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.
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