Classical concert Sunday 17th Nov in Nyon with the Da Capo Chamber Orchestra - Free entry Contemporary music, Vivaldi, Haydn, Bach and more. When it comes to music, we are spoilt for choice in this region. Not only do we have Paléo, one of Europe's premier popular music festivals on our doorstep, but we also are lucky enough to have a number of well-known classical musicians sharing their music here too. In November, the Dover Quartet will be playing in the Salle Colombière this Sunday the 10th November, followed by Olafur Arnulds, the Icelandic multi-instrumentalist on the 11th at the Théâtre de Marens. But it’s not just musicians from outside Switzerland that are to the fore this month, some home-grown talent is on offer too. The chamber orchestra, Da Capo, was founded in 2011, with the objective of providing regular classical concerts in and around Nyon. This November they will be collaborating, for the second time, with the Conservatoire de l’Ouest Vaudois, presenting a concert entitled “Jeunes Talents.” Students from the COV, Nyon and Morges will be playing short pieces, or parts of concertos, to share their love of music, talent and hard work with the public. Learning to Play with an Orchestra Marie-Hélène Piotet, the director of COV , explained that as well as mastering the music itself, the students have to learn to play with the orchestra, an entirely different skill, which is a challenging and fun experience for them. A Taster of Classical Music The programme is a wonderful mix, from contemporary, with Piazzolla’s “Oblivion” arranged for clarinet, to baroque, with a Telemann recorder concerto and lots more in between, including Vivaldi, Haydn and Bach. Ahmed Hamdy, the director of the orchestra, describes it as a “pot pourri” concert, or a “taster.” Perfect if you haven’t been to many classical concerts, and would like to dip a toe in classical waters, and wonderful if you’re already a classical fan, you’ll get to hear some superb young musicians playing with an excellent chamber orchestra, right here in Nyon. Concert dates Saturday 16 November 20:00 Temple, Rolle Sunday 17 November 17:00 Temple, Nyon Photos above from rehearsals - copyright Hester Macdonald

Startup Academy La Côte was founded in September 2019 as a non-profit association and member of * Startup Academy Switzerland. Originally founded in Basel in 2010 it has supported over 150 startups since then. Whether you have a business idea yourself, are interested in becoming a mentor, expert or simply want to learn more about Startup Academy and the support they can give startups in the La Côte area, head along to the launch event . This will take place at Café Ex Machina  on  Wednesday, November 13, 2019 from 18:00 - 20:00 Registration required. Email lacote@startup-academy.ch *The main website is currently in German, the site will be in French shortly.

The 2019 Arts Day (Journée des Arts) will take place in Nyon this Saturday 9th November. It's a great chance to take a look behind the scenes of 20 artists and photographers' studios, to see their work and chat to the artists themselves. From the massive canvases produced by Nyon artist Bernard Garo , to the art collection of the insurance company La Mobilière (note there will be also be a guided tour of this collection at 14:00). This is a great chance to see a different view of Nyon from the grounds of La Mobilière, see living in Nyon photos below taken from the grounds at the 2018 arts day. Take a peek into the smaller studios of individual artists, there's lots of art to see! All the studios are situated in and around the town and its possible to walk to them all. See map below. The weather forecast doesn't look too bad for Saturday! The château of Nyon, the Musée du Léman and the Roman Museum are all taking part in this arts day with events scheduled throughout Saturday.  See the full programme here.

There will be a book launch/signing at Payot in La Combe shopping centre from 17:00 - 18:30 on Friday 8th November of "Transmission Objects - Family Links to the Shoah". This book contains 40 personal stories and tells of the precious treasures jealously kept by families in the Lake Geneva area who were devastated by the Shoah (Holocaust). These treasures have now been passed on to new generations, along with their memories. From old jewels to football shoes still smeared with earth, these powerful, evocative objects are bearers of history and a link to the dramatic past of families. Thanks to three years of research by Michel Borzykowski and Ilan Lew, the tragic fate of the Jewish community in Europe has reappeared in this remarkable work combining research and testimony. Book launch in French however there will be people present who can answer questions in English on the evening.

CGN have a special "Black November" promotion at the moment offering a CHF 30 ticket to travel First Class on its boats during the month of November. The large Belle Epoque paddle steamers with their lovely first class decks are no longer operating out of Nyon during the winter season, but the "Vevey" boat still navigates the waters around Geneva  and makes the Geneva-Nyon routing on Sundays and official holidays. Note the Vevey is a diesel-electric paddle boat. Keep an eye out on the CGN website for any Black Friday offers also coming up. The Living in Nyon editor cruised down the length of the entire lake one day this summer at a reduced price from one of last year's CGN offers!

Know-it-all market place is looking for local creators/vendors to sell their wares in its 4th Geneva pop-up shop in the run up to Christmas. If you are a creator that makes handcrafted goods then contact Know-it-all marketplace here. You only need to be present one day out of the 28 open days and there will be no commission taken. The shop takes care of everything else!

