Once again, our town got really busy, after that massive Opening Night.
The Discovery Weekend is a free event perfect for
the Easter holiday on April 4-5, 2015 with a lot of things going on. New
museums and concert hall opening, along with the inauguration of artistic
creations installed in various parts of the town.
It’s not everyday that a town gets
four new museums all at once (it was planned for five). But if that’s what it
takes to showcase the remarkableand often-unknown heritage of Mons, then so be
it!
The Artothèque (art library) will become the heart of this Museum
Cluster and the place for conserving, restoring and studying the heritage of
Mons. More than a unique collection of weapons of war, the Mons Memorial Museum is a place where we can experience
communication between different generation of people in a region torn apart by
two world wars. Also we can discover the irresistible Mons festival at the Doudou Museum. And the SILEX’S which architecturally important
and captivatingly beautiful, sitting atop the entrance of the remarkable
Neolithic Flint Mines of Spiennes.
In a weekend of great
metamorphosis of the town, it’s all free: a discovery trail, treasure hunt and
activities in the museums!
On Saturday, the new places opened
until 8 pm. Our first stop at noon was to check out the Arsonic with free concerts, before
heading to SILEX’S.
The next day it’s even more busy
because there’s also the Dimanche Gratuit, where all exhibitions in museums are
free of charge. In between exhibitions in Les Anciens Abattoirs, we had two
hours to spend at the nearby Memorial Museum. Then when we got to Artothèque in
the afternoon there’s a bit of queue and it was too late to queue for the
Doudou Museum. We also thought more than two exhibitions/ museums in a day was just too much, especially when the weather really nice. So we decided to
stroll along and try to find all the 15 urban installations and enjoy the day.
Le grand
jeu de la Métamorphose, a
game for families to help them explore the new museums took place in the square
and parks. It’s a kind of rally where we go from museum to museum, doing quizzes,
playing observation games and from a booklet available at one of the
information tent at the Grand Place.
It feels nice to see a lot of
tourists in Mons. People with maps and camera. They’re almost in every aisle
and small road around the town center. Some were in search for hidden
corners which surprising with the form of urban art which flourished
throughout the town. Others opted for the museum marathon. And
then there were those who allowed themselves to be carried away by the atmosphere,
hoping to be surprised at all times on their way.
After
this weekend with 50,000 people participated, the transformation continues…