ;-)
Metromix NY already put up a slide show with nice pics.
Below you see team 13 - Jeannot, Bernard & Xavier - who beat team 64 - Bruce, Saul & Peter - in the finals with a tie breaker. At that point the score was 5 / 5, but the street had to be re-opened for traffic and there were only a few minutes left. One doesn't argue with the NYPD!! Actually we are lucky that once a year they allow this unusual street party to happen.

Once again, a wonderful petanque event, enjoyed by thousands of spectators.

Petanque at Club Med

2010-07-11T15:03:00.000-04:00

A bunch of folks from the Kiva Club at Vistancia (close to Peoria, Arizona) spent a couple of days at Club Med in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, and enjoyed a petanque tourney on the (hard part of the) beach. What a dream location: palm trees, Presidente, and petanque!

Those boules look familiar!

Petanque in Esperance, NY

2010-07-05T23:16:00.001-04:00

The latest new club to join FPUSA is "Boule on Kill".
Don't be intimidated by the name: "kill" is an old Dutch word, meaning "creek" and is commonly used in NY state, as in Catskill or Peekskill.
Lise, her family and friends have been avid players for years.
She reports further:

We have junior and adults 7 to77 just like Tintin.
Takinginspiration from Boules du Dimanche, we have a food and beveragecoordinator as food and petanque has always been a good combo!

What a romantic spot!

Airfares to Jacksonville (JAX)

2010-06-22T22:29:00.000-04:00

AirTran just announced special fares from Atlanta, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas FW, Detroit, Harrisburg, Kansas Ciy, NY LGA, Richmond, ... and more.

expedia.com/daily/promos/flights/airtran_sunny0610/default.asp?
Valid for travel by Nov 17.
Book by June 29

Petanque in Jerome, Arizona

2010-06-17T21:37:00.003-04:00

Everyone who came to the Open last year remembers the Jerome contingent!They went back home with the motivation to build a flat court for a change. Here's a report from Manuela & Bill:

We started the court after the Amelia Island tournament last year. Five months later it was completed. We worked through frozen ground, mud and moved tons of rock. We had to wheelbarrow in and out all the material. Now we have a flat court. We were spoiled after playing in Florida. Still across the street is our main court – the ghost town cemetery and parking lot that is between a 2 and 5 degree slope. If a boule goes over the edge – not to worry – we’ll get it later - 430 meters below in the next town.

We will be back again to Amelia Island for this year’s tournament. We are looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.

What a beauty!!

Bastille Day at Bar Tabac in Brooklyn

2010-06-13T21:38:00.001-04:00

In 5 weeks Smith Street will again turn into one huuuge petanque street party. For the 9th time.
By now there are tons of videos on YouTube, but a new one about 2009 just popped up from Ricard, the main sponsors.
For the record, it includes some scenes of the Cercle Rouge (Tribeca) event as well (like the French cancan dancers). Thàt petanque tournament will not be repeated this year, but Bar Tabac is on for July 18.

Fresno Petanque Club in the news

2010-06-10T19:55:00.002-04:00

Reporter Clayton Clark ("Monsieur Clay-ton" for the occasion) of the local Fox news channel came to visit Tim and his friends at Cary Park for an extensive segment. Hats off to Clayton who did very well for a beginner. It was "live", so that shot at 3:50 was genuine. No fake.
And good luck to PengSue, the young player who will soon participate in the qualifications to represent the USA in the Junior Worlds.
Nice show, Fresno!

Petanque in Boulder, CO

2010-06-08T22:28:00.005-04:00

And in Boulder, François Bellouin has been in touch with the Parks & Recreation Dept for several years and was able to convince them to include a petanque play area in the East Boulder Community Center development project.

It's almost ready! Next to the volleyball courts and the pond. Based on the map below, the size is roughly 60 x 120 ft or enough for 10 games at a time.

Congrats & thanks to François and the City of Boulder!

Boulder Petanque website

Project photos 2008 and overall site plan (click)

Petanque in Virginia

2010-06-08T21:25:00.004-04:00

Hans in Toano, just W of Williamsburg recently decided to start a petanque group from scratch, all by himself. He opened a Meetup page to attract players and announce the first petanque party on Sunday June 27. At Upper County Park in Toano. Great idea. Reactions are coming in.