The main tourist season has come to an end in Nyon. The large CGN ferries that depart from Nyon have now gone into dry dock and the lake area is a little quieter, however there are smaller boats operating over to Yvoire and there are still events happening in and around the town and by the lake. There will be a party at the beach on the 2nd November from 11:00 -21:00 organised by the Bains 3 Jetées association . See poster below. This Sunday the 27th October, it's the monthly flea market by the lake from 08:00 -18:30. The trees around Nyon are looking gorgeous at the moment. A great place to see even more trees in all their autumn glory, is at the Arboretum at Aubonne, or in the grounds of the lovely Château de Vullierens  above Morges (check opening times). Date for your diary - On Saturday the 9th November it's La Journée des Arts in Nyon. Artists will be opening up their studios in the town for the public to view art and to meet the artists themselves. More details in a future post. Living in Nyon will now be taking a short break and will return on the 5th November.

Halloween is approaching - how about going to see a band called Fangclub?! NME said this about this garage rock band from Dublin - “ Fangclub are a fully formed thrash pop monster; melodic, frenzied and phenomenal". They will be playing at the Parenthèse on Friday 25th October at 22:00. Free entry. See video below Jazz in the Old Town As a contrast, if you prefer your music a bit calmer, why not go along to the 1306 Club in the old town also on the 25th October at the earlier time of 20:30 to listen to some jazz to "Ten Strings and a Blow". Free entry, hat passed around for the artists. Modern Classical in the Temple Date for your diary. On November 1st,  Alexandra Stréliski will be playing at the Temple of Nyon. An  artist of French and Canadian origin  she made her debut with the 2010 album  , but the general public discovered her via Jean-Marc Vallée’s  films  (2013) and  (2016) and, more recently, the trailer of the acclaimed HBO series  . Seated concert. More info and tickets, click here.   See video at the end of this post. Photo in banner -Alexandra-Stréliski - ©  Raphael Ouellet

A gala concert   'In Remembrance' will take place at the Rosey Concert Hall in Rolle on Saturday 9th November at 20:00. Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War and the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944, this concert is in aid of the Invictus Games Foundation. Founded by HRH Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex the charity uses the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women from all nations. The concert is an unusual and exciting collaboration between the Military Vehicle Conservation Group of Suisse Romande, the Brass Band Arquebuse Genève and Le Rosey Foundation. It has been coordinated by an organising committee keen to commemorate this special anniversary of the turning point of the Second World War, leading to peace in Europe. Tickets can be obtained online here . For more information - email Peta Tracey tracey.p@bluewin.ch .

Suspended Coffees at the Roulotte. La Roulotte (the café run out of a railway carriage just behind the station) has been offering café "suspendus" for a while and recently announced that it will also be offering menus "suspendus". A suspended coffee is when a customer can choose to pay for an extra coffee which can then be offered by the café to another customer in need (such as a homeless person or someone going through a financially tough time). Also, we have it on good authority that the yurt will be back soon at the Roulotte providing covered seating for customers during the cold days! Swiss Wine in a Box for sale in Nyon There's a relative new shop in town at Rue de College 5, (next to the Café Vaudois) called Bibovino . Here you can buy a variety of wines in a box, including good quality Swiss wines. One of the big advantages of boxed wine is that you can pour a glass or two and keep the rest of the wine fresh in the bag inside the box for up to two months. Shop owner Pierre Grundlehner,  explained to Living in Nyon that although boxed wine has been around for a while and is popular in France, it is now starting to catch on in Switzerland. Gone are the days when boxed wine was simply cheap "plonk". Bibovino stocks quality Swiss wines including: a bio wine containing zero sulphates; rosé wine; a Pinot Noir from a local producer in Féchy; and more. The box itself is easy to recycle and weighs half as much as the equivalent four bottles of wine, so easy to carry on public transport. Mr Grundlehner explained the boxes have become popular to take as a house gift or up to a chalet for the weekend. The shop also stocks wine related gifts. Check their website out here. The shop is open Wednesday to Friday 10:00 -19:00 Saturday 09:00- 18:00

Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) course (in English) in Nyon. This practical Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) course, is expanded over four hours to include techniques for saving a baby, child or adult’s life. Using realistic manikins, participants learn how to recognise signs and symptoms of a heart attack and stroke, the first aid for choking and much more. Topics covered include: How to call for emergency help in Switzerland and what to say. How to assess a person’s level of consciousness. Putting an unconscious person into a safe position (the ‘Recovery Position’). How to give CPR to babies, children and adults. What to do in the case of drowning. Signs and symptoms of a heart attack or a stroke and what to do. What to do for choking child or adult. Course certification: HealthFirst Certificate of Attendance in CPR (valid for 2 years) Course runs from 09:30 - 13:30 More details, click here.

Paléo festival will be a seven day (instead of the usual 6 day) festival next year to celebrate its 45th anniversary. On this extra day (Monday 20th July), Céline Dion will perform as part of her world stadium tour, the . This is the only Festival date in Switzerland and the first in French-speaking Switzerland since 2008. Photo above - courtesy Sony Music Entertainment. Paléo will take place from 20 - 26 July 2020- The full line-up will be unveiled at 11:00 on 24 March.   The Christmas box office will open at noon on 3rd December. Tickets for the Monday 20 July concert will be available for CHF 85. 7-day passes (valid from Monday to Sunday) and 6-day passes (valid from Tuesday to Sunday) will also be available. All ticket info - click here Photo above - Brian Purnell