Just for Fun

For a village of three thousand people, Bédoin has much to offer inhabitants and visitors alike. Its small downtown includes two grocery stores and several shops; the surrounding countryside, filled with la grande forêt communale, vineyards, and cherry orchards, is beautiful indeed. But in terms of diversion, there's really not much for people to do. Naturally, one finds both a boule court and a small stadium, de rigueur for a country of bocce ball- and soccer-loving people. Otherwise, besides a few restaurants, cafés, and bars, places of entertainment are at a minimum. No movie theater, no concert hall, not even a large park. Next to the post office, however, in what looks like a relatively new structure, stands the two-story Centre Culturel, which as its name suggests, serves as the focal point for nearly all cultural activities in town.

The cultural center houses the offices and most of the activities of la Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture. In a nation-wide movement instituted after World War II, MJCs were created throughout France to promote the arts and to serve as a kind of youth club. For seventeen euros a year, villageois can become members of the local MJC, entitling young and old to free courses, such as aide aux devoirs (“homework help”) and alphabétisation (“learning to read”); a supplementary fee is charged for physical activities--Pilates, Taekwondo, yoga, and the like--and dance classes in modern jazz, salsa, and hip-hop. Language courses (in italien, anglais, and français for newcomers to the area) are available as are lessons in music, informatique (“computer science”), and les arts plastiques (“fine arts”)--dessin (“drawing”), peinture (“painting”), and poterie (“pottery”). On Friday nights there is a cinéval, open to the public, which offers first-run movies for a small fee. Recently, Volt was featured for kids followed by Gran Torino for adults.

Apparently, various groups can rent out or at least reserve space at the Centre Culturel for their particular functions. We first went there right after our arrival in mid-January for le club de Ventoux’s annual Loto (“Bingo”) party. The large downstairs conference room was absolutely packed that Sunday afternoon with people hoping to win prizes and most likely just for something to do on a cold winter day. On another occasion in early April we attended a free lecture on Le Patrimoine industriel du Comtat Venaissin, about the area’s industrial heritage. The two young female presenters, probably graduate students, discussed many different topics in their two-hour talk: des moulins (“mills”), la soie (“silk”), le sable (“sand”), and le plâtre (“plaster”), among others. I was truly surprised at the large turnout (over twenty-five people) and that snacks and glasses of wine were served at the end.

Bédoin’s bibliothèque municipale is also located on the second floor of the Centre. The library, which is open five days per week, for an average of about three hours per day, has a tiny collection of books and magazines, but the librarian is proud that the people of the village have an actual reference room and not just a visiting bibliobus as in some other communities. She guaranteed us, too, that a sort of interlibrary loan system exists so that books could be ordered from other collections in the Vaucluse. Le Centre Culturel serves an important function as a gathering space in the community.