The Boulefrogs from Richmond have been alerted and may well drive over to give him a hand. After all, Richard did the same thing in Church Hill 5 years ago.

Hampton Roads Petanque Club

World Championship cancelled?

2010-06-03T01:00:00.011-04:00

Today the FIPJP website announced that Taiwan had withdrawn as host country for the 2010 World Championship. Only 4 months ahead of the start date, Sep 30.
One cannot but wonder (a) what happened and (b) how many people have already booked tickets to get there.

My first reaction was -- "Let's do it in the USA!". And why not Amelia Island?
But it's not that simple. Under current FIPJP principles, selected teams (48 out of some 90 contending contries) have to get to the championship under their own steam, but the host city must pay for lodging, all meals, local transport, the welcome and farewell banquet, ànd the local expenses of a host of officials who come along for the ride for all sorts of reasons. A total of well over 300 people. That's a lot of dough, a.k.a. dollars.
The Netherlands cancelled once (for 2009), and now it's Taiwan.
Maybe time to revise the cost sharing formula so more countries / cities outside France can step up to the plate?

From the grapevine I heard that maybe Turkey will take over the torch for this year.
On the other hand, this newspaper in Laos today talks about hosting a world championship in December....?

Ludo ("I play") - in Cannes

2010-06-02T02:34:00.005-04:00

After all the models and stars are gone, back to daily life: an impressive short story from the folks at UBK Studios in Chicago. The images and sound are excellent. Watch all the way to the end, where petanque shots are used for a Hewlett Packard promotion.

If you have fast connection, watch in HD and full screen!

Jean-Claude and his friends meet everyday to play an ancient game of skill and strategy called Pétanque. Set in Cannes, "Ludo" is the story of one man's way of using the game as a means of simultaneously escaping, yet enjoying life."

Petanque in Antwerp, Belgium

2010-06-02T01:55:00.004-04:00

Telepathy? Tonight - out of the blue - I wanted to see what's going in Antwerp, my old hometown, and - pure coincidence - on the front page of Gazet van Antwerpen was this story:

The animators in a local retirement home want to introduce petanque, so even those in a wheelchair can compete on equal footing. With a bit of wine, baguettes and cheese for the atmosphere. Everyone loved it and the home is now convinced they need to convert part of the lawn into simple plain dirt, for even more fun. It's "in the pipeline" - the reporters are told.

When interviewed, the lady in the wheelchair says: "First time in my life I played this game. And I won!"

2010 Hery Open - NY - June 13

2010-06-01T23:26:00.001-04:00

The tradition continues!

In honor of Hery, a player from Madagascar who spent several years in NY, and became one of the top players in the country, La Boule NY welcomes everyone on Sunday June 13, in Bryant Park.

Hery Open - Registration

Amelia Island Boules - week night

2010-05-27T00:28:00.008-04:00

Saturday morning games are still as successful as ever, but... it's getting hot! So we tried out an alternative for those who are either busy on the weekend or don't like bright sunshine: Wednesday evening games, 6 to 8pm.

18 players joined in for the first test and had a ball.
One thing's for sure: you can't beat the sunset view!

Chanel boules in St Tropez - # 3

2010-05-25T21:04:00.002-04:00

Further to my earlier posts, here you see the boules (and the legs ;-) in action:

Same game, different world ...

2010-05-24T23:43:00.008-04:00

Every day you can find links to photo albums from all around the world, including pictures about petanque. These two showed up today and depict - better than words - how universal our favorite game is.

Tamatave, Madagascar: album link:

Osterley, Greater London, UK: album link

Int'l NYPC Open - June 19 / 20

2010-05-24T23:14:00.006-04:00

The format has been changed, from triples to DOUBLES.

Click on the flyer for the latest updates ---->

FIPJP's new website

2010-05-17T08:36:00.003-04:00

What a nice surprise!
This past weekend FIPJP has revamped their website with a brand new look.

