Les Habits de Lumière in Epernay : the success of the unexpected

France Épernay

Les Habits de Lumière IN épernay

the success of the unexpected

On December 13, 14 and 15, 2013,
the 14th edition of the Habits de Lumière, organized by the town
of Epernay in partnership
with the Houses and Wine growers
of the Avenue de Champagne Committee, under the aegis
of Philippe Faure-Brac,
Best Sommelier of the World, delighted the crowd of visitors
who came and defied the cold
on the Avenue de Champagne.

La facade de la Mairie d’Épernay, le terrain de jeux d’une souris.
This event in the capital city of Champagne clearly has become the inevitable appointment of December. Its increasing success attracted this year from 40 to 45.000 persons during the three-day feast driven by the “Unexpected”, the theme chosen for this 14th edition.
The Committee is born in 1996 by bringing together in an association the Houses Bergère, Boizel, Collard-Picard, De Castellane, Demoiselle, Esterlin, Comtesse Lafond, Mercier, Michel Gonet, Moët & Chandon, Paul-Etienne Saint Germain, Perrier-Jouët, Pol Roger and De Venoge to pool their ideas and their skills in order to contribute towards the cultural promotion and development of the activities of the Avenue de Champagne, especially in the art and tourism fields.

Located in the heart of the viticultural region of the Champagne-Ardenne, the town of Epernay benefits from an exceptional cultural and architectural heritage. The pride of the city is the Avenue de Champagne that sports the Renaissance or classical facades of the bordering Champagne houses. That is where all the marvels of the Habits de Lumière have been displayed, but the real treasure actually lays under the visitors’ feet, along more than 100km of galleries dug in the chalk subsoil, running under the road, where the best Champagnes of the region repose... The dream of many of us!
The dream rightly is peculiar to this event since its first edition in 2000. Enchantment, magic, imagination, pleasure for the eyes and the palate are in the place of honour.

Everything begins on Friday, December 13 with a welcome cocktail in the Town Hall, in presence of friendly and dynamic mayor of Epernay Franck Leroy, Philippe Faure-Brac, Best Sommelier of the World and patron of the event this year, and all the organisers of the event. In the backstage, the town hall had turned into a hive. The offices were the artists’ dressing rooms, the technicians polished the last adjustments, the acrobats slipped on their costume, everybody ran… The symbolic ribbon was cut, the celebrations were launched!
Outside, the facade of the town hall became the stage of a surprising and offbeat sound and light show, named― rightly and with humour―“Souris!” [mouse], and especially designed for Epernay by Cosmo Av. ETC London-Paris in charge of the technical carrying out.
The show was followed by a huge air parade. The Avenue de Champagne was filled with crowd. Inhabitants, visitors and tourists were charmed by the jour­ney of an adventurous pearl that just left its shell. The troupe Les Plasticiens Volants turned the avenue in a giant aquarium. Blown up with helium, a lobster, moray eels and even a whale flew above the visi­tors under the adults’ and children’s ama­­zed eyes. A splendid firework display came to underline the show, the face­tious Brim­borions, men lantern of the troupe Picto Facto, teased the spectators with their zigzagging and sound wande­rings.
The public were then invited to walk down the avenue again and to stop in the Champagne houses who opened their courtyard, and who competed with inventiveness and elegance to illuminate their town houses. Champagne bars, live concerts, warm meals welcomed the connoisseurs all night.

From 9 the next morning, the Habits de Saveurs, the gourmets’ appointments, started under the tent! The local starred Chefs had been associated by drawing lots with a Champagne house or wine grower, and made original food and wine pairings with produce available on the market, inviting the public for savoury tastings. In the afternoon, the Children’s Delicious appointment, organized with the association Métiers de Bouche of Epernay, offered the 6- to 2-year-old kids demonstrations, workshops and a big afternoon tea with fresh fruit juices and smoothies prepared by the Youth Department of the Town. Later in the evening, Champagne re-established itself and the Houses opened their doors with the same success as the night before, so much that some lacked flutes to serve the visitors!

At last, on Sunday morning, when some still were in the arms of Morpheus, the Charles-de-Gaulle plaza welcomed in music the gathering of ancient cars, understand more than 30 years old, original and mythical, from the prestige saloon cars to the most popular models. Philippe Faure-Brac, Franck Leroy and the other members of the jury courageously defied the rain to decide between the competitors of the elegance contest for which the participants wore the outfit of the period of their car. Then everyone revved up his car to form the procession and parade through the streets of Epernay, closing with panache these three days of celebrations become a showcase for the city.

This weekend of brilliant celebrations at the service of the highlighting of the cultural and gastronomic heritage of Epernay demands many months of prepara­tion and mobilizes all the departments of the town. “It is the result of a year’s work!”, explains Noémie Vigier, in charge of the promotion and events of the city of Epernay. But so many emotions and what a success!

Dominique Peyral-Bon / Crédit photos : Michel Akrich

Ville d’Epernay
7 bis, avenue de Champagne
B.P. 505 - 51 331 Épernay cedex
www.epernay.fr