March is Francophone month, which means that the French Cultures Festival (FCF) is back in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas with some good French fun.

The festival, which feature events related to gastronomy, literature, visual arts, cinema, and music related to the French-speaking world, kicks off on March 9 with a free outdoor concert in Discovery Green (Houston) starting at 6pm. Tomar and the FCS (Austin), The Great Novel (Quebec), and The Blind Suns (France) will all share the stage.

The festival program of the 2018 edition is full of events. Here are some highlights in from the month:

Houston

– The opening of the exhibition Féminitude by the French artist Isabelle Perreau. In this exhibition, which immerses the viewer in the intimacy of women, she questions the meaning of femininity and its construction from childhood to adulthood. March 3 to April 5 at the Archway Gallery. More info

– A reading of poems co-written by the pupils of the Greater Houston French Education Association and children from refugee camps in Burkina Faso. Co-organized by the French American Texan Alliance For the Arts. March 24th. 10:45am. More info

– An evening to celebrate the Nice carnival, the sister city of Houston. Theme: “The King of Space”. Come in disguise! March 29th at 5:30pm at the Granduca Hotel. More info

– Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet comes to Jesse H. Jone for the Performing Arts to play Stravinsky and Bernstein. March 29-31. More info

Austin

– 58 Shades of Francophonie: The Alliance Française d’Austin hosts the Francophone projects of high school students and local college students. March 20th. More info

– French Film Festival: screenings of French films on March 1, 8, and 29 at the Austin International School. More info

Dallas / Fort Worth

– French Film Festival: Texas Christian University is screening several French films and documentaries throughout the month. The first film on the program is on March 3, Dernières nouvelles du cosmos, about a teenage girl who writes powerful poems without having learned to read or write. More about the festival here.

– Discussion with the cartoonist Penelope Bagieu, who is presenting her new book Brazen: Rebel Girls Who Rocked the World on the stories of interesting women with important stories worth telling. March 13th, at Interabang Books. More info

El Paso

– Every day in March, the African Fiesta Café will offer an activity related to the Francophonie (discussions, screenings, workshops, etc.). More info