The new webmaster is Karel Dohnal of the Czech Petanque Federation, and also a member of FIPJP's board.
Bravo & congratulations.

www.fipjp.com

Petanque in Old Orchard Beach

2010-05-16T17:37:00.009-04:00

The Town of Old Orchard Beach in Maine just completed a nice 40' x 50' play area. Sufficient for up to 5 concurrent games.

Downtown, right in front of the Amtrak terminal, with the gazebo for shade, and the little light house for inspiration!

Our friend Al, who discovered petanque while wintering in Bonita Springs Florida, was the driving force behind this development and will be there to teach new players.

Old Orchard Beach is another marker on the Petanque in the USA map.

Chanel boules in St Tropez - # 2

2010-05-12T23:57:00.012-04:00

It must have been quite a party, because pictures are popping up all over the net!
As always: people - whoever they are - love simple, unsophisticated entertainment.

Chanel boules in St Tropez

2010-05-12T16:13:00.012-04:00

On Monday, white-ponytailed fashion guru Karl Lagerfeld invited friends for a petanque contest on the Place des Lices. Models & celebs from all over played games together and from the smiles it seems they enjoyed it.
On the left you see Diane Kruger cheering (with seemingly endless legs).
Vanessa Paradis (with the red jacket) is very familiar with pétanque because her partner Johnny Depp is known to hang out at the boulodrome in Plan-de-la-Tour when in town.

Plenty more pictures here:
10Magazine.com
GraziaDaily.co.uk
Fabsugar.co.uk

Thanks Mr Lagerfeld for bringing those folks out to the ball game!

Place des Lices is a dream to hang out for hours: play a few games, eat on a terrace and have a drink. In whatever order you like, anytime, any day of the week, year round.

Petanque America Open 2010

2010-05-07T08:00:00.004-04:00

Mark your calendars

November 12, 13 & 14 - 2010

Friday: training & clinics
Saturday & Sunday: tournament

Details to follow soon.

Amelia Island expects you (again)!

Indoor petanque in Hong Kong

2010-05-06T09:41:00.004-04:00

A brand new indoor basement pétanque bar & café.

Les Boules Café Pétanque

From a report in
HK Magazine:
Probably the world’s first (and certainly Hong Kong’s only) indoor basement pétanque bar, the ubiquitous metal ball-throwing game you see men playing everywhere in the South of France.
The revolutionary brainchild of Gecko’s Christophe and Eric Masson of the Hong Kong Pétanque Club on Lamma, Les Boules sits on a quiet street in Shek Tong Tsui. Venture down the staircase and it brings you to an unexpectedly cavernous subterranean realm that’s as bright as a fine summer’s day in Provence, with chanson and French electro lounge pop blaring from the speakers.
There are three sand-topped lanes and two smaller trainer lanes. Balls are there for rental, but you can also buy your own, with chic accessories like a bag for your boules or a handy magnetic ball retriever. There’s also board games such as Monopoly Bretagne and French Tarot (a card game, not for divinatory purposes). And s’il vous plaît, don’t be snobby and ask for fancy cocktails and dry martinis—this is pétanque and it’s all about pastis and draught beers.

Petanque in the Bay Area

2010-05-05T21:12:00.002-04:00

Geoff and his friends started up their monthly "Pastis & Petanque " meetups again at Flood Park in Menlo Park. Next one on May 23.
From the photos on their MeetUp page, it is obvious they're having a good time!

Petanque in Arles Arkansas

2010-05-03T23:32:00.005-04:00

Doesn't this look like your typical backyard in Provence?

Except that it's the garden of a vacation home in the beautiful Ozark mountains in North Arkansas!

And I'm very grateful to the owner (who ordered boules from us some years ago), because today I got a call from a lady who recently rented the house, wondered what this game was all about and ended up playing hours every day. Boules are now on the way to Kansas as well.

So if you're looking for a gorgeous, peaceful vacation home on a lake, for up to 15 guests, with a petanque court, this is it!

Palm Desert Spring Tournament

2010-04-27T18:31:00.006-04:00

Ken of La Petanque Marinière made a nice slideshow of last weekend's tournament in Palm Desert CA.

Brand new courts, great setting!
And cute uniforms :-)

Slideshow (48 pics)

Boule Bleue designs

2010-04-22T22:00:00.006-04:00

If you want boules that totally stick out by their design, La Boule Bleue beats the pack. This is their # 4 reference.
And below you see two more, of a total of 31 groove designs they can make.

La Boule Bleue designs

Granted - they're not cheap, but oh so pretty!

Yannick Noah

2010-04-21T18:29:00.003-04:00

This interview with the French tennis star and singer starts off with a VERY short segment where he plays pétanque. The rest is banter about French Tennis Federation president Jean Gachassin and joking around with ex OM soccer player Basile Boli.
At least now we know that Noah plays pétanque on Sundays.

RICARD / NYPC Open

2010-04-21T14:48:00.004-04:00

Next week Sunday, May 2nd.

Select Triples, at the NYPC in Brooklyn.

<----- click on the poster.

Petanque in Holland (or is it?)

2010-04-20T21:42:00.020-04:00

The Dutch petanque federation has a new website. With close to 19,000 registered members Holland is the fourth most active petanque country. Well organized, and constantly growing.
NJBB stands for 'Netherlands Jeu de Boules Bond', as the term "jeu de boules" is still more common in Holland than "petanque". Then again, the Dutch are used to adopting foreign words into their own daily lingo: such as "überhaupt", "sowieso", "meeting", "single", "tireren" or "portefeuille"...

But what struck me right away is the photo on their front page:

That's the sign of Lamorinda Petanque in Lafayette, California, and I took that picture when I visited them two years ago!

I honestly can't blame them for borrowing it. Lafayette does indeed have one of the most appealing public play areas in ~~the US~~ the world. And I bet Mary will be proud when she sees it!

Here's my report from May 2008.

Update June 2:
The photo has been changed to a more typical Dutch scene.

No boules today!

2010-04-19T23:43:00.005-04:00

Over the past years, we've worked out a pretty neat system whereby almost every week we fly in boules from various manufacturers - leaving Europe on Friday, to arrive here on Monday.
No such luck this weekend as our shipment is still sitting at the UPS hub in Cologne, Germany - for obvious reasons...

Update 4/21/10
The shipment just arrived in Louisville KY!

Home court in Ilinois

2010-04-18T14:46:00.014-04:00

Thom in Hanover Park IL (NW of Chicago) built a beauty!
It has all the "accoutrements" (a long French word for 'stuff') to make it a winner: attractive landscaping, lighting for evening games, a shed with a stocked fridge, and a patio with chairs, table and BBQ.

Thom is also an accomplished craftsman who supplies us with one-of-a-kind accessories like the wooden boule lifters.
Needless to say, he's got the right petanque spirit!

Amelia Island Petanque

2010-04-17T21:05:00.003-04:00

Today our little group broke previous records with pickup games on the riverfront.
43 islanders came out to play, or to try it for the first time, or just watch and make new friends. The age range was from 5 to ... 89.
Out of the 43, there are only 6 or 7 who were familiar with petanque five months ago. And yet they (yours truly included) are not necessarily the best players!

Below is a very short clip that depicts the joyful atmosphere better than words:

Boulodr'homes

2010-04-17T20:03:00.011-04:00

It's been a while since I posted home court pics, so let's start catching up.

Ken in San Rafael CA had been dreaming of his own court for years, but there was a major problem. His backyard is hardly accessible from the street, and abuts public land in the back. So how do you clean up and get the crushed stone where you want it??

Until the local public works department had to rearrange utility lines, dig up and build a new retaining wall on the property next door! The guys were very understanding and helped him out.
Below you see the different stages, with a beautiful end result.

Dallas petanque in the news

2010-04-14T00:02:00.004-04:00

This was just before winter (and during our blog hiatus), but certainly still worth a read.

The Dallas Morning News did quite a feature on Bill & his friends in Dallas TX, at the occasion of their Fall Tournament. Bill has been a mainstay of pétanque in the Dallas area for many years. And he never gave up, even when only 2 or 3 players showed up for games.

Dallas News - Nov 4, 2009
Slide show with players' comments

La Boule NY - Newsletter

2010-04-13T09:26:00.005-04:00

LBNY just published their Spring Newsletter. After a seemingly endless winter, high time for some sunny news!

<--- click on the logo

Austin petanque in the press

2010-04-12T21:25:00.003-04:00

Photo credit: Larry Kolvoord/American Statesman

Heart of Texas Petanque Club was featured extensively by the Statesman.
Perfect timing: the first day of spring, and a week before their big tournament.

Statesman - March 20, 2010

Juan from Miami also filed a report about the HOT Open.

Petanque in Laos

2010-04-11T17:44:00.010-04:00

Sandra from NY recently traveled around in Laos, and took this picture, a few hours north of Vientiane, the capital.

It underscores once more that one can play petanque anywhere.
Almost daily we get calls from folks wanting to know what size 'rectangle' you need. My answer is always:
"Don't worry about a rectangle. As long as you have an area of at least 12 x 36 ft, you're fine. Bigger? Even better. Round or oval? No problem."

Looking for unique boules?

2010-04-11T16:12:00.024-04:00

We got hold of a few of the famous VMS Plot boules, designed by Henri Salvador many years ago.

Jeff in Detroit wrote a story about them in 2007.

By the way, VMS was an acronym for:
Vartan Berbérian, a French- Armenian engineer.
Bernard Marle, founder and owner of Groupe Marle, the world's second largest hip implant manufacturer, in Nogent (Haute-Marne).
Henri Salvador, French-Guyanese crooner extraordinaire, who sang and played petanque until his death at age 91 in 2008.

Salvador had the passion, Berbérian the technique, and Marle the means to come up with these one-of-a-kind boules.

The more I write about them, the more I want to hang on to them!

Only 3 sets left

PS:
In the summer of 2009, Bernard Marle sold 80 % of his company to the famous Washington, DC based Carlyle Group. Carlyle had no interest in the small, side-line boules operation ("What on earth are boules?") and - from what I heard - Obut tried to buy it out, but a management buyout prevailed. Thus MS remains the only truly independent boules manufacturer in France, besides Obut, and the new kid on the block, KTK.

Australia meets Canada in Fernandina Beach

2010-04-11T15:03:00.012-04:00

Yesterday we had two surprise teams for our Saturday morning games.
The Pelletiers from Quebec, Canada (driving home from Arcadia FL) and Ben & Robert Dansby from Canberra, Australia.
Ben, who grew up in Lakeland FL but left 30 years ago, is the president of the "Boule Dogs" petanque club down under. He's touring around the US to show his son what America looks like. And Hermel & Renelle are amongst the thousands of Canadians who spend the winter in Florida. They discovered that Amelia Island is so close to I-95 that they made a stop and... decided to spend the weekend here.
Different continents, different backgrounds, but we (incl. the 26 local Amelia Island players) all had a ball together!

Paris up close

2010-04-09T10:09:00.002-04:00

If you want to visit Paris without leaving your seat, this is it:

Paris 26 Gigapixels

Move around, zoom in & out, and discover 20 of the most beautiful monuments.
The 2346 photos were shot from the St Sulpice tower and then stitched together.

I had no idea there was a place with so many chimneys per sqm.

With a bit of cruising I found some Parisians doing what they do best: sitting on a terrace for lunch.

Thanks to Ed in Encinitas.

Anthony Bourdain being "had for breakfast" ...

2010-04-08T02:34:00.019-04:00

The Travel Channel's wandering chef gets creamed by the natives:

Watch in HD (720) and full screen! So crisp you can almost smell the weeds he talks about.

Note to Anthony: come and train with us stateside, so next time you'll be kicking their "derrières"!

Thanks to Joe in Detroit.

Update
When I watched this clip, the place looked extremely familiar. Then again, petanque next to a greenhouse behind a building is a common sight all over Provence. But - stubborn - I dug into my old photos from 2001 (when cameras were 1 megapixel) and... bingo!
It was filmed at Café-Relais de la Galine, about a mile east of St Rémy de Provence. La Galine is a local institution, where retired men (and the unemployed) play every day of the week. The 4 or 5 greenhouses allow for winter play. Most games involve (small amounts of) ~~French Francs~~ Euros to keep the tension - and the bar - going. Hence the observation of the lady is right on the money. Serious business...

Update # 2
I could have saved myself a lot of digging by just Googling "Anthony Bourdain" & Provence!!
Thus I found the complete episode of his visit to St Rémy, where they eat at La Galine (indeed) ànd more footage about pétanque (and Euros..)
The pétanque scene starts at 5:50.

Eugene, Oregon petanque on News16

2010-04-07T21:41:00.006-04:00

Short but good!

Chanel petanque set

2010-04-06T22:42:00.004-04:00

8 boules & one target ball in a wicker basket.
For only $ 2,800!

Cannon boules

2010-04-06T20:50:00.004-04:00

A Dutch commercial for William Lawson Scotch.
Very funny!

Thanks to Aoyama Petanque.

Int'l NYPC Open - June 19 & 20

2010-04-06T18:51:00.012-04:00

This will be BIG!!

New York Petanque Club is inviting everyone for a summer tournament under the century-old oak trees of Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
Teams of 3 players. Limited to 64 teams.
Registration: $65 per player.

Total prize purse: $7,000 - with $3,000 to first place.

No wonder they already have teams from Belgium, Canada, France and Spain signed up.

Click on the flyer for tournament details, registration form, and lodging options ----->

Palm Desert Spring Tournament - April 24 & 25

2010-04-06T17:29:00.000-04:00

Triples tournament.
Entry fee: $60 per team

<---- click on the banner for all info and registration.

Fernandina Beach tournament

2010-04-05T23:09:00.027-04:00

Last weekend we had a wonderful local tournament right here on the riverfront.

14 triplet teams with a wide variety of names, from Screwboules to Meatboules, not to forget the Big Kahunas and the local police team, Beach Boules. Ages ranging from 12 to 72.

Though mainly meant for islanders, we were honored with the presence of "Boules de Leon" from St Augustine, and "Carolina Petanque" all the way from Lexington, NC.

"Fun" was the slogan for the day and yes, fun was had by all, notwithstanding the constant breeze. We started at 9 am. Five random games for each team, with rankings on games won, and point spread. Simple, straightforward and by 4 pm we were at O'Kanes - the local Irish Pub - for Saturday evening quarterbacking.

We are truly blessed by the location, and the fact that players contribute their tools of the trade.

"Pete da Meat" brought his 16' catering trailer with cool drinks and barbecue.
Jeff provided his unique solar powered sound system so Gary, the tournament director, had no problems getting his message across, and good music was plentiful.

Many more pictures on the Carolina Petanque blog (the winners).

And below a video report by our friends from SearchAmelia, who placed a well deserved second.

Tour of Florida

2010-03-18T18:03:00.003-04:00

Carolina pétanque "ambassadeurs extraordinaires" Gary & Shirley have been hopping from one pétanque club or RV resort to the next throughout Florida, while NC was snowed under several times.
Some resorts have strange "local" rules that take time to get used to, but as Gary points out: "Do as the Romans do..."
Here you see Shirley meeting with "the locals", many of whom are actually from far away themselves, like the northern Midwest and Canada.

Plenty of pictures and stories about their discoveries on the Carolina Petanque blog.

Indoor petanque

2010-03-13T21:34:00.009-05:00

Spring is in the air, but for those of you who still cannot venture outdoors, or are below the equator, remember the indoor boules are a great way to train.
We brought in a lot of them by ocean freight, allowing us to offer them cheaper than what they're selling for in France.
Actually a lot of the items we sell are less expensive than in Europe. Blame it on the Euro vs US$ exchange, and our commitment to promote this wonderful game.

Of course, you can also purchase a Louis Vuitton version, at $ 2,460!

Portland Bouligans on a roll!

2010-03-13T21:12:00.003-05:00

With Facebook, Flickr, and the like, it has become so easy to see who's playing where - and when - that blogging has become almost obsolete!

Look at the Bouligans today, in Portland , Oregon.

Petanque & curling

2010-02-27T12:36:00.010-05:00

Every 4 years, when the Olympic Winter Games are on, you hear some people shouting: "That's not a sport!" Passionate curlers get offended, and here we go again...

First of all, that's why they call it the Olympic Games, and not Sports.

"7 reasons why curling is not a sport" - HuffingtonPost

NY Post reporters at least got off their ~~lazy asses~~ chairs, made an effort to try it out for themselves and filed this report:

Much the same can be said about pétanque. Don't judge until you give it a shot first. Personally I don't care whether you call it a sport or a game. As long as we're having fun!

There's no doubt curling & petanque (ànd bocce, lawn bowling & shuffleboard) have a lot in common. The purpose in itself, the way you score, and especially the fact you can knock the other team out. Very different from pin bowling, where you have no way of interfering with your opponent, thus no room for tactics.

What I did not realize is how expensive curling equipment is! Browsing around at Steve's Curling Supplies, I discovered that a new competition curling stone (38 to 44lbs) costs $ 450, and you need 16 for a game, that's $7,200. No wonder they also offer used ones at $3,800 for a set. Brushes run anywhere from $42 to $189. Shoes from $99 to $265. And then come the various accessories.

So if the argument is "which is the cheaper ~~sport~~ game?", petanque wins hands down.

And we need to get more newspapers / TV stations to visit petanque clubs!

Getting back to "normal"...

2009-11-18T09:03:00.002-05:00

I think everyone present agreed that the Open was a "blast", in more ways than one.

It's just been soooo busy ever since. Paying suppliers, cleaning up, saying farewell to players who decided to stay a couple extra days, catching up on last week's orders, etc...

I could go on and on, but I think this interview with our guest of honor, Jacques Pépin, depicts the convivial atmosphere we enjoyed better than anything:

Play area - part 2

2009-11-11T22:58:00.007-05:00

Yesterday a nifty piece of equipment was brought in to spread a mix of crushed limestone and fine gravel.
It's called a "top dresser". Commonly used at golf courses, it worked great for this application!

We had a lot of rain most of the afternoon (good timing to settle all the limestone) but the forecast for the weekend is excellent.

Some of the players have arrived: Andre & Marjorie from Maine, Gary & Shirley from NC and the Lich family from VA.

Some thirty players are arriving tomorrow, and the balance on Friday.

Play area getting ready

2009-11-09T23:48:00.001-05:00

Today the maintenance department of Fernandina Beach started preparing the play area for 45 courts. They have been very co-operative and I am extremely grateful for their support.
The area had a layer of anywhere between 1 and 4 inches of coarse limestone rock (#57). Although one can theoretically play on any surface, it would have been quite frustrating, especially for beginners. At first we thought of covering it up with finer stuff, but the cavities in between the 57 are such that hundreds of tons would have simply disappeared.
That left only one solution: scrape up the rock down to plain dirt. And then bring is crushed limestone.
Today was scraping day. With more than adequate equipment!

Vincent Canto 1959-2009

2009-11-08T12:43:00.011-05:00

In 2007, I noted that multiple boules orders were going to the same area in Arizona. And I got in touch with Vincent Canto, the 'culprit' who replied:

"I am originally from Lyon, France. I moved to Jerome, AZ (350 people) in 84"s and we have a strong fan club of Petanque players. Our teams are ready to compete with any body out there. Any balls? Vincent"

We emailed back & forth a couple of times, and the last news I got was in March 2009:
"By the way. We are currently in Merida Mexico and found a huge club here that plays Petanque. We will continue to play and spread the word."

He and his wife Stephanie had hooked up with our friends in Yucatan!

But the happiness was short lived. In May, I heard from Bill in Jerome ...

Vincent Canto was born to a Spanish father and a French mother in Toulouse, France. He grew up in Lyon where he trained as a machinist and chef. His parents introduced him to petanque at an early age and became very skilled. At the age of 18 he started on quite a trek around the world speaking fluent in Spanish, French and English. First he spent two years in Mexico then England, Canada and Martinique. He arrived in Jerome, Arizona and spent the next 23 years, where he met and married Stephanie. Ultimately, they settled in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico where he died suddenly after playing petanque. He introduced petanque to countless friends in the places he lived.
The stronghold of players is in Jerome, Arizona where play begins on Saturday or Sunday or both each week at 2 p.m. Jerome sits on the side of a mountain, and petanque is played on the flattest part of town which is the old cemetery parking area. The 360 degree scenic view of the mountains, forest and the town are fantastic. It is common to play until dark. Now three generations play on a regular basis. He would look out his window towards the old cemetery and if a game was being played he would rush right over and play or officiate. Vincent was instrumental in starting petanque in central Arizona and we all miss him.

Stephanie went to France to meet his family - for the first time. A trip they had planned to do together.
Immediately the clubs both in Merida - where his brief presence had left a lasting impression - and Jerome decided to hold their next tournament in honor of Vincent.
Torneo Vincent Canto (on Youtube)

And the players in Jerome pledged to send a delegation to the Open: Bill & Manuela, Anthony & Cindy, Felix & Brenda, Ron, and Stephanie Canto herself.
We will welcome them with open arms, and we will use this opportunity to award the first...

Vincent Canto Award

to someone who - like Vincent -, in a quiet, friendly, unassuming yet unflagging fashion, has been promoting petanque in the USA.

I'd like to end this post on a humorous note. In an email some time ago, Ron expressed his concern about playing in Florida:
Since we live on a hillside in Jerome AZ, flat areas are as rare as hairs on a frog's ass. Playing in an open tournament in an area where you can't buy a hill sounds somewhat intriguing!

Tournament theme song

2009-11-06T20:27:00.004-05:00

As we're getting closer, I want to make sure we do not forget about my pledge in January, that this song would be the theme song of the next tournament.
Rhythm, balls, ocean, friendly ambiance, good food and laughter:

Tournament logo & mascot

2009-11-05T20:57:00.012-05:00

Here's the final version of the tournament logo.

Many, many thanks to Bradbury Mattes, who's flying in from West Chester, PA to participate in the tournament, but is also a fine artist.
After receiving his B. A. from Marlboro College, Vermont, he was classically trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Accomplished in many media, including figure sculpture, abstract metal sculpture, watercolor, collage and charcoal drawing, he has primarily focused on etching and oil painting in his current work. His recent exhibitions include Immaculata, Audubon, Squirrel Gallery, Sunset Hill Gallery, Historic Sugartown and many more.

He included two important symbols of Amelia Island, the lighthouse and the shrimp, who could be any age or sex ànd playful, akin to folks who like pétanque.

Now we had to came up with a name for the creature. Preferably genderless. Several suggestions came in. Two almost identical!
Dave Barry (who came in 2003 and 2005, but is very busy with his book tour right now) proposed "Crusty" (as in 'crustacean').
Around the same time Stan Russo (part of the Richmond VA delegation) came up with "Crusty Carreau" which adds a subtle French + pétanque touch.
A "carreau" is the perfect shot, when you knock out an opponent's ball ànd take its spot in the process.

Crusty Carreau is expecting y'all next week!

Thanks to all who submitted logos and name tips. This was the perfect example of a cooperative effort by people who have never met, but share the same passion.

Israel launches a league for seniors

2009-11-03T12:54:00.004-05:00

(IsraelNN.com) The Ministry for Pensioners' Affairs has decided to introduce a new sport to Israel, and embrace it for the elderly. The ministry has adopted and agreed to support and promote the first-ever national Pétanque league. INN TV joined the finals and spoke with the organizers and participants.

An excellent 2:47 video clip, highlighting all the positive aspect of the game:

Pétanque jugglers

2009-10-30T20:04:00.003-04:00

Arsène Dupin and his artist friends had a couple of hours to kill last week between performances at the Texas Renaissance Festival. So they played 3 hours of pétanque and then showed off their juggling skills. Among others Clan Tynker and Flourish & Fool.
Amazing!

Unfortunately Arsène cannot make it to the Open due to commitments at the Festival until November 29... We'll miss him!

But two excellent teams from Austin will represent Heart of Texas pétanque: Jeanne & Drew and Amine & Saïd.