Their acoustic performances - termed " musical meet-ups " - take place from May 18 to 28 .
Over at ITE College West in Choa Chu Kang , Chez West , a restaurant run by students , will whip up French food for a special Voilah ! menu , curated in collaboration with French culinary school Institut Paul Bocuse . The menu - to be offered from May 11 to 23 , excluding weekends - will be decided through a culinary challenge on April 29 among final-year students of the restaurant management course .
Mr Benjamin Dubertret , the Ambassador of France to Singapore , says : " It is our ultimate goal to propose as Franco-Singaporean a festival as possible and get the local community involved ."
Most of the festival ' s activities are free , including the programmes taking place tonight and this weekendthat open the festival .
These include a mass picnic and a French classical music concert at the Singapore Botanic Gardens and a giant light installation and parade , Lumineoles Ballet , which will travel around Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay .
Many of the programmes have been decentralised this year to reach out to more people in places outside of the city .
Mr Dubertret says that while being present in public spaces and offering free programmes are not new , " this is the first time that we are really extending the reach of Voilah ! into the community ".
The performances by The Baudoin Bros in community spaces are made possible through the festival ' s partnership with the National Arts Council .
It hopes to bring " the arts to community spaces to make it convenient for everyone to encounter and enjoy great art ", says Ms Chua Ai Liang , the council ' s director of arts and communities .
Last year ' s festival attracted an audience of about 275,000 . The festival was held annually from 2007 to 2012 and revived last year in conjunction with 50 years of diplomatic ties between Singapore and France .
The south-west of France is the regional focus for this year ' s festival .
Culinary specialities from this region , such as Jambon de Bayonne , cured ham from the southwestern port city of Bayonne , and Ossau- Iraty cheese from France ' s Basque country , are offered at the companion Voilah ! Food Festival , which features promotions and special events by more than 50 food-and-beverage partners .
http :// www . straitstimes . com / lifestyle / voilah-french-festival-of-arts-and-food-goes-to-the-heartland