Family friendly festival in France marries heritage, the arts and music to inspire a new generation

PARIS - Feb. 3, 2018 - PRLog -- An unlikely group of female festival promoters have teamed up with a French Renaissance chateau in the Charente-Maritime, France to launch the family-friendly and socially engaged Enchanted Arts Festival taking place from Friday July 27 to Sunday July 29, 2018.

The former UN staffers, artists, media creatives and social entrepreneurs identified a gap in the French festival scene and called in their networks to conjure up an eclectic formula of contemporary arts exhibitions, philosophical debates, live music sets and foodie experiences, as well as thinking up plenty of fun and stimulating activities to keep young minds happy.

For its first edition, the Enchanted Arts Festival is introducing a series of Dreamscapes – including an Enchanted Forest full of mysteries, a Labyrinth of Dreams filled with dizzying surprises at every turn and the Gardens of Gaia where families can learn about greening their lives and discover fun ways to reconnect to the Earth and to one another. Come nightfall, kids can chase fireflies, stargaze and witness a total lunar eclipse in the French countryside.

There'll also be plenty of opportunities for dialogue between socially engaged cultural change makers, artists and the public. Indeed inspirational TED speakers are gathering in Dampierre-sur-Boutonne for a series of presentations and workshops around which the whole family can engage. Think Solidarity with Refugees, Women as Models and Role Models, Enchanted BeGreen.

Say festival co-founders Carmela Salzano and Jill van den Brule: "Our aim to create a music and arts experience where we can reconnect as families with creativity, experiment with new ideas, participate in vital conversations and re-engage with the community. It's about sharing the joy of summer while showing our kids that a different world is possible."

The launch of this new festival lines up perfectly with the thinking of Guillaume Kientz, 36, a curator at the Louvre and part of a growing network of young people in France with the drive and vision to revitalize its historic chateaux and stately homes.

Kientz took on the magnificent Dampierre estate in early 2017 and managed to quickly secure the patronage of Stephane Bern, a renowned French media personality appointed by President Macron to drum up support for France's historic buildings and stately homes.

Says Kientz: « There are so many varied and positive responses on how to do this. In Dampierre I've been guided by the conviction that culture and the arts are the best way to engage people, get them interested in our collective heritage and the past, and renew our sense of social connection and community moving forward. What better way to do that an intergenerational music and arts festival?"

To find out more, please visit: www.echantedartsfestival